Math 114: Experienced Calculus 1 Fall 2005

Course Project Information

Project Timeline:  The project will be completed in stages, and the following schedule details when these stages must be completed.  Team Selection and Abstract Submission:  Friday, September 23. Project Proposal:  Wednesday, October 19.  Progress Check:  between Friday, November 11 and Friday, November 18.  Project Due Date: Wednesday, December 6.

Project Teams and Abstracts: The project will be done in two-member teams. You are allowed to choose your own partner for the project and your partner may be from either section of the course. If you have difficulty finding a partner, please let us know before the Team Selection date. On Friday, September 23, turn in a type written sheet with your team members listed on it, a possible title for your project and a short abstract of the project topic.  The title and project can change!  However, we want you to be thinking about what area you might be interested in and explaining your early ideas.

Project Proposal:  As mentioned in the syllabus, goals of the project include furthering your understanding of differential calculus in a manner specifically tailored to your interests as well as to advance your technical writing and communication skills. The project proposal is the first step in this process. The project proposal should be no less than one page typed and double spaced. It should outline your project idea as well as how you intend to complete the project (i.e. what steps will be necessary). Finally, it should summarize what you envision the final project presentation will consist of. This proposal needs to be handed in no later than Wednesday, October 19.

Project Topics: Ideas for a project may include: investigating a scientific model of your own design, or from a published research paper or text, furthering the analysis of an idea we have discussed in class, completing a lengthy problem of your own choosing, designing a general module on a topic related to differential calculus, etc.  You want to come up with an idea that is related to your interests (mathematical or otherwise)--the more interesting you find your topic, the easier it will be to complete the project successfully.  Feel free to consult with us regarding your project ideas.

Progress Check:  Between Friday, November 11 and Friday, November 18 each project team should meet with Professor Buckmire or Professor Gallegos and let us know how the project is going. The meeting does not need to be long and can be during office hours. We want to see what work you have started and to give you feedback on the progress.

Project Submission: The final project will be completed in two ways. There will be a written component as well as an oral component. The written component should consist of a formal write-up of the work you have done. The project aim should be clearly stated and explained; the mathematical work should be detailed sufficiently to allow the reader to follow but not overly so; the conclusions and evaluations of the project should be discussed. The length of these write-ups will vary between projects. However it is assumed that each team will need a minimum of 5 pages to explain the projects sufficiently. References and figures should be included. The oral presentation will consist of a ten minute presentation.