As you probably found in Calculus 1, mastering Calculus consists mainly of mastering the ideas, not merely techniques or skills. That being said, there are skills that must be mastered with each new topic, in order to put the ideas to full use. Thus your homework each week will consist of both some problems practicing the new techniques and some problems emphasizing the concepts and putting ideas together. These problems will be divided into two types of homework assignments: WeBWorK and problem sets.

• WeBWorK: In order to keep up with the new material introduced daily, it's best to practice the new ideas and to get immediate feedback. Fortunately, we are now able to do that, through the website WeBWorK. (Both your username and your default password are your Wheaton id (wxxxxxxxx; the lowercase `w' matters.) For each section that we cover, you will be assigned several of these problems - you should do each section's problems as we complete that section, although there will only be one due date per week to allow for a little flexibility and to minimize bureacracy. That due date is generally Wednesday at 7:00pm.
• Problem Sets: In addition to these on-line problems, you will have more traditional problem sets that (generally) consist of more conceptual problems, to help you come to a deeper understanding of the material, and to give you the opportunity to practice presenting your work clearly. The problem sets will also be due once a week, every Thursday at 1:00pm (the beginning of lab).

  Mathematics in the real world is usually done as a combination of group and individual efforts. Thus it is important that you are able both to work on your own and to communicate complicated ideas to others. For that reason, your weekly (traditional) Problem Sets will alternate between being done individually and in groups of two. The WeBWorK assignments will always be individual.

  As with the WeBWork assignments, you should be working on the Problem Sets throughout the week as they represent a week's worth of learning.

  Consult the Guidelines for Homework Presentation for information on how your Problem Sets should look.

• Don't worry -- just because you have two sets of problems due each week does not mean you have twice the homework I would otherwise assign-- I have worked hard to keep the number of problems roughly equal to what I assigned when I have assigned only traditional handwritten problem sets.
• Make sure to check the assignments on the web each week, as they are likely to be adjusted as our syllabus shifts somewhat.
• For the individual problem sets, you may consult with other people in the class or work alone. If you choose to work with others, the final result must reflect your own understanding, word choice, and work. See the last couple pages of the course policies, on the Honor Code, for more details.
• For the group problem sets, work on every problem before your group meets. Do NOT divide the problems up among members ofyour group Again, see the last couple pages of the course policies, on the Honor Code, for more details. Points on the group homework will be based on each person's honest assessment of the effort and contribution made by each member.
• The final copy of each group problem set should be written by a primary author. On each group problem set, make a note of who the primary author is by putting a star next to that person's name. Although I hope the groups will change from week to week, you should be primary author about every other group problem set. Note: The members of a group should contribute equally to each problem. The only extra work the primary author is responsible for is copying over the work the group has already produced.
• In the problem sets, there may occasionally be links to supplementary exercises - please don't forget to do those.
• Please ask for help when you need it! A lot goes on in class, and it would be surprising if you understood everything the first time around. Also, of course, everyone learns differently; in office hours, I can tailor my explanations to you (or at least, to a smaller group). So please come to my office hours whether you're getting stuck on one problem, or at the first sign of feeling completely lost. There will also be tutors ready and willing to help in the Kollett Center -- this is a great place to go if you occasionally need help with a step or two on your homework. If you find yourself asking for help with every question, or needing 10 minutes of attention at a time, then you will be much better off coming to office hours.

Janice Sklensky
Wheaton College
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Science Center, Room 1306
Norton, Massachusetts 02766-0930
TEL (508) 286-3973
FAX (508) 285-8278
jsklensk@wheatonma.edu