Exam I will be in the usual classroom on Monday, September 19, 2011. It will cover sections 5.1-5.4, but only the material that we discussed in class, together with the additional matters we examined in class, such as rate of change. The current draft has 53 points possible, which might change slightly.

Several of the questions will be basic or straightforward, others will be more difficult ones that I do not expect many students to be able to answer. Grades in the 90% range are certainly not required to be doing A work. But be sure to first go through and complete the questions that you definitely know how to do, then go back and play with the remaining ones that may be more difficult.

While you are not expected to be able to do all of the problems, do not make the exam longer than it is. Most of the questions have rather short answers if you simply do what they ask for, so be sure you understand each question and give whatever answers are requested, no more and no less.

Calculators are not needed, although you may, if you really want to, use a non-graphics simple arithmetic calculator without even trig functions, but no mechanical or electronic device more sophisticated that this (including iPods, earpieces, etc.). I will provide blank paper on which you can write your answers. Please put your name on your exam paper itself and all pages of your solutions, and hand them all in together, although without any pages of scratch work that is not to be graded.

Definitions of important concepts are (of course) perfectly reasonable questions, and although you do not need to know them word-for-word, you should be able to write down a coherent and accurate definition of any major concept or term.

Obviously not every single item can be covered in depth in a 50-minute exam. The following topics are very likely to appear, although the exam is not limited to them:

1. Rate of change, as we defined and discussed it.
2. The Mean Value Theorem, statement and basic applications.
3. Concepts of integration. The area and distance problems. Riemann sums, theoretically as well as explicit comptation with them.
4. The Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Its name sort of suggests that it's a good thing to know, eh?
5. Computation of definite integrals using properties of integration and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Know the derivatives of the six basic trig functions and the corresponding integration formulas.

You should be comfortable with summation notation, but proofs of the formulas for summation of i, i^2, and so on will not be covered. Indeed, there will be very little in the way of proofs as such--- we have not studied techniques of formal proof, and my classroom digressions on why things work are mainly to give you more of an intuitive feel for why this stuff works than because I want to you try to learn such techniques (if you do want to learn them, we have good courses available for that, but it's not the goal of this one).

The formula involving the second derivative f'' to estimate the error E(h) will not be covered, nor will the example of a non-integrable function (although it's an excellent example to think about until you understand it).

Previous exams I have written for regular and honors calculus classes are available at their course pages on my website. Links to those pages are listed at course pages page). Some of those classes met twice a week, so the exams were geared to a 75-minute time period. Taking one of those exams and checking your solutions might be good practice, especially if you tend to get test anxiety, but be aware that those were different courses with different emphases. When I sit down to write an exam, I never look at old exams I have written. I start with a blank page and think about what we did in the present course, and try to find problems that will give some measure of what you have learned.