Instructor: Christopher Hanusa -- office LN 2233 -- email chanusa@math.binghamton.edu.
TA: Lucas Rusnak -- office LN 2410E -- email rusnak@math.binghamton.edu.
Meeting Times: MWF 3:30-4:30 in LN G335 and Thu 2:50-4:15 in AP 015
Web Site: http://www.math.binghamton.edu/chanusa/courses/356/07_Spr/.
Course Discussion Board: on Blackboard

Textbook: A First Course in Mathematical Modeling by Giordano, Weir, and Fox (3rd edition)

This class covers: Chapters 1-7 plus sections of Chapters 8-10 from the book plus additional material. (For more information, see topics covered.)

Homework Policy:
      DO IT! Homework will be collected (mostly) every week on Mondays before class at 3:30. Each homework assignment along with its due date will be posted on the homework page the previous week.
      It is important to learn how to express yourself in the language of mathematics. To receive full homework credit, you need to show your work and explain how you did the problem. This is the difference between an Answer and a Solution. It should be obvious to the person reading the homework how you went about doing the problem. This will involve writing out explanations for your work in complete sentences. Imagine that you need an example to help refresh your memory for another class in six months!
      In many homework assignments, there will likely be a question that you need to use computer software to solve. In such cases, I expect you to submit a copy of your relevant input and output, along with an explanation of how what you have submitted answers the question.
      There will be no late homework allowed. If you are not planning to be in class, let me know and get it to me beforehand. This is your responsibility.
      I will drop the lowest of the homeworks since unexpected personal business or forgetfulness is bound to occur sometime this quarter.

Your Collaboration Grade:
      Mathematical Modeling is a useful skill out in the real world. With this in mind, class time will be taken to work in groups to analyze and discuss some real-world examples from the book. You will be expected to be actively invovled in these group discussions. At the end of the group discussion period, there will be a time for class discussion, where some number of groups present their findings to the class. Presentations may include writing relevant information on the board, explaining your solution, and answering any questions your fellow students or I may have.
      I expect that the role of presenter will shift between group members throughout the semester. In order to receive full participation credit, you must be involved in the discussions and make at least two presentations for your group during the semester. I reserve the right to call on certain group members to present for their group.
      During lectures, I will also prompt the class with questions related to the material I am presenting. You can increase your participation grade by responding intelligently to these prompts and actively participating in class.

Study Groups:
      It is useful to form study groups to work on homework. At the beginning of the semester, the problems will seem easy enough to plug and chug on your own, but as the quarter progresses the questions become quite complex indeed.
      Study groups good. Copying solutions bad. When a group works on a problem, everyone can participate. But when you write up the answers to the problems, write it up in your own way. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, if you copy solutions between group members, this constitutes cheating.
      Study groups have several advantages:

1. You can practice and learn how to solve more problems in less time (doing as many problems as possible is the key to success),
2. The best way to really learn something is to explain it to someone else (misunderstandings that you never knew you had will appear under someone else's questioning),
3. No two people solve the same problem the same way; in a group, you may discover new and more efficient ways to solve the same problem,
4. seeing that others also struggle with this material helps to put your own level of understanding in a better perspective and will hopefully reduce some of your anxiety,
5. the difficulty of the homework assignments is made under the assumption that you will be working in groups.

Term-Long Report:
      In addition to the homeworks, you will be working in a group of two to three students, where you will use the techniques from class to model a real-life situation of your choosing. More information can be found here.

Exams:
      There will be two exams during the quarter that are a class period long. No calculators or study aides are allowed (or are necessary). There will be no make-up exam except in the case of a documented emergency. In the event of an unavoidable conflict with the midterm (an athletic meet, wedding, funeral, etc...), you must notify me at least one week before the date of the exam so that we can arrange for you to take the exam BEFORE the actual exam date.

Grading Scheme:

• Homework: 20%
• Collaboration: 10%
• Term-Long Report and Presentation: 20% + 10%
• Each exam: 20%

     Lucas's Office Hours: Lucas will hold regular office hours this semester on Fridays from 12:30 to 1:30 in his office, LN 2410E. Lucas will hold extra office hours before each exam.

     Chris's Office Hours: Chris will hold regular office hours this semester on Tuesdays from 3:50 - 4:50pm in his office, LN 2233, and on Fridays from 2:20 - 3:20pm in the Maple lab, AAG002. If these times are not convenient, you can set up an appointment to meet with him some other time. Contact Chris by e-mail at chanusa@math.binghamton.edu with some times that you are free. Chris's schedule this semester can be found here.

     Cheating: CHEATING WILL NOT BE TOLERATED! Any acts of cheating (including plagiarism) will be taken very seriously. If you cheat, you will receive a zero for the assignment and I will report you to the Academic Honesty Committee. If you cheat twice, you will receive a zero for the class. Please do realize that working together on homework is not cheating.