MA 2051 B98 Course Information

Course goals; Grading; Projects; Staff; Help sessions

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Course goals

Bridging the gap between physical problems and their mathematical formulation by developing the skills of modeling, analysis, and interpretation,
Honing the skills of problem solving, synthesis, and group work you need for qualifying project work,
Reinforcing both mathematical ideas and manipulative skills from your calculus courses,
Learning to learn on your own.

This blend of activities will be much less cut and dried than most of the courses you have taken in the past.

Grading

The cut-off for final grades are the usual 90/80/70 average for A, B, and C, respectively. Your final average will be computed using the following weights,

Two group projects 25%

Homework 5%

Two one-hour exams 70%

provided the average of your tests scores is 70 or greater. If the average of your test scores is below 70 but no lower than 65, if you have acceptable scores on 80% of the homework, and if you have C or better grades on both projects, you will receive a C grade for the course.

To pass the course,

your test average must be 65 or greater,
you must have acceptable grades on 80% of the homework assignments,
you must have C or better grades on both projects.

Hour exams are scheduled as shown in the syllabus.

Homework assigned with a Friday or Monday lecture is due at the start of the following Tuesday's PLA session; Wednesday assignments are due the following Thursday. Excepting documented illness or prior notice of an official school activity, you must turn in your own homework. Late homework will not be accepted. One or two problems from each homework set will be graded, and your overall level of effort on the homework assignment will be considered as well.

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General project guidelines

Projects are open-ended problems to be solved in the teams that formed in your PLA section. Cooperative work that merges the contributions of all members of the team will produce the best results.

Suggested working style

Meet once to establish a mutual understanding of the problem and its requirements. Discuss possible solution approaches and agree upon one or two strategies. Assign tasks --- further research, testing a proposed approach, etc. --- and schedule a second meeting a day or two in the future.

Complete your individual assignments and bring appropriate documentation to the second meeting. Exchange information, evaluate the results, and plan your next steps: further work in one or more of the directions already begun, a revised approach, etc. Set a third meeting to which each person will bring his or her contribution to the final report in draft form.

Review the draft documents, incorporate any changes, edit carefully, and merge into a single professional report. Double check for errors before submitting.

Complete the Project Identification Form and Peer Evaluation Form as directed. Attach them to the front of your report, Project Identification Form on top. Submit the final report.

Report format

Write a clear, carefully constructed, concise report of your group's work. Your audience is your classmates.

Organize your report as follows:

Problem Statement - a concise statement of the problem you are solving and a summary of the outcome
Analysis

Methodology: a description of your analytical and/or numerical procedure(s), as appropriate
Model: a derivation of the model(s) and formulas you need; include diagram(s) with coordinate systems as appropriate
Results: an analysis of your analytic and numerical work as it relates to the problem you stated. Includes graphs, tables of data, or any other evidence that supports your results

Conclusions - a summary of your primary results, explaining clearly their relevance to the problem you stated.

Before you submit your report, attach to it the Project Identification Form and Peer Evaluation^M Form cover sheets with the Identification Form on top. Follow the instructions on those forms for completing them.

Do not put your names anywhere on the report! Your names should appear only on the Project Identification Form.

In the rare case that a team member does not contribute to completing a project, that individual's name should be omitted from the Project Identification Form.

Project evaluation

Your project will be evaluated anonymously by another team following the guidelines in the Project Peer Evaluation Form. Likewise, you will evaluate another team's project. (Anonymously means that evaluators will not know the identity of authors and vice versa.) Study the Evaluation Form so that you will be aware of its criteria as you write your report.

Your PLA will review all project report peer evaluations before those scores are recorded. Your PLA may revise an evaluation up or down, as judged appropriate.

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Staff

Lecturer: Paul Davis, SH 202D, 831-5212, pwdavis@wpi.edu
Go to office hours.

Teaching Assistant: Michael Johnson, SH 104, mrjohn@wpi.edu - Sections 1, 2, 9 at 8:00 a.m. in SH 204
Also offering help sessions.

Peer Learning Assistants:

Malinda Danforth malinda@wpi.edu - Section 5 at 9:00 a.m. in SH 204

Sakis Deccossard sakis@wpi.edu - Section 6 at 2:30 p.m. in SH 204

Greg Noetscher gregn@wpi.edu - Section 8 at 2:30 p.m. in SH 203

Beth Schweinsberg speakie@wpi.edu - Section 3 at 12:30 in SH 204.

Casey Richardson caseyr@wpi.edu - Offering help sessions.

Laura Cooper ljcooper@wpi.edu - Sections 7, 12 at 9:00 a.m. in SH 304

Vikki Tsefrikas vtsefrik@wpi.edu - Offering help sessions.

Brian Ball brball@wpi.edu - Sections 4 and 10 at 12:30 p.m. in SH 203

Jon Kennedy gauss@wpi.edu - Section 11 at 2:30 p.m. in SH 304

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Help sessions

Mondays

8:00-11:00 a.m., SH 104, Mike Johnson
5:30-6:30 p.m., SH 204, Vikki Tsefrikas (She may also be able to help with MA 2051 from 4:30 to 5:30 in the same room if she is not busy with MASH.)
6:30-8:00 p.m., SH 204, Casey Richardson

Wednesdays

8:00-11:00 a.m., SH 104, Mike Johnson
6:30-8:00 p.m., SH 204, Casey Richardson (Special project help session Wed/Dec 9)

Thursdays

5:30-6:30 p.m., SH 204, Vikki Tsefrikas (She may also be able to help with MA 2051 from 4:30 to 5:30 in the same room if she is not busy with MASH.) Note: no MA 2051 help session Thurs/Dec 10

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Revised 1015 12/3/98