MATH 112 A: Application of Calculus to Business and Economics

Welcome to Math 112 Winter 2022

In this course, you will study the concepts of differential and integral calculus in specific contexts with emphasis on applications to economics.  Topics will include:  rates of change, tangent lines, derivatives, accumulation, area,  integrals, multi-variable functions, and partial derivatives.

Instructional Team:

• Instructors:

  • Professor Jennifer L. Taggart, taggart@math.washington.edu

  • Professor Andy Loveless, aloveles@uw.edu

• Office Hours:

  • TBA

• TAs: 

  • Vasily Ilin
  • Jonathan Nino-Cortes
  • Eric Zhang

Class structure:  We've designed this course to offer flexibility to students in how they access and engage with the material.  There will be minimal lecturing by the instructional staff during class time.  Instead, students will be expected to read and/or watch short video segments and complete self-check problems before coming to class.  Unless UW is operating remotely, during Monday and Wednesday class periods, your professors will walk you through a structured summary and assist you in actively solving problems.  On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Quiz Sections will serve as The Lab where you can get help from your TA and your peers in completing assigned problems.  There will be an on-line Quiz given during class time on Friday.  There will be one cumulative written Final Exam given in person at the end of the quarter.  You can find more details in the Welcome Module.

Course Materials:

• Webassign: If you took Math 111 at UW within the past few quarters, then you should not have to purchase anything new.  Your Webassign access should still work --- the Webassign folks will have office hours (via Zoom) early in the quarter to help with access issues. 
  If you did not take Math 111 at UW, then you must purchase an access code for Webassign in order to complete the homework. Webassign access includes an electronic copy of the Harshbarger/Reynolds text.  You have a two-week grace period, beginning the first day of classes to try Webassign and the electronic text.  Once you decide to purchase Webassign, you may buy it online or from the University Bookstore.  Follow these instructions to login to Webassign.  
• Text:   Applied Mathematics for Business by Harshbarger/Reynolds (12th ed.) serves as the text for Math 112.  An electronic copy of the text is included with Webassign access and will suffice for most students.  If you prefer a hard copy of the text, you can buy a custom edition at the bookstore that contains the chapters we use for Math 111 and 112.  You are not required to purchase the hard copy.
• Other Required Materials:

• • There are a few homework problems that may require you to draw lines on a graph in a pdf.  You can either print them out and draw with a pencil and ruler or import them into an application that allows you to draw lines on the graphs.  You will therefore need one of the following:
    
    • a printer and a clear plastic ruler to draw straight lines on a graph OR
    • a way to electronically draw lines on a pdf using a computer or tablet (your phone is probably too small but may work if you have no other option)
  • a scientific, non-graphing calculator for the final exam
    
    • You will be allowed to use a non-graphing, scientific calculator on the final exam.  Any brand/model of non-graphing, scientific calculator is fine.

Grading:

•  Grades in the course will not be curved.  I will apply the following grading scale.  Note that we are already making the 4.0 more generous than we did before re-organizing the course, so we do NOT round up, meaning a 89.99% would be a 3.5.
  
  

  Overall Percentage	Course Grade
  90-100	4.0
  85-89	3.5
  80-84	3.0
  75-79	2.5
  70-74	2.0
  50-69	1.5
  0-49	0.0

• Your grade will be weighted as follows.  More details about the course requirements are described in the Welcome Module.
  
  

  Self-Checks	10%
  Homework	15%
  Quizzes	50%
  Final Exam	25%

Homework: Homework will typically be due every Thursday night at 11 p.m. on Webassign. Homework is generally assigned a week prior to the due date.   Do your best to work on the homework a bit at a time throughout the week rather than leaving it all to the last minute.  Students may request a 3-day extension on homework with a small penalty to their grade.  (See Make-ups and Extensions below.)  In addition, each student may miss up to 30 homework points throughout the quarter without any penalty to their grade.

Quizzes: Every other Friday, you will complete an online quiz over the previous weeks' material. If you are able to do without assistance the Self-Checks, Pre-Checks, and Homework from the previous week, then you are prepared for the quiz. Additional problems from the Math 112 Exam Archive will be on offer if you want extra practice before the quiz.   Quizzes are open book/open notes.  You will be expected not to receive help from any other source during the quiz.   We will not grant extensions or make-ups on quizzes.  (See Make-ups and Extensions below.)

Final Exam: You will complete an in-person final exam on Saturday, March 12.  The exam will be cumulative, covering material from the entire quarter.  You will be allowed one 8.5x11-inch sheet of hand-written notes during the final.  You will be expected not to receive help from any other source during the exam.

Make-Ups and Extensions:  There are no make-up quizzes, but we will drop your two lowest quiz scores. If you miss a quiz for any reason (including illness or other emergency), that will count as one of your "drops."

If you have a medical or other emergency that prevents you from taking the final exam as scheduled, contact us as soon as possible to make other arrangements.

We will not grant extensions on Self-Checks, nor will we accept Self-Checks late.  Students may miss up to 10% (about a week's worth) of the total number of Self-Check points for the quarter without penalty to their grade.

Students may use the Request an Extension feature of WebAssign to request extensions on the homework (with a late penalty).  After the closing day for an assignment, WebAssign allows you to request an extension of 3 days.  You'll earn full credit for problems you answer correctly before the original due date, but any problems completed after the official closing will be assessed a 10% penalty.  In addition, you may miss up to 30 homework points throughout the quarter without any penalty to your grade.  

Resources for Students with Disabilities:  Your experience in this class is important to me. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please communicate your approved accommodations to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course.

If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are welcome to contact DRS at 206-543-8924 or uwdrs@uw.edu or disability@uw.edu. DRS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities and/or temporary health conditions. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you, your instructor(s) and DRS. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law.

Religious Accommodations: “Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request form."