HOME COURSE
INFORMATION
LECTURES, READINGS,
& HOMEWORK
EXAMS
INSTRUCTOR:
Assoc.. Professor Scott R. Saleska
Office:
510 Biosciences
West
Telephone:
626-1500
E-mail:
saleska@email.arizona.edu
Office Hours: 2:00 - 3:00 Mondays, or by appointment
TEACHING ASSISTANT
Jin Wu (Ecology & Evolutionary Biology)
Office: 102 BSW
Telephone: TBD
E-mail: geo.woo.jin@gmail.com
Office Hours: TBD
COURSE MEETING: 3:30pm - 4:45pm Tuesdays & Thursdays, Social Science 118 (may move to BSW 302 if convenient)
HOMEPAGE AND E-MAIL: Updated information on the course (including weekly reading assignments, homework assignments and due dates, exam dates and information) will be available throughout the semester from the course homepage.
COURSE PREREQUISITE: Math 129 (Calculus II)
TEXT: Mathematical Models in Biology by Leah Edelstein-Keshet (required). Selected additional materials (posted or handed out in class)
Used Math by Clifford Swartz (optional reference for background mathematical material)
SYLLABUS: Primary focus on Sections I and II of Edelstein-Keshet.
SOFTWARE: freeware program E&F Chaos; Java versions of Direction Field and Phase plane graphing software (dfield and pplane)
EXAMS: There will be two in-class midterm Tests and a Final Exam (comprehensive). Dates will be announced well in advance, both in class and online on the Lectures, Readings, & Assignments page, as well as the exams page.
HOMEWORK: Homework is an essential part of the course. Assigned exercies will be posted on the Lectures, Readings, & Assignments page. A subset of those assigned exercises designated to be handed in will be graded and used as part of the course grade. Due dates will be on Tuesdays (in class). Late homework won't be accepted for grading.
PROJECTS: Two to three times during the semester, special applications projects will be assigned, which will be extended homeworks allowing somewhat more investigation into specific problems.
GRADES: A course percentage grade will be calculated as
follows.
The homework
score H equals the average %-score on all graded homework (after dropping the lowest).
The project score P equals the the average %-score on the projects
The exam grades, E1, E2, and E3 are the three exams. The lowest exam grade will be dropped and replaced by the average of the other two.
The final grade is equal to: (H+P+E1+E2+E3)/5
The course letter grades cutoffs will be no higher than
WITHDRAWALS: Students withdrawing from the course before March 6 will receive the grade of W if they are passing at the time. Students will be considered passing at the time of withdrawal if they have scored at least 50% on the work completed at that time. The University allows withdraws after March 6, but only with the Dean’s signature and for an extraordinary reason. Late withdraws will be dealt with on a case by case basis, and requests for late withdraw with a W without a valid reason may or may not be honored.
INCOMPLETES: The grade of I will be awarded if the student has met all of the following conditions:
1. completed all but a small portion of the required work;
2. scored at least 50% on the work completed;
3. has a valid reason for not completing the course on time;
4. agrees to make up the uncompleted requirements within a short period of time;
5. asks for the incomplete before course grades are due (48 hours after the Final Exam).
ATTENDANCE: Students are expected to attend every scheduled class and to be familiar with the University Class Attendance Policy as it appears in the General Catalog. Frequent unexplained non-attendance may result in a student being dropped from the class. Experience has shown that regular class attendance is necessary for success in this course. It is the student's responsibility to keep informed of any announcements, syllabus adjustments or policy changes made during scheduled classes.
SOME IMPORTANT DATES:
* Last day to drop without appearing as dropped on transcript (using UAccess): Tuesday, February 5, 2013.
* Withdrawal deadline (instructor and dean's signature on a Change of Schedule form is required): Wednesday, March 6, 2013.
* Spring recess, March 9-17, 2013
* Last class meeting: Tuesday, April 30, 2013
* Final Exam: Wednesday, May 8, 2013, 3:30pm - 5:30pm
CLASSROOM CONDUCT: Students at The University of Arizona are expected to conform to the standards of conduct established in the Student Code of Conduct. Prohibited conduct includes:
1. All forms of student academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, and plagiarism.
2. Interfering with University or University-sponsored activities, including but not limited to classroom related activities, studying, teaching, research, intellectual or creative endeavor,administration, service or the provision of communication, computing or emergency services.
3. Endangering, threatening, or causing physical harm to any member of the University community or to oneself or causing reasonable apprehension of such harm.
4. Engaging in harassment or unlawful discriminatory activities on the basis of age, ethnicity, gender, handicapping condition, national origin, race, religion, sexual orientation, or veteran status, or violating University rules governing harassment or discrimination.
Students found to be in violation of the Code are subject to disciplinary action. For more information about the Student Code of Conduct, including a complete list of prohibited conduct, see http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/scc5308f.html .
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Students are responsible to be informed of University policies regarding the Code of Academic Integrity. Students found to be in violation of the Code are subject to sanctions that will be determined by the severity of the infraction. The Code of Academic Integrity will be enforced in all areas of the course, including tests and homework. For more information about the Code of Academic Integrity policies and procedures, including information about student rights and responsibilities, see http://dos.web.arizona.edu/uapolicies/ .
STUDENTS WHO REQUIRE REASONABLE ACCOMODATIONS BASED ON DISABILITY: Students planning to use accommodations for this course should privately identify themselves to their instructor within the first few days of class. These students must also provide the instructor with a letter of identification from the Disability Resource Center. This letter should include information about any accommodations you will need for the class, including accommodations for test taking. Students are also invited to discuss specific issues with the course instructor during regular office hours or by appointment.
(revised 8 January 2013)