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Math S-Xab -
Introduction to Functions and Calculus
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If you haven't passed all of gateway exams, come see me during my office hours. For more information about the gateway as well as practice problems, see the Gateways page.
Gateway Exam 4 will be given in class on Monday, August 9, and will cover trigonometry. See the Gateways page for more information and practice problems.
The final exam will be given on Tuesday, August 17 at 9am to 12 noon in Science Center 221.
Here is a partial office hour schedule for the rest of the term.
| Date | Time | Instructor |
|---|---|---|
| TUE 7/6 | 8:30am to 10am | Dr. Bruff |
| THU 7/8 | 1pm to 2:30pm | Dr. Bruff |
| TUE 7/13 | 8:30am to 10am | Dr. Bruff |
| THU 7/15 | 1pm to 2:30 pm | Dr. Bruff |
| TUE 7/20 | 8:30am to 10am | Dr. Bruff |
| THU 7/22 | 8:30am to 10am | Dr. Judson |
| THU 7/22 | 1pm to 2:30 pm | Dr. Bruff |
| TUE 7/27 | 8:30am to 10am | Dr. Judson |
| THU 7/29 | 1pm to 2:30 pm | Dr. Judson |
| TUE 8/3 | 1pm to 2:30 pm | Dr. Judson |
| THU 8/5 | 1pm to 2:30 pm | Dr. Judson |
| TUE 8/10 | 3pm to 4:30 pm | Dr. Judson |
| THU 8/12 | 8:30am to 10 am | Dr. Judson |
Math S-Xab is excellent preparation for the AP Calculus exams. High school students who take the course often take Calculus AB or BC the following school year.
You can take a precalculus course and a calculus course in the same summer. It's like getting two years ahead in math.
You'll learn the fundamental concepts of calculus (limits, differentiation, and integration) in ways which emphasize conceptual understanding, not just computational skill.
We'll study the precalculus material that you need to know as we cover the calculus concepts. Seeing the precalculus and calculus material together helps each set of material make more sense.
No trigonometry until the fifth week of the term! This means you'll be able to concentrate on learning calculus without worrying about trig formulas. When we do cover trig, you'll see what sine and cosine are all about.
This course focuses on functions and their rates of change as these ideas appear in precalculus, differential calculus, and integral calculus. We emphasize the relations among symbolic, numerical, and graphical points of view throughout. Calculus techniques are motivated and illustrated by modeling problems in economics, biology, and other applications. The course provides preparation for MATH S-1b that is equivalent to taking MATH S-Ar then MATH S-1a.
Prerequisite: A good working knowledge of algebra along with exposure to precalculus topics from MATH S-Ar as demonstrated by an appropriate score on the placement test.
Page maintained by Derek Bruff
(bruff@fas.harvard.edu).
Last updated on
July 20, 2004.
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