May 25 - Course grades were posted yesterday. If you want to know your Exam #4 and Final Exam scores, just e-mail me and I will tell you.

May 12 - Which trigonometric identities should you memorize? You should know the identities in the book on pages 590 and 591. All other identities that might be needed will be given on the back side of the exam.

May 10 - The Silly Season is upon us! A few words are in order in commemoration of the event. First, if your grade is in desperate straits and you are looking for a miracle, do not count on extra credit. It says on the syllabus that there is no extra credit, so don't ask for it. Second, the final exam is comprehensive, which is to say it will cover the material on the assignment sheet. All I can add is that the final exam is multiple choice and will consist of probably 40 questions. A calculator is fine for the final, even a graphing calculator. You don't need to show work on the final, because again it's multiple choice. You either guess right or you guess wrong. Finally, if you want to get old exams back, I will be in my office on Tuesday, 4:15 to 6:30 pm. As for Exam #4, that will be available at the Newtown testing center starting on Monday sometime in the early afternoon.

May 2 - The assignment sheet has been updated one last time, and is now complete!

April 30 - Exam #3 scores have been sent out. The exam and its key are in Resources.

April 17 - New office hours: Tuesday ~ 4:15 - 6:30 pm, Wednesday ~ 5:15 - 6:30 pm, Thursday ~ 5:00 - 6:30 pm

April 13 - A slight change of plans: the window of opportunity for taking Exam #3 I'm shifting slightly to April 16 - April 22. I'll have the exam at the Newtown testing center by around 11:15 AM on Tuesday, but I'm not sure how speedily the staff will have the exam sent to the satellite campuses. Maybe the same day, maybe the next day. The staff works in mysterious ways.

April 12 - The assignment sheet has been updated with assignments for sections 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, and 7.1. And again: for Exam #3 no graphing calculator will be allowed, but a scientific calculator with no graphing capability is fine.

April 2 - The assignment sheet has been updated with assignments for sections 5.5 and 6.1.

April 1 - Exam #2 scores have been sent out at last. The exam and its key are in Resources.

March 31 - There is a new link below, Notes, which not surprisingly leads to some notes of my own making on selected topics that I think need further elucidation beyond what the book supplies. In the March 29 announcement I mentioned that the exercises in section 4.5 must be done a certain way without a graphing calculator, and to help clarify what exactly that way is, I have some notes for that section. I'll be adding to the notes now and again, so check back frequently for updates. Getting the notes launched is in large part why it's taking so long to get the Exam 2 scores out, because I didn't want to spring the news about how I wanted section 4.5 exercises to be done at the last minute when Exam 3 was upon us. But Exam 2 scores are going to be sent out by e-mail imminently!

March 29 - Section 4.5 has many exercises requiring that a rational function be graphed without a graphing calculator or plotting lots of points. You're supposed to find asymptotes, intercepts, and so on in order to produce a qualitatively correct sketch using only a minimal number of points as guides. Thus, for Exam #3 no graphing calculator will be allowed! You can have a scientific calculator, but it cannot have a graphing capability.

March 25 - Spring break at BCCC is coming to a close. I will be in a position soon to gather everyone's Exam #2 and begin the grading process. Just be aware that, generally speaking, the class "stops" during spring break just as it does for a traditional class that convenes on campus, so while I did strive to keep up with e-mail correspondence and answering any questions that have arisen during the break, I did not really "work" during the break. But the clock starts ticking again tomorrow, and things will begin to roll again!

March 14 - The assignment sheet has been updated to include assignments for sections 4.5, 4.6, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4.

March 3 - The assignment sheet has been updated to include assignments for sections 4.3 and 4.4.

March 1 - Exam #1 scores have been sent out via BCCC e-mail!

February 25 - Exam #1 and its key are now on display in Resources (link below). Tomorrow the last of the exams should be in my possession so I can start the joyous grading process.

February 17 - Exam #1 should be at the Newtown testing center by around 1:00 pm or so on February 18. Work must be shown for word problems, including an algebraic equation! No formula sheet is allowed.

February 15 - Exam #1 will be up to 50% comprised of material from sections 1.2, 2.2, and 2.3 (including the supplementary exercises mentioned a few days earlier), which is to say these sections will be heavily emphasized. Also there will be only one or two problems that will ask for a graph, because graphs do little to prepare students for calculus. Graphs are a nice thing to look at once in awhile to determine how to tackle a problem, but making them the focus of attention is one of the things that is utterly destroying calculus education in modern times. Finally, the old exams found under Resources (link below) were constructed using a different textbook, so beware of relying on them overmuch in preparing for exams this semester.

February 12 - The assignment sheet has been updated to reflect supplementary exercises for the particularly important sections 1.2, 2.2, and 2.3. These exercises, along with their answers, can be found in Resources (link below).

February 4 - The assignment sheet has been updated up to section 4.2.

January 27 - The assignment sheet (link below) has been updated to reflect assignments for sections 1.1-1.6, 2.1-2.5, 5.1, and 3.1. The assignments for all other sections are currently presented in light gray, which means they are "provisional" assignments that are likely to change in the near future.

January 23 - Orientation for Section E59: Start by reading the syllabus (link below). Then take a look-see at the assignment sheet (link also below). The first exam will be available to take at the Newtown testing center from February 18 to February 23 and will cover sections 1.1 - 1.6 and 2.1 - 2.5, so the assignments for those sections should be done by then. I'll give 2 hours to complete Exam 1, and the testing center will insist on verifying your identification before allowing you to take the exam. If you want to take the exam at the lower or upper county campuses you'll have to let me know well ahead of time, because it'll take at least an extra day for things to get to those places. As for the remaining exams, see the syllabus for dates and sections. The dates of availability for the exams are fairly firm, but check this website for possible changes before heading to campus to take the exam. Also take note: the lower and upper county testing centers have more restrictive hours than the Newtown testing center! See for yourself: Lower/Upper County Hours & Newtown Hours. Know the hours a testing center is open before you go, because they may change. Exams are printed on a single sheet of paper and are completed with a blue book that the testing center supplies.
     As soon as the window of availability for an exam closes I put the exam and its key up on the website under Resources (link below), so there is no possibility of taking an exam late! I do this because I want everyone to learn about any mistakes they may have made on an exam as soon as possible. A missed midterm exam is given a score of zero. As stated on the syllabus I drop your lowest midterm exam score (but not your final exam score), so if you get a zero on a midterm then that will be your dropped score. Only one exam may be dropped! Do not e-mail me asking to take an exam days after the deadline. I shall respond with electronic laughter, or possibly there will be no response at all.
     It can take awhile to get your exam score, which I only send by e-mail via your BCCC address. By "awhile" I mean almost 2 weeks from the time you take the exam. This is because I adjust exam scores based on the performance of the class as a whole, but I can't do that until I have all exams in my hands and graded. So if you take Exam 1 on February 18, understand that I won't have all exams back from all testing centers until February 26, and then I've got other classes keeping me busy that could protract the grading process out to March 1 or so. That's a worst-case scenario, but the thing is I will not send out unadjusted scores that may be significantly different than the final adjusted score.
     As stated in the syllabus, use of MyMathLab (MML) is optional but may be helpful. The course ID is erickson98941. If you have questions, send an e-mail! There may also be access to tutors in MML, but I can't swear to it. Also a solutions manual is available via MML, as well as an electronic version of the book.
     In Resources there is to be found exams from past terms, along with their keys. They should help shed light on what my exams generally look like, more or less. The exams are based on the homework, so if you do the homework thoroughly you should be well prepared. Do not rely too much on the old exams, though, because they're based on a different textbook that the department no longer uses for Math 125, and so the material is going to be arranged somewhat differently.
     If you don't get a response to an e-mail, don't assume you're being ignored. Your e-mail could for some reason have been shunted automatically to a spam folder, or perhaps the delivery simply failed. Also I don't necessarily respond to messages that seem not to require a response.
     Overall I try to keep a course like this as self-paced as reasonably possible, without too many deadlines or other nuisances that tend to defeat the purpose of an online class. This concludes the Orientation.

January 19 - The section E59 syllabus is now available (link below). Also, the assignment sheet has been updated to reflect assignments for the new textbook, at least for chapter 1. As noted on the syllabus, if you're going to use MyMathLab the Course ID is erickson98941.

January 11 - An Orientation will appear here in about 10 days or so. In the meantime, note the change in the textbook above. The only thing I require, at a minimum, is that you have the Bittinger textbook (either in paper or electronic form). Thus, if you only want to get a hardbound copy of the textbook at Amazon or wherever, you can be sure that no other purchases would be mandated. The other option is to get only access to MyMathLab (MML), which harbors an electronic version of the book as well as a student solution manual. Or you can get both. The college bookstore offers a package with both a paper version of the book (loose-leaf and abridged) as well as MML access. Note: the section E59 syllabus is not yet available.

May 15 - There is no class tomorrow (May 16), since we have finished everything on the assignment sheet.

May 2 - The assignment sheet has been updated one last time, and is now complete!

April 30 - Exam #3 and its key are in Resources.

April 17 - New office hours: Tuesday ~ 4:15 - 6:30 pm, Wednesday ~ 5:15 - 6:30 pm, Thursday ~ 5:00 - 6:30 pm

April 12 - The assignment sheet has been updated with assignments for sections 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6, and 7.1. And again: for Exam #3 no graphing calculator will be allowed, but a scientific calculator with no graphing capability is fine.

April 1 - There is a new link below, Notes, which not surprisingly leads to some notes of my own making on selected topics that I think need further elucidation beyond what the book supplies. In the March 29 announcement I mentioned that the exercises in section 4.5 must be done a certain way without a graphing calculator, and to help clarify what exactly that way is, I have some notes for that section. I'll be adding to the notes now and again, so check back frequently for updates. Also, Exam #2 and its key are now in Resources.

March 29 - Section 4.5 has many exercises requiring that a rational function be graphed without a graphing calculator or plotting lots of points. You're supposed to find asymptotes, intercepts, and so on in order to produce a qualitatively correct sketch using only a minimal number of points as guides. Thus, for Exam #3 no graphing calculator will be allowed! You can have a scientific calculator, but it cannot have a graphing capability.

March 14 - The assignment sheet has been updated to include assignments for sections 4.5, 4.6, 5.2, 5.3, and 5.4.

March 13 - Due to the electrical clown circus that caused yesterday's class to be canceled, Exam #2 will have to wait until March 26. There's still a little material we need to cover in preparation for the exam, after all. The class will have to be made up at some point, and I'm looking at Thursday, May 16, as being most likely (it's a make-up day on the academic calendar).

March 3 - The assignment sheet has been updated to include assignments for sections 4.3 and 4.4.

February 15 - Exam #1 will be up to 50% comprised of material from sections 1.2, 2.2, and 2.3 (including the supplementary exercises mentioned a few days earlier), which is to say these sections will be heavily emphasized. Also there will be only one or two problems that will ask for a graph, because graphs do little to prepare students for calculus. Graphs are a nice thing to look at once in awhile to determine how to tackle a problem, but making them the focus of attention is one of the things that is utterly destroying calculus education in modern times. Finally, the old exams found under Resources (link below) were constructed using a different textbook, so beware of relying on them overmuch in preparing for exams this semester.

February 12 - The assignment sheet has been updated to reflect supplementary exercises for the particularly important sections 1.2, 2.2, and 2.3. These exercises, along with their answers, can be found in Resources (link below). Also the syllabus has been updated with the correct sections that each exam (including next week's Exam #1) will cover.

February 4 - The assignment sheet has been updated up to section 4.2.

January 27 - The assignment sheet (link below) has been updated to reflect assignments for sections 1.1-1.6, 2.1-2.5, 5.1, and 3.1. The assignments for all other sections are currently presented in light gray, which means they are "provisional" assignments that are likely to change in the near future.

January 11 - Note the change in the textbook above. The only thing I require, at a minimum, is that you have the Bittinger textbook (either in paper or electronic form). Thus, if you only want to get a hardbound copy of the textbook at Amazon or wherever, you can be sure that no other purchases would be mandated. The other option is to get only access to MyMathLab (MML), which harbors an electronic version of the book as well as a student solution manual. Or you can get both. The college bookstore offers a package with both a paper version of the book (loose-leaf and abridged) as well as MML access.