Course Syllabus

The course syllabus contains the policies and important dates for Math 220 this term. If you are confused about anything in the syllabus, please don't hesitate to let the instructor know.

Course Details

Professor My name is Andy Schultz, and my preference is that you address me by my first name (no title necessary). My office is on the fourth floor of the Science Center, room W408. Office hours will be held in (or near) my office at the following times

You are highly encouraged to attend office hours, and you never need an appointment to do so. If these office hours don't fit with your schedule, let me know so that I can either adjust when "official" office hours are held or set up an appointment to help you outside of office hours. Please come to my office or send me an email if you ever want to discuss material from the class or ask about homework problems!

You can contact me at . Though I'm always happy to receive emails from you with questions or concerns about the course, I can't guarantee that I'll be able to promptly reply to emails late at night or over the weekend. If you do contact me by email, please be sure to follow standard email etiquette. In particular, please make sure you include a greeting and signature and avoid abbreviations. If you're contacting me to ask about a problem, please be sure to specify what the problem asks (as opposed to asking something like "I can't get problem 2 and need your help").

Text The course is centered around Introduction to Probability by Blitzstein and Hwang. We'll be using the first edition, which has ISBN-13 number 978-1-4665-7559-2. There is also a 2nd edition of this text which you can use if you prefer. (I've selected the first edition because it is typically cheaper and still readily available.) Students should treat the book as a helpful reference when attempting to digest lectures. When going through the text on your own, remember that mathematical reading is an active process; it's a good idea to keep some scrap paper on hand so you can perform calculations that the text leaves out, and you shouldn't be discouraged if it takes a few attempts at a passage to understand precisely what the text is saying.

Online resources You'll be able to access homework assignments, lecture summaries and copies of quizzes online through the course webpage at http://palmer.wellesley.edu/~aschultz/f22/math220.

Mask policy We will practice a mask optional policy this semester. Masks are not required but respected. The instructor will not be wearing a mask to begin, but may later choose to mask at various times for personal reasons. As a class, we will practice grace and understanding of people's individual choices in our classroom space.

Expectations

Prerequisites You are expected to have completed multivariable calculus before taking this class. In particular, you should already been familiar with the basic theory of infinite series and integration in 2 or 3 dimensions, as well as partial derivatives. If you are interested in brushing up on these skills, see the professor for additional help.

In-class expectations Your engaged presence is expected in classroom lectures. While the professor is in charge of determining what content is covered during a class period, students share the responsibility of directing lectures and discussion sections so each is as clear as possible. In particular, students should feel comfortable stopping the instructor to ask him to repeat a particular exposition, to present a concrete example of an abstract concept, or to explain a confusing concept in a new way. Classroom time is there for the benefit of students, so should be treated as an interactive resource.

Attendance Mathematics requires that a student understand one concept before moving on to the next, and since our course moves at a fast pace it is critical that you attend each and every class. If you are going to miss any classes this term, please let the instructor know as soon as possible. More than 1 absence could negatively impact your final grade. I do not tabulate absences and use them in determining your grade in the course.

With that said, it's silly to pretend we aren't in the midst of a serious public health crisis. This means that there will inevitably be some students who have to miss class because they are covid-positive. If a student misses a lecture, they should solicit notes from someone who was in attendance. (If needed, the instructor can help facilitate this process; if this is the case, it is the student's responsibility to notify the instructor that they will need help securing a copy of the notes.)

Effort Many students have the impression that "understanding the material" means instantly knowing how to do problems assigned in the class. On the contrary, most students find they don't truly understand the course material until they have struggled through several attempts at solving problems or understanding concepts. You are expected to exert a good amount of effort in working through the course material, and you shouldn't be discouraged if a certain topic remains elusive when you first encounter it: try some suggested problems, go to office hours, and ask your instructor or friends for help when you need it. The typical student will need to put in between 8 and 10 hours per week on the assigned problem sets. If you find you are consistently spending more than 12 hours on problem sets, please discuss this with the professor so he can help you manage the time you spend on this class more effectively.

Academic Integrity You are expected to read and understand the college's Honor Code. Incidents where academic integrity have been compromised will be dealt with severely. Although most students have a good feel for what constitutes a violation of the Honor Code, for this class you will also need to be familiar with the instructor's policy on homework collaboration. Please be sure to thoroughly read and understand the section on homework below to avoid an inadvertent violation of the Honor Code.

Late submissions Students are expected to submit their work according to the deadlines posted with assessments. It is the instructor's responsibility to ensure that assessments are made available to students in a timely fashion so that they have an opportunity to engage with those assessments under an appropriate time frame. In general, this means the instructor should post homeworks 7 days before they are due so that students have an extended period of time to work on problems. (As a corollary: students should begin their homework problem sets well in advance of the deadline.)

Students can submit one homework set late during the term; that late problem set should be turned in without 72 hours of the original deadline. If a student cannot complete their homework because of an illness, they should let the instructor know as soon as possible so that appropriate accommodations can be made.

Accommodations If you have a disability or condition, either long-term or temporary, and need reasonable academic adjustments in this course, please contact Disability Services to get a letter outlining your accommodation needs, and submit that letter to the instructor. You should request accommodations as early as possible in the semester, or before the semester begins, since some situations can require significant time for review and accommodation design. If you need immediate accommodations, please arrange to meet with the instructor as soon as possible. If you are unsure but suspect you may have an undocumented need for accommodations, you are encouraged to contact Disability Services. They can provide assistance including screening and referral for assessments.

Disability Services can be reached at disabilityservices@wellesley.edu, at 781-283-2434, by scheduling an appointment online at their website www.Wellesley.edu/disability, or by visiting their offices on the 3rd floor of Clapp Library, rooms 316 and 315.

Grading

Homework Homework problems will be assigned once per week. Students are to write their solutions neatly and submit them according to the instructor's instructions. Be sure to start your assignment early so you have enough time to work through problems which require some creative energy. One homework grade will be dropped when computing your final average.

An important note about collaboration and the Honor Code. Students are more than welcome to work with the instructor or classmates when solving homework problems. If you have consulted with someone in preparing your homework, please include a reference to your collaborators when you submit your assignment. You should always write your solutions up in isolation of others or notes about discussions taken with others; give yourself time (at least 20 minutes) after talking with someone about a solution (or reviewing notes you took during such a discussion) before writing up your own answers. Using notes from a collaboration while writing your homework assignment will be considered a violation of the Honor Code. In addition, you may NOT consult a written solution to a problem you're working on (whether it be online or in a book). If you have any confusion about this policy, please talk to the instructor.

Quizzes There will be short quizzes given in this course each week. With the exception of exam weeks and the first week of classes, we will have a quiz every Wednesday. The quiz will be administered and submitted electronically, and you'll submit it in person the next class day (Thursday). In general you will not be allowed to use a calculator for your quizzes. (In the event that you do need a calculator for your quiz, I'll let you know ahead of time.) Your quiz average will be computed after dropping your lowest quiz score. Barring extreme circumstances, make-up quizzes will not be given. In general, the material covered on quizzes will include recitation of definitions or theorems learned in class and calculations which should be familiar to students who are up-to-date on the homework.

Tests There will be 2 midterm examinations and 1 final. Both midterms are given during the regularly scheduled lecture period in the regularly scheduled classroom, so there should be no conflicts which prevent you from taking a midterm as scheduled. The first exam will be held on October 13, and the second will be held on November 17. Your final will be self-scheduled.

Computing your grade Suppose that your homework average is $H$ and your quiz average is $Q$. Furthermore, suppose your highest score between Exam 1, Exam 2, and Final is $Z$, and the other two scores are $X$ and $Y$. Then your grade is computed as follows: $$0.25*H+0.1*Q+0.2*X + 0.2*Y + 0.25*Z.$$.