Course Syllabus

Professor: Elena Fuchs                                                                                                                                          Email: efuchs@math.ucdavis.edu
In person office hour location: 3109 MSB 
Office hours: In person: Mondays 12-1PM PST, on zoom (https://ucdavis.zoom.us/j/4626838579?pwd=eElOcHM1Z1UzYk1nR0FQV2wrN254dz09Links to an external site.) Mondays 7-8PM PST

TA: 

TA email:

Textbook: 

Lectures:

Lectures will be in Young 184, MWF 10:00-10:50AM. We will utilize lecture capture and audio/course content of lecture will be posted on Canvas. If you are feeling sick, please do not come to class or office hours. You may watch the lecture video from home and, if you have to be absent for a long time, we can arrange a meeting my zoom to go over questions. If you test positive for COVID, please stay home and follow CDC guidelines upon your return.

Homeworks, Exams, and Grading:  

Homework will be posted on Canvas in Assignments every Wednesday. It will be posted as a pdf file with the text of all the problems included (so you do not need the book to view the problems). Homework is due the following Wednesday at 11:59PM, submitted as a file on Canvas.

Discussions: There will be a worksheet at every discussion section that you are expected to work on (and will help you learn the course material). It will also be posted on Canvas as an assignment. By Friday of every week you should scan in your work on the worksheet to submit on Canvas, and it will be given 1 or 0 points, depending on whether the work reflects about 40 minutes worth of working. You should be able to achieve that just by going to discussion, and in the unfortunate case that you miss discussion you can set a timer and work for about 40 minutes on it on your own.

Exams: All exams are closed book, and closed note. Only scientific calculators (no graphing capabilities) are allowed. Always bring you student ID.

We will have two midterms in our class:

Midterm 1 will be on Friday, October 20th, 10-10:50AM in Young 184.

Midterm 2 will be on Friday, November 17th, 11-11:50AM in Young 184.

Our final exam is scheduled by the registrar to take place on Monday, December 11th, 3:30-5:30PM in Young 184.

Your grade for the course is determined as follows:

• 20% for homework
• 20% for midterm 1
• 20% for midterm 2
• 40% for the final exam

There are generally no makeup exams. If there is a very good reason (sickness, severe injury, etc) why you cannot be at an exam, you need to know Prof. Fuchs know ASAP and always before the exam. We will work out a solution but as a rule of thumb, it is your responsibility to make all your exams and scheduling other activities, etc, during our exams, especially the final, is not a valid reason not to come. Cheating on the exam in any way results in a minimum penalty of a 0 on that exam and a referral to OSSJA.

Basic Plan:

As far as the book goes, we will strive to cover most material from Chapters 2-4 and 7-12. For a slightly more  detailed syllabus as suggested by the department of mathematics, please click here. More detailed descriptions of each lecture, as well as corresponding textbook sections, will be posted on Canvas.

FAQ:

Q: Will you post solutions to homework and exams/quizzes?

A: Yes

Q: Will you post practice problems for the exams?

A: Yes

Q: Can we have a cheat sheet for the exams?

A: Yes, more details to come closer to the exams.

Q: I have a question about the wait list or enrolling in the course. Who do I email?

A: Please email Math Student Services at studentservices@math.ucdavis.edu. If you email the professor, response will be delayed and your email may get buried among the dozens of daily emails that your professor gets.

Q: I have a question about the course and it cannot wait till office hours. What do I do?

A: Unless it is something you need to discuss privately with the professor, start a discussion on Canvas. If you email the professor or the TA, we will either be late to respond or will direct you to start a discussion on Canvas. This will benefit both you and other students. The TA and the professor both check discussions regularly. A good idea is to also first make sure your question is not answered either in this syllabus, or in a discussion already started on Canvas.

Q: I'm hoping to get a letter of recommendation from the professor. How do I do that?

A: My policy is I only write letters for students about whom I can say substantially more than "this student got a *insert grade here* in my class and here is how they did on exams." Such a letter is not beneficial to you as a student, as that information is already in your transcript. Employers and graduate/research programs expect letters to add information to your file, not repeat information already there. If you are thinking you may want a letter from me (or any other professor), a good rule of thumb is to show up to office hours regularly (not just once) so I (and other professors) can get to know you better. If you feel that I really do know you better than most of the students in your class, and I agree to write a letter for you, please have ready a list of where you are applying along with deadlines, and make sure to remind me to submit your letter in time.

Q: How do I study for this course?

A: Of course, you should be attending all lectures and discussions. Ideally, look over material to be covered in class ahead of time, and attend office hours with some questions both from lecture and homework in mind. Outside of that, practice, practice, practice. Instead of watching videos of people doing problems, do them yourself. Get help if you need it until you get it. I'd say you officially get a concept when you can solve at least 3 problems in a row on that topic with no help at all.