MATH 214 Calculus of Several Variables A Great

MATH 214 Calculus of Several Variables A Great and Enjoyable Class!!!! WELCOME

South America

Education and Experience EDUCATION • Bs, Ms Universidad Central de Venezuela (Caracas, Venezuela) • Ph. D Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, New York) TEACHING AND RESEARCH Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (1 year) Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois (2 years) Universidad Central de Venezuela (10+ years) New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, New Jersey (1 year) Brigham Young University (8 years)

Education and Experience • At BYU, I have taught: • • • Math 334. Ordinary Differential Equs. Math 311. Num. Analysis Math 214. Multivariable Calculus. Math 511. Num. Soln. Of Partial Diff. Equs Math 343. Elementary Linear Algebra Math 521. Methods in Applied Mathematics • Research interest: • Numerical and Asymptotic Methods Applied to Linear and Nonlinear Partial Differential and Integral Equations • Wave Propagation: Acoustic, Electromagnetic, and Elastic Scattering.

Know My Family

BYU Mission The mission of Brigham Young University founded, supported, and guided by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is “To assist individuals in their quest for perfection and eternal life. “

Syllabus

Homework • You are strongly encouraged to work on homework problems everyday. You should be willing to put in at least three hours outside the classroom for each hour of class. • A lower time commitment is likely to lead to an average grade B-/C+ or lower. To achieve excellence, students may need to invest even more hours. • Late homework won’t be accepted. To make up for this, your lowest (weekly) homework grades will be dropped

Exams • The best way to prepare for the exams is to go over the homework problems and the examples worked in class (they constitute your best study guide) and then try to solve related problems that you haven’t seen before. • If you can reach the point where you can do fresh problems without help in all sections, I can anticipate that you will be able to successfully solve all problems on the midterms and final exam.

Make up exams and quizzes cannot be arranged except in case of an emergency or absence due to official university business. Exam and quizzes dates will be strictly enforced. According to the University Final Exam Policy: “Scheduled final examinations are to be administered in accord with the published Final Examination Schedule as to date, time, and place. They are not to be given or taken early. ”

Grading Homework Quizzes 15% 20% Midterms 40% (20% each) Final 25%

Levels of Learning • • • Level 1: Remember. Level 2: Understand. Level 3: Apply Level 4: Analyze Level 5: Evaluate Level 6: Create

Teaching and Learning Mathematics • Mathematics can be learned only by doing. • Don’t expect to read mathematics the way you read a novel. If you zip through a page in less than an hour you are probably going too fast. Linear Algebra Done Right by Sheldon Axler

Test Difficulty • Best advice: 1 Corinthians 10: 13 …God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it. Application to Math 214 …God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tested above that ye are able; but will with the exam also make a way for you to study hard, that ye may be able to obtain a good grade.

Motivation to Learn Love of Learning “The more I consider what learning is, the more I see it as a sacred privilege, an act of wonder. I believe that when we are learning we feel most alive. When we are learning we feel closest to God” Russ Osguthorpe, 1996

My Challenge Love of Learners “If we want to influence learners for good, we should not merely love to teach; we should love each person we teach. ” Teaching, No greater Call, 1999

Pres. G. B. Hinckley Here we are doing what is not done in any other major university of which I am aware. We are demonstrating that faith in the almighty can accompany and enrich scholarship in the secular. It is more than an experiment. It is an accomplishment.