Calculus for Biological, Management and Social Sciences

Welcome!

As a student in this class, you are warmly invited to join in as we learn math together! A strength of this class is the diversity of students who become part of this community of learners. Your ethnic background, gender and past experiences with math are important parts of learning. You're invited to be yourself while supporting others as we learn math together!

Purpose

The goal of the course is to learn Calculus. We'll study derivatives, applications of derivatives, integrals, applications of integrals and gain an understanding of some important concepts used to make decisions. At the end of the course, we'll look back and see how much we have learned. That's the goal-- to learn Calculus.

Textbook: Applied Calculus by Shana Calaway, Dale Hoffman, and David Lippman

Instructor

Roy Shahbazian
Canvas Inbox (email)
H-101-1
714-564-6226
Office hours for students via Zoom: Tues 9-11am, Wed 9-10am, Thurs 9-11am or by appointment 9am-9pm M-F

Online Course Materials

The textbook is downloadable. The homework will generally be done via Canvas. (Note: When you first enroll, it may take a few hours for the enrollment system to tell Canvas to give you access to the course.)

Schedule

We will cover most of the textbook during the course. The schedule is available on the Canvas Calendar

Grading

Discussion 10%
Video and Homework Assignments 15%
Quiz 15%
Tests and Projects 40%
Final 20%

As part of the this course, there are projects to apply calculus concepts to your work or life.

The grading scale is 90+ A, 80+ B, 70+ C, 60+ D.

Three Tips to Succeed in this Class

  1. Do the assignments on the Calendar in a way that's realistic for learning
  2. To develop a social support network, communicate with people in the class about what you're learning and how you're feeling about it
  3. Before exam dates, practice doing review exercises in test-like conditions and get good sleep

Resources to help you do well in the class

Plan on using support services that are available to you including the

Exams

There aren't any make-up exams nor discussion, but a student with a documented1 reason to miss a test, should make alternative arrangements with the instructor. The lowest quiz and discussion score will be dropped.

Discussion and Schedule

Your active participation in the class is how you'll learn. If you can keep up the motivation continue doing the assignments well, you're likely to succeed in the class. If you miss multiple consecutive assignments, you may be dropped from the course. Homework assignments will be due multiple days per week. Assignments will generally be due2 every weekday. There are both video lessons to hear about the material and homework Assignments to actively learn it.

Each week we'll discuss topics related to a Math concept, how Math intersects with professional development or the rest of our lives. You will need to reply to the Discussion prompts or to someone else's post. See the online Discussion for the current topic(s).

Discussion Grading

Each week, plan to write at least two substantive posts plus replies to the Discussions. One of these posts will be your solution to a homework exercise showing the steps for others to learn from. The other posts can be on any of the other Discussions. To give you a sense for the grading on this aspect of the course, posting three substantive posts/replies of 40-80 words that promote further thinking and discussion would get an "A" for the week. Or posting five brief posts where one is early in the week and includes a screenshot, photo or diagram would also get an "A" for the week.

A key purpose of the discussion is to build relationships by listening to what other people have to say and giving them a response so we all feel supported and we can build a little sense of community in what is otherwise a very isolated way of taking classes. As humans, relationships help us keep going, and studies show that students who have social connections are more likely to make it through to the end of a class or degree.

There are no make-up discussions, but if you miss an entire week, you can still get an "A" by getting an "A" in all the other weeks. In an online class, interacting with people is part of what keeps us motivated to keep going.

The Discussion score is based on the date you post, so if you post to a week 1 topic during week 2, it will count toward the Week 2 Discussion score.

Exam Schedule

The tests and final will be on the the dates/times/location listed on the Canvas Calendar.

Each exam may include material from any assignment due before the (first day of the) exam. If the exam is on-campus, bring a photo ID (such as SAC Student ID), pencil, eraser and scientific (non-graphing) calculator.

If you take any exams in the Assessment Center, read their Guidelines and hours on the Assessment Center webpage.

Math Center

The Math Center is a great place to learn math. Do your homework there so you can learn math with your friends and classmates. Or get help virtually using Zoom. There are trained tutors who can guide you if you get stuck. Their job is to provide guidance to help you figure things out on your own, not to show you how. We learn more by doing things ourselves than by watching someone do them.

Honors

The College awards honors to students with GPA of 3.5, 3.8 and 4.0 and at least 30 units of coursework. See the College Catalog or College Catalog (PDF) for details.

Satisfactory Academic Progress

For financial aid purposes, students must maintain a cumulative GPA of 2.0 or higher and complete 67% of their attempted units (which includes all coursework). F, NP, and W grades will lower GPA and/or completion rate. Students not meeting satisfactory academic progress will be notified of an opportunity to appeal in Self-Service. If their appeal is approved, their financial aid will be reinstated. Students must also complete their educational program within a maximum time frame of 150% of the units required to complete that educational program. Example: A student who is registered in a program with 60 required units for completion is eligible for financial aid while attempting their first 90 units. For more information, Santa Ana College's SAP policy can be found on the Student Services webpage

College Schedule

See the College Schedule for registration dates, final exam dates and holidays.

Course Description

The official description of this course is in the official College Catalog or College Catalog (PDF) for the current academic year and is incorporated herein by reference along with any corresponding addendums.

Student Conduct

Please note Standards of Student Conduct, BP5201, in the Student Handbook.

Artificial Intelligence

Utilizing Artificial Intelligence (AI) to substantially complete assignments or exams is not permitted unless explicitly allowed by that assignment's instructions. The use of AI tools will be treated similarly to assistance from another person which is not appropriate on exams nor quizzes. It's acceptable and encouraged to use AI and other technology to help you learn a concept while doing homework, but don't copy the output of AI without properly mentioning the source. Most of what you submit for a discussion should be your own thoughts and words.

Exam Scoring

The total points for each test will be displayed on the exam and in the gradebook. Generally, each test question will be scored out of 1-5 points and the maximum number of points will be visible in the exam details and on the Canvas Grades page. (In some cases, the scores shown for questions within the exam will be scaled by a fixed number to match the maximum shown on the Canvas grades page.) Collectively, the tests make up a specific portion of the course grade which is indicated above in the Grading section. If the course has projects, the scoring will be in the category indicated above. Generally the online gradebook will do the calculations so it's easy to see your current grade, but keep in mind that not all submitted assignments may be included in the gradebook until the end of the semester when the course grade is calculated.

College Policies

Academic Honesty Policy

Students at Santa Ana College are expected to be honest and forthright in their academic endeavors. To falsify the results of one's research, to steal the words or ideas of another, or to cheat on an examination, cor- rupts the essential process by which knowl- edge is advanced. Academic dishonesty is seen as an intentional act of fraud, in which a student seeks to claim credit for the work or efforts of another without authorization, or uses unauthorized materials or fabricated information in any academic exercise.

There are two categories of sanctions: Limited and College-wide. Limited sanctions include an academic action such as as- signing a lower grade or a grade of "F" for the test or project or a lower grade or an "F" for the class. College-wide sanctions include any sanction that will affect a student's standing with the college-at-large, up to and including suspension or expulsion from the college.

In matters relating to academic honesty violations, the primary responsibility for disciplinary proceedings rests with the instructor and the academic division where the violation allegedly occurred. The Dean of Student Affairs will assist in all College-wide sanctions.

This course will follow the College Policies in the Santa Ana College Catalog and are incorporated into this document by reference and supercede any policies in this document. The preceding exerpts are included for your convenience.
Academic Accommodation Statement
A student with a disability, who would like to request an academic accommodation, is responsible for identifying herself/himself to the instructor and to the disabled Student Programs and Services (DSPS). To make arrangements for academic accommodations, contact the Disable Student Office in Johnson Center, U-103, or phone (714)564-6264, TTY (714)564-6284 for a referral to the appropriate DSPS Department.

Participation

The instructor will post discussion topics weekly. To verify students' participation in the course, students must do one of the following This participation may be considered as a student's attendance in the class. Students who do not do at least one of the preceding items during the first week of the class or for any two consecutive weeks of the class may be dropped from the class.

The instructor will initiate topics on the discussions weekly but will not respond to posts in the student-to-student discussion. Contact the instructor by email or phone if a response is needed. If necessary, the instructor will respond within seven days and usually much sooner. Feedback on student submissions will usually be available within ten days and in many cases instantly. Contact related to a student's performance in the class should be conducted by inbox, email, phone or in-person.

Land Acknowledgement

The land on which Santa Ana College exists today is the ancestral territories of the Acjachemen and Tongva people, whose presence and resilience in California continue to this day.

Footnotes

1. Alternative arrangements for a missed test may be made for unavoidable absences with official, verifiable documentation. The decision to make alternative arrangements will be made by the instructor who may elect to consult the Dean, Chair or other staff or faculty. Make-up exams will not be given.
2. The goal of homework assignments is for the student to learn the material of the course. Homework assignments may be scored on completeness, apparent effort, accuracy or demonstrated learning at the discretion of the instructor.

Student Learning Outcome

Students will be able to apply derivatives and integrals of single- and multi-variable functions including polynomial, rational, exponential and logarithmic to business, management and other problems.