MAC 2241

Life Sciences Calculus I

Spring 2017

Professor:
Office:
Telephone:
Email:
Office hours:
Textbook:

Sherwin Kouchekian
CMC Room 368B
(813) 974-3795
skouchekian@usf.edu
MW 2:003:00 p.m. or by appointment
Biocalculus: Calculus, Probability, and Statistics for the Life Sciences,
by Stewart and Day.
Class Meets: MW 5:00 p.m.6:15 p.m. in CHE 303.
General: This course is part of the University of South Floridas Foundations of Knowledge and
Learning Core Curriculum. It is certified for Mathematics and Quantitative Reasoning and for the
following dimensions: Critical Thinking, Inquiry-based learning, Scientific Processes, and Quantitative Literacy. Students enrolled in this course will be asked to participate in the USF General
Education assessment effort. This might involve answering questions that measure quantitative
reasoning skills (but are not directly related to the course), responding to surveys, or participating
in other measurements designed to assess the FKL Core Curriculum learning outcomes.
Prerequisites and Course Description: C (2.0) or better in MAC 1114, or C (2.0) or better in
MAC 1147, or SAT Math score of 650 or better, or ACT Math score of 29 or better, or College-Level
Math CPT score of 90 or better, and knowledge of trigonometry. This course is intended to provide
the students with an understanding of the fundamental ideas of calculus regarding functions, limits,
differential calculus, and introduction to integration. Roughly speaking, we will cover Chapters 1
through 4 and part of Chapter 5 of the textbook. Be aware that the instructor reserves the right
for making any necessary adjustment to the syllabus during the course with adequate written notification to the students.
Homework Assignments: There will be homework assignments from the textbook after each
lecture. The homework assignments will not be collected or graded. However, the students are
strongly encouraged to work on their given problems as the most essential part of the learning
process. Homework assignments will be announced in class and posted on Blackboard.
Quizzes: There will be quizzes during this course. The lowest two graded quizzes will be dropped
and the rest will count for 20% of your final grade. All quizzes will be announced at least one day
before they are given. There will be no make-up quiz unless the student has a valid documented
excuse.
Exams: This course has three exams and they will count for 60% of your final grade. All exams
will be announced at least three days before they are given. There will be no makeup test given
after the scheduled test date unless the student has a valid documented excuse.
Final Exam: There is a comprehensive final exam on Monday, May 1, from 3:00 p.m.5:00 p.m.
The final exam will count for 20% of your final grade.
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Grading Scale: The final grade is based on your overall percentage according to the following
scale.
97 100 A+ ;

80 85 B ;

66 69 D+ ;

90 96 A ;

76 79 C+ ;

60 65 D ;

70 75 C ;

0 59 F .

86 89 B ;

Disability: Any student with a disability is encouraged to meet with the instructor privately during
the first week of class to discuss accommodations. The student must bring a current Memorandum
of Accommodations from the Office of Academic Support and Accommodations for Students with
Disabilities (SVC 1133). Exam accommodations through this Office require two weeks advance
notice.
Academic Integrity and Disruption of Academic Process: I expect the highest standard of
academic integrity from my students. Any cheating will result in a failing grade for the assignment or
test in question, and possibly for the course. Cheating may result in a grade of FF for the course and
may jeopardize your attendance at the University of South Florida. The university policy on Academic Dishonesty is explained at the website: http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0607/adadap.htm.
Attendance Policy: In general, students are expected to attend the classes regularly and participate in discussions. Although attendance does not count toward your grade, it will be a definite
factor in borderline cases. You are responsible for any material that you miss in class. Furthermore,
if a student fails to take an exam/quiz or fails to hand in an assignment on time, her/his score is
zero unless the reason for the failure can be verified by an official document. Also, Students who
anticipate the necessity of being absent due to the observation of a major religious holiday must
provide notice of the date in writing to the instructor by the second class meeting.
Retaining Exams: In order to demonstrate that a grade was incorrectly recorded, you should
keep all your returned exams and quizzes until you receive your final grade. Any unclaimed exams
will be kept until the next exam is given, after which they will be discarded.
Cell Phone and Calculator Policy: Please turn your cell phone off before you come into class.
Calculators or any other electronic devices are not allowed during quizzes or exams. However, a
student may use a scientific calculator for her/his homework assignment.
Tutoring: For extra help in this class and many of your other courses, please be sure to visit
Tutoring & Learning Services (LIB 206 and LIB 232) and the Writing Center in the Library. Free
tutoring in math, science, and more, as well as help with writing are available. For hours and
further information, call (813) 974-2713.

Emergency: In the event of an emergency, it may be necessary for USF to suspend normal
operations. During this time, USF may opt to continue delivery of instruction through methods
that include but are not limited to: Blackboard, Elluminate, Skype, and email messaging and/or
an alternate schedule. Its the responsibility of the student to monitor Blackboard site for each class
for course specific communication, and the main USF, College, and department websites, emails,
and MoBull messages for important general information.

Miscellaneous Policies & Guidelines:

You are encouraged to take notes and may tape the lectures, but neither your notes nor your
tapes are to be sold.
All unauthorized recordings of class are prohibited. Recordings that accommodate individual
student needs must be approved in advance and may be used for personal use during this
semester only; redistribution is prohibited.
The last day to withdraw from this course and receive a tuition refund is Friday, January
13. Students who have not registered or paid for this course by this date and time must stop
attending, unless the instructor has given written permission otherwise.
The last day to withdraw from this course and receive a grade of W is Saturday, March 25.
A grade of I indicates incomplete work and will only be assigned when most of the coursework has already been completed with a passing grade.
See the website http://www.ugs.usf.edu/catalogs/0607/gradetc.htm#i for further information.
SU Policy: Students who want to take this course for a grade of S-U (SatisfactoryUnsatisfactory) must sign the S-U Contract no later than the end of the third week of classes.
There will be no exceptions. For further information on S-U grades, please consult the undergraduate catalog. Note: Gordon Rule Math courses cannot be taken for an S-U grade.