MATH 125: Calculus 1 (Fall 2024, 4 units)

Lectures

Section 39462D: MWF 10-10:50 am in KAP 144

Section 39477R: MWF 12-12:50 pm in KAP 146

Instructor: Pranava C Jayanti, [email protected] (please include “Math 125” in the subject line)

Office Hours: TBD in KAP 416F (and also via Zoom)

https://usc.zoom.us/j/92587312373?pwd=dmMxUE13eGRnYnFNcnJXMVVENUlJdz09

Meeting ID: 925 8731 2373 Passcode: 360725

Discussion sessions

Section 39463R: TuTh 2-2:50 pm in KAP 140

Section 39464R: TuTh 3-3:50 pm in KAP 140

Teaching Assistant: Linshan Gao, [email protected]

Office Hours: TBD

Section 39478R: TuTh 10-10:50 am in KAP 148

Section 39479R: TuTh 11-11:50 am in KAP 138

Teaching Assistant: Anna Sajan, [email protected]

Office Hours: TBD

Math Center

Your TA will hold office hours in the Math Center (located at KAP 263), from the second week of
classes. You may visit the Math Center at any operational hour (Mon-Thu 8am-7pm, Fri
8am-5pm) and there will likely be someone there to help you.
Course Content

This course aims to introduce you to some of the most basic ideas in calculus, a field of
mathematics that has wide-ranging applications in the applied sciences and engineering. We
will discuss most of chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 from the textbook (see below). This will include
limits, continuity, derivatives, extrema, definite integrals, and the fundamental theorem of
calculus, among other topics.

Prerequisites

MATH 108.

Learning Objectives

1. Limits: Evaluate the limit of a function graphically, numerically, or algebraically, or using

the squeeze theorem without using L’Hopital’s Rule (1.3, 1.4, 1.6)
2. Continuity: Use limits to determine whether a function is continuous at a point or over an
interval (1.5)
3. Differentiability: Determine whether a function is differentiable and evaluate the
derivative of a function from the limit definition of the derivative, and use basic derivative
rules (2.1-2.3, 5.2-5.4)
4. Derivative rules: Evaluate the derivative of a function using the product, quotient, or
chain rules, and logarithmic differentiation (2.4-2.5)
5. Interpreting derivatives and Linearization: Interpreting the derivative graphically,
numerically, or in applications, and using it to find the linearization of a function at a point
and use it to approximate the value of a function (2.1, 2.2, 2.8)
6. Implicit Differentiation and Related Rates: Accurately use implicit differentiation to get an
expression for the derivative for a given equation and apply this to set up and solve
related rates problems. (2.6, 2.7)
7. Extrema: Use derivatives of a function to find the critical points and classify the critical
point as a local max or min, and find global extrema (3.1)
8. Graphing: Using derivative and limits to accurately identify intercepts, horizontal and
vertical asymptotes, global and local extrema, intervals of increase/decrease, intervals of
concavity, and points of inflection, and accurately sketch the graph of a function. (3.3,
3.4)
9. Optimization: Accurately set up optimization problems and use derivatives to solve them.
(3.5)
10. Intermediate Value Theorem and Mean Value Theorem: Use the IVT to determine
whether a function attains a given value, or show it has a root or an equation has a
solution and use the MVT to determine whether a function attains a given mean value
(1.5, 3.2).
 11. Applying Antiderivatives: Evaluate general antiderivatives and indefinite integrals and
specific antiderivatives of functions given an initial condition and apply this to physics
problems (3.7, 4.2, 4.5)
12. Definite Integral: Evaluate and estimate a definite integral from the definition as a limit of
a Riemann sum or interpreting as area (4.1, 4.2, 4.4).
13. Fundamental Theorem of Calculus: Explain the relationship between derivatives and
integrals using the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, and apply FTCII to evaluate
definite integrals and use FTCI to evaluate the derivative of an integral along with using
the chain rule. (4.3, 4.4, 4.5)
14. Substitution: Evaluate indefinite and definite integrals using substitution.
15. Invertibility and Exponential Growth and Decay: Using derivatives, determine whether a
function is one-to-one/injective to determine whether or not it is invertible, and calculate
the derivative of the inverse, and solve problems using exponential growth and decay
(5.1-5.5)

Textbook

The main source for the lectures is Essential Calculus by James Stewart, 2nd Edition. If any
other reference material is used, it will be provided during the course. Homework problems may
be assigned from the textbook, so it would be helpful to have a copy of the textbook (physical or
electronic). But make sure that you get the correct edition!

Course Notes

Lectures will be delivered in person, using a combination of the blackboard and an iPad. If
necessary, I will share notes on Brightspace. I highly recommend going through the many
solved examples that the textbook contains.

Distribution or use of notes or recordings based on university classes or lectures without the
express permission of the instructor for purposes other than individual or group study is a
violation of the USC Student Conduct Code. This includes, but is not limited to, providing
materials for distribution by services publishing class notes. This restriction on unauthorized use
also applies to all information, which had been distributed to students or in any way had been
displayed for use in relation to the class, whether obtained in class, via email, on the Internet or
via any other media.

Communication

Announcements will be made in class and via Brightspace, so please check the latter regularly
for notifications (or ensure that email notifications are switched on). The best way for you to
contact me is via email or during the designated office hours.
Technological Proficiency and Hardware/Software Required

No softwares will be used in this course, except Brightspace and Gradescope. Zoom may be
used in case I am traveling at any point of the semester.

You will not need, and therefore will not be allowed to use, calculators during quizzes and
exams. You may use a calculator for your homework if you wish, but you will not usually need it.

Below are some links that may be helpful.

USC Technology Support Links

Zoom information for students

Brightspace help

Software available to USC Campus

Additional online resources

● Desmos: This is an online graphing calculator that you may find useful to visualize and
manipulate functions.
● Wolfram Alpha: This is an online computational engine that can perform various
operations in calculus (and much more!).

Homework assignments

Homework will be assigned approximately once a week on Brightspace/Gradescope, and will

consist of ~20 problems, some chosen from the textbook and some extra. The assignments will
be graded and your scores will be entered on Brightspace in about a week or so.

● Late work will not be tolerated unless there is a reasonable excuse

(medical/religious/emergency).
● Penalty for late assignments: 10% reduction in score for 0-12 hours after the deadline,
20% for 12-24 hours, 30% for 24-36 hours, and 40% for 36-48 hours. Submissions will
not be accepted more than 48 hours after the deadline.
● No extensions are granted once the HW solutions are discussed/posted.

Here’s a tentative homework schedule (subject to change, if necessary):

Homework # Date assigned Date due Sections covered

 1 26th Aug 6th Sep 1.1 - 1.4

2 6th Sep 18th Sep 1.4 - 1.6, 2.1

3 16th Sep 27th Sep 2.2 - 2.5

4 25th Sep 4th Oct 2.6 - 2.8

5 2nd Oct 18th Oct 3.1 - 3.3

6 16th Oct 25th Oct 3.4 - 3.5, 3.7

7 23rd Oct 1st Nov 4.1 - 4.3

8 1st Nov 13th Nov 4.4 - 4.5

9 13th Nov 22nd Nov 5.1 - 5.3

10 22nd Nov 4th Dec 5.4 - 5.5

Quizzes

Quizzes will be conducted on Tuesdays in discussion sessions. Of 12 quizzes conducted, the

lowest two scores will be dropped. Each quiz will last ~10 minutes and will test your basic
understanding of the concepts discussed in the week prior (and in the corresponding
homework). You are permitted to refer to the textbook and your own notes while taking the
quizzes. They will be graded by the TA and the scores uploaded to Brightspace, usually within a
week. There will be no quiz in the weeks of the midterm exams.

● If you anticipate missing a quiz due to a planned absence (like travel/religious reasons),
please send an email to me (cc-ing your TA) to discuss the possibility of a make-up quiz.
● If you miss a quiz due to unplanned absence, there will be no make-up quiz. You will
receive a 0 on that quiz, and it will become one of the two scores that will be dropped.

Quiz # Date Topics

1 3rd Sep 1.1 - 1.3

2 10th Sep 1.4 - 1.5

3 17th Sep 1.5 - 1.6, 2.1

4 24th Sep 2.2 - 2.4

5 1st Oct 2.5 - 2.7

6 15th Oct 2.8, 3.1 - 3.2

 7 22nd Oct 3.3 - 3.5

8 29th Oct 3.7, 4.1

9 12th Nov 4.2 - 4.4

10 19th Nov 4.5, 5.1

11 26th Nov 5.2 - 5.3

12 3rd Dec 5.4 - 5.5

Midterm exams

There will be two in-class midterms (50 minutes each) conducted during the semester,
tentatively on Wednesday, October 9th 2024 and Friday, November 8th 2024. Both exams will
be conducted during regular class hours, and the solutions will be posted to Brightspace
afterwards.

Midterm - 1 Oct 9th 2024 Chapters 1, 2

Chapters 3, 4 (minus
Midterm - 2 Nov 8th 2024
Sections 3.6, 4.4, 4.5)

For the midterm exams, you will NOT be allowed any cheat sheets or calculators.

● If you need to miss the midterm exams due to any planned absence, please let me know
at the beginning of the semester.
● For any unplanned absences, there will be no make-up exam. Your midterm will be
scored as zero. (Please see the grading breakdown below for clarification.)
● If you miss both midterms, you will be recommended to drop the course, since the final
will not be reweighted to account for both missed exams (one of your midterms will
therefore be counted as an actual zero).

Final exam

The end-of-semester exam (common across all sections of the course) will be conducted on
Wednesday, Dec 11th 2024 from 2 pm to 4 pm in (venue TBD). Please keep this date in mind.
For the final exam, you will be allowed one sheet (front and back) of handwritten notes on a
standard 8.5"x11" paper. No calculators permitted.

Dec 11th 2024: 2 pm - 4 pm Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5

Final exam
(venue TBD) (minus Sections 3.6, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8)
 ● There are no make-ups for the final exam. No student can take it earlier or later than the
scheduled time. If the final exam poses a conflict with religious observances or any
pre-planned activity, please contact me as early as possible.
● In certain situations, due to documented emergencies, students take an Incomplete (IN)
grade. More information regarding policies for finals may be found here.
● If you miss the final exam without providing me any notice, you will fail the course.

Grading Breakdown

Mode of evaluation Fraction of Grade

Homework 10%

Quizzes 20%

Exams 70%

Total 100%

The exam score of 70% will be calculated as the best of the following numbers:

● 20% Midterm-1 + 20% Midterm-2 + 30% Final

● 30% Midterm-1 + 40% Final
● 30% Midterm-2 + 40% Final

Grading Scale

Letter grades will be assigned at the end of the semester, after grading “on a curve” to account
for averages that are lower than usual. These variations notwithstanding, a very rough estimate
for the grades would be as follows – A for >90%, B for 80-90%, C for 70-80%, D for 60-70%,
with pluses and minuses distributed appropriately.

Important dates

Task Deadline

Last day to add course or change to Pass/No Pass

Fri, Sep 13th 2024
Last day to drop without a mark of "W" and receive a refund
 Last day to withdraw without a “W” on transcript or change
Fri, Oct 11th 2024
pass/no pass to letter grade

Last day to drop with a mark of “W” Fri, Nov 15th 2024

More details can be found here.

Attendance

Lectures will be delivered in-person, and will not be streamed or recorded. As a matter of
principle, I do not enforce attendance in my courses (you are all adults, and I shall treat you as
such!). However, coming to lectures, paying attention, and actively participating with
questions/comments is very strongly advised. While this is an introductory calculus course, it
may also be one of your first forays into university-level education. It is easy to feel lost if you
miss a few classes, so please work consistently to stay up to date with the course material.

That being said, I will make every effort to help those with reasonable excuses. If you have to
miss class due to religious observances during the semester, please let me know your schedule
as early as possible in the semester, so that we can work to accommodate your absence. In
case of medical reasons, please contact me via email as soon as it is possible for you to do so.

Course evaluation

Course evaluations at the end of the semester are a great way for me to receive feedback from
you – this will help me improve my teaching, making it a better experience for both me and the
next batch of students.

Of course, you don’t have to wait until the end of the semester for this. If you wish to contact me
with any suggestions/requests during the semester, please do not hesitate to do so. You may
use this Google form to provide your feedback anonymously if you prefer that.

Course Schedule: A Weekly Breakdown

A tentative course schedule is as follows. It is subject to change throughout the semester, so

please check it regularly and look out for alerts on Blackboard.

Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday

8/27: No 8/29:
Week 1 8/26: 1.1, 1.2 8/28: 1.2, 1.3 8/30: 1.3
discussion Discussion
Week 2 9/2: Labor Day 9/3: Quiz 1 9/4: 1.4 9/5: Discussion 9/6: 1.5; HW-1

9/12:
Week 3 9/9: 1.5, 1.6 9/10: Quiz 2 9/11: 1.6 9/13: 2.1
Discussion

9/19:
Week 4 9/16: 2.2 9/17: Quiz 3 9/18: 2.3; HW-2 9/20: 2.4
Discussion

9/26:
Week 5 9/23: 2.5 9/24: Quiz 4 9/25: 2.5, 2.6 9/27: 2.7; HW-3
Discussion

10/3:
Week 6 9/30: 2.8 10/1: Quiz 5 10/2: 3.1 10/4: 3.1; HW-4
Discussion

10/8: 10/9: 10/10: Fall 10/11: Fall

Week 7 10/7: 3.2
Discussion Midterm-1 Recess Recess

10/17: 10/18: 3.5;

Week 8 10/14: 3.3 10/15: Quiz 6 10/16: 3.4
Discussion HW-5

10/24: 10/25: 4.1;

Week 9 10/21: 3.7 10/22: Quiz 7 10/23: 4.1
Discussion HW-6

10/31:
Week 10 10/28: 4.2 10/29: Quiz 8 10/30: 4.3 11/1: 4.4
Discussion

11/5: 11/6: Buffer; 11/7:

Week 11 11/4: 4.5 11/8: Midterm-2
Discussion HW-7 Discussion

11/11: Veterans’ 11/13: 5.1; 11/14:

Week 12 11/12: Quiz 9 11/15: 5.1
Day HW-8 Discussion

11/21: 11/22: 5.4;

Week 13 11/18: 5.2 11/19: Quiz 10 11/20: 5.3
Discussion HW-9

11/27: 11/28: 11/29:

Week 14 11/25: 5.5 11/26: Quiz 11
Thanksgiving Thanksgiving Thanksgiving
 12/2: Extra 12/4: Review; 12/5:
Week 15 12/3: Quiz 12 12/6: Review
topics HW-10 Discussion

12/11: Final
Finals 12/9: Office
Exam (2 pm -
Week hours
4 pm)

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