1420 - Calculus I Section 1
  Spring 2026

 
Dr. Michael Prophet                                                   Office Hours: Tues 9:30-10:30am; Thurs 1-2pm 
Office: WRT 320                                                                                or by appointment 
Office Phone: 273-2104                                              TA Hours (WRT 338): Mon. 12:00-2 pm                                         
prophet@math.uni.edu                                                                                  Tues. 3:30-5 pm
www.math.uni.edu/~prophet/courses/Calculus1                                           Wed. 9-10:50 am  

Go Here For Assignments
Go Here For Announcements

Final Exam:  10:00 - 11:50 a.m. Tuesday, May 12
Prerequisites:
Pre-Calculus
Credit Hours: 4
Note that this course meets the Course Credit Hour Expectation outlined in the Course Catalog. Students should expect to work approximately 2 hours per week outside of class for every course credit hour

Text:
Calculus: Single Variable (Eighth edition), Hughes-Hallet, et al.

Technology:
You are free to use a graphing calculator on all quizzes and exams.

Course Organization:
Our coverage will be divided into four Categories:
1. Functions, Limits and the Definite Integral
2. Functions and Derivatives
3. Applications of the Derivative
4. Connecting Derivatives and Integrals

       There will be an exam covering each Category

Go Here For Course Learning Outcomes

Course Description:
We will cover most of chapters 1-5. This first semester of calculus essentially deals with (only!) two basic problems: 1 - describe how a particular quantity changes (differential calculus) and 2 - determine how much of a particular quantity we have (integral calculus) (in fact, these two problems are very much related, as we will see). In attempting to answer these questions, we will encounter a common theme; we will first try to solve the problems in the most simple cases, using only basic algebra and geometry. And then, after feeling comfortable with our solution techniques, we will try to extended our methods to more difficult (or general) cases. This idea of solving `hard' problems by studying `easy' ones will allow us to develop an understanding that is rooted in graphical, numerical and analytical perspectives.
Homework:
There is a homework assignment for every section we cover. While it will not be collected, it is (obviously) very important that you work through all assigned homework problems. Homework problems will appear on our Quizzes and Exams. Solutions to all assigned problems will be available under our Assignments link.
Quizzes:
We will have approximately 8 in-class quizzes during the semester. The quizzes will reflect problems you have practiced in class and in the Homework.
Exams:
There will be 4 in-class exams, 100 points each. Our fourth exam will be on the date and time of our Final Exam. The exam questions will be problems you have seen before - either on homework, quizzes or class work. There are no make-up exams. You are expected to take each exam on the day it is given. A missed exam results in 0-point score.
Blackboard Disclaimer:
During the semester we will use Blackboard to access the textbook and record grades. But otherwise it is a "third party" in terms of accomplishing the learning goals of this course. And Blackboard does not determine your grade. Your final grade is determined by the Grading Rubric described below and based on this rubric, you should be able to, throughout the semester, estimate your current grade without the use of Blackboard.

Grade Calculation:
The points for this course are distributed like this:

Quizzes

100 points

4 exams

400 points

I will assign final grades based on the higher of your two averages: Quizzes + Exams (500 points) and just Exams (400 points).
Grading Rubric:

100%-90%

A

89%-80%

B

79%-70%

C

69%-50%

D