- Course Director: Dr. Varvara Nika
- Class Times: Tuesdays, 7:00 pm – 10:00 pm
- Class Location: Click here for visual directions.
- Email: vnika@yorku.ca
Prerequisites: You must have already passed Math 1506.
Real Prerequisites: Before you take this course, you must have a decent foundation in working with functions and using algebra to solve multistep equations. These equations can involve algebraic expressions such as the quadratic formula, the square root, complex fractions, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic components. You should be comfortable using graphs of functions to answer questions. You should know how to determine if two algebraic expressions are equivalent. You should be able to work with trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions and solve trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic equations. You should be comfortable with derivatives, both the rules and the applications, since this was covered in Math 1506.
If your knowledge is lacking in some of the things mentioned above, you will find it difficult to succeed in this course.
Student Hours: If you have math- or course-related questions, please use the Math 1507 Discord server or attend my office hours via Zoom, Mondays, 7:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Please email me ahead of time.
Tutorials: via Discord: https://discord.gg/Q4cTjVWNpN A schedule of when live TA help is TBD.
Course Web Page: https://eclass.yorku.ca/eclass/, You will need your Passport York to log in. Course outline, announcements, and important notifications will be posted there. Several platforms will be used in this course (e.g., eClass, Zoom, Crowdmark, etc.) through which students will interact with the course materials, the course director, and TAs, as well as with one another.
Course Format: Although this course is delivered in person, I have scheduled Zoom sessions just in case there is a necessary need to do one or a few online synchronous lectures. Lectures and classwork will be made available within one or two days of the class ending.
Textbook: Calculus For Biology and Medicine, 4th Edition, Neuhauser, Roper, ISBN-13: 9780137561612. See the eClass page for information about how to purchase the textbook and the accompanying MyLab software which will help you succeed in this course.
Technical Requirements: There are technical requirements for students to be able to complete this course. You need a reliable high-speed internet connection to attend lectures via Zoom or take tests or exams using eClass. For more information, see:
- https://lthelp.yorku.ca/student-guide-to-moodle
- https://yorku.zoom.us/(see the guides at the bottom)
- https://uit.yorku.ca/students-getting-started/
- and Student Guide to eLearning
- To check your internet connection, you can run tests like Speedtest.
Expectations:
Email: Use email for confidential matters, or to book an appointment with me. I will check my emails during normal business hours and will respond to every email I receive within one to three business days.
Communications: Make sure you are subscribed to Course Announcements in eClass! You are responsible for being actively and regularly on eClass to ensure that you have the latest information about the course.
Time Management: For a 3-credit course, the expected workload is 3 hours of in-class time each week with an additional 6 hours of work per week in preparation, practice problems, and assignments.
If you find you are working less than 5 hours a week, then you are probably not devoting enough time to the course. If you find you are working more than 10 hours a week, then you might be missing some prerequisites for the course.
Also see: https://www.yorku.ca/scld/learning-skills/time-management/time-management-tools-to-stay-focused/
Preparing for this Course: Students taking this course must ensure that their mathematical skills are adequate for the course. Some of the students who enroll in this course each year drop the course or fail. Yet many of these students are smart and hard-working. However, they did not succeed because their preparation, mostly in the Real Prerequisites described earlier, was inadequate.
Unprepared students should go to the eClass page and go to the Course Textbooks section.
If you take the course without adequate preparation, you will waste your money and your time, you'll fail or get a low mark, and you will be frustrated and think you are "bad at math" - but really, you're just not prepared. Even if you're "bad at math", if you take the course after you are prepared, you'll get a good mark, learn something, and even enjoy the course, and, when it's over, you won't be "bad at math" after all!
