Multivariable Calculus--Math 236
    Spring 2016
    MWF 10:30-11:20 -- SC 1314
    ( )

    OnCourse: where I post activities and less public course information, such as:

    • The slides and in-class work I show in class
    • Additional Course readings, if any
    • Study Guides
    • Background Questionnaire for you to fill out

    WeBWorK:

    • Daily assignments
    • Portions of each week's problem set

    The Honor Code

    • Wheaton's Honor Code
    • Wheaton's Description of Plagiarism

    Tips on Getting Through the First Week of Class

    Course Policies

    Syllabus

    Problem Sets

    • Suggestions for Reading a Math Book
    • A Description of Multi Problem Sets - How they work, expectations, etc.
    • General Guidelines for Homework Presentation
    • Due in February
    • Due in March
    • Due in April and May

    Projects

    • Description of Individual Project, along with intermediate and final due dates
    • Group Mini-projects will either be posted here or on OnCourse - I'll let you know.

    Technology

    • Etiquette for using computers during class
    • Link to instructions for downloading VPN software onto a Windows machine or a Mac: In order to use Mathematica off-campus (and also in order to use WeBWorK off-campus, at the moment), need to be able to act as if you are on-campus using Wheaton's server. (If the server this has you logging on to doesn't work, they told me to use vp2.wheatoncollege.edu instead of vp2.wheatonma.edu.)
    • We'll be dealing with a lot of 3 dimensional concepts. It can be helpful to be able to picture these, and graphing calculators aren't going to be enough.

      You will find the following options useful off and on throughout the semester.

      • Multivariable Calculus Exploration
      • Wolfram Alpha
      • Mathematica
    • The Multivariable Calculus Exploration applet is a very cool free on-line applet for graphing in 3D. It allows you to quickly graph up to four 3D surfaces on the same set of axes, look at the surfaces from different viewpoints, and then trace the movement of points along the surface, show a tangent plane at a point, and then look at various different lines related to multivariable differentiation -- all without calculating the planes or lines.
    • Wolfram Alpha: You probably have already used this on-line mathematical search engine.
    • Mathematica (beyond Wolfram Alpha) Will do alot of calculations for you, and allows you to do a lot of advanced graphing. On the other hand, it does not easily do what the Multivariable Calculus Exploration applet does, so they complement each other nicely.

      • Instructions for downloading Mathematica
      • Wolfram's Learning & Support Services has a lot of good information on using Mathematica, especially the "How Tos" part way down the page. The section on Calculus will give you a start.
      • Wolfram's documentation for Calculus using Mathematica is more comprehensive.
      • Since Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha are by the same people, you can experiment with typing in commands in everyday language and if Mathematica can figure out what you mean, it will do what you want and tell you the Mathematica command for next time. (This works better for basic Calculus concepts)
      • I have found googling for what I want to do very effective.
      • The folks at Mathematica have developed many interactive demonstrations of numerous multivariable concepts here. To engage with them, you may need to download the free Wolfram Mathematica player here.
      • This website has links to the above Mathematica demos as well as links to several more demos of multi concepts.

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

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