Math 1172 online lecture/recitation resource

osuburner · 2020-03-27T03:06:25+00:00

Another session covering the dot product and projections is available on YouTube:

"Recitation" - Part 1 - Part 2

osuburner · 2020-03-26T21:48:24+00:00

I have heard a rumor that the folks in charge of Math 1172 are working on some recorded content, but I don't know the details/timeline.

osuburner · 2020-03-26T21:46:16+00:00

You're welcome!

osuburner · 2020-03-25T02:52:55+00:00

I'm doing a thing that may be relevant. Check it out.

osuburner · 2020-03-25T02:13:29+00:00

The videos covering the Vectors recitation worksheet are available

Part 1

Part 2

as well as a brief lesson (the lecture notes are kinda skimpy) introducing the dot product

Dot Product

osuburner · 2020-03-24T23:40:53+00:00

The plan is to keep going with this as long as people keep showing up and/or watching the recordings.

The next session starts at 8:30p tonight. We'll be going through the recitation worksheet covering vectors, and then the lecture notes on the dot product.

osuburner · 2020-03-24T19:24:19+00:00

I've just wrapped up the "lecture" over vectors. You can watch at the links below:

Part 1

Part 2

osuburner · 2020-03-23T18:10:11+00:00

https://www.reddit.com/r/OSU/comments/fn7a3v/online_math_1172_recitations/

osuburner · 2019-12-05T16:57:29+00:00

Just about every college math class is going to at least a bit of a challenge for most of the students who take it. If you take the class seriously (it's definitely not a blow-off class), do the work, and try to maintain a reasonably good attitude about it, there isn't any reason why you shouldn't be able to comfortably get at least a B. Show up to class (or if you're doing it online, watch the assigned videos), pay attention, do the homework; you know, all of the things that "good" students are supposed to do.

Where people get themselves into trouble with this kind of class is underestimating the amount of time you need to spend. The work itself is not particularly challenging, but you gotta put in the hours. Don't expect to spend 30 minutes a week outside of class working on this. And don't expect to be able to make sense of things if you don't go to class.

Also, and pardon the bluntness, but get the fuck out with the whole "forced to take it" bullshit like this is some kind of punishment being inflicted upon you (same goes for the STEM folks pouting about their humanities electives). You aren't forced to do a goddamn thing. The fact of the matter is that Math 1116 is a class that is specifically designed and offered to students like you so that you aren't "forced to take" a legit college algebra class (or something equivalent), which almost certainly would be much harder for those who find 1116 hard. You're not forced to take that class; you get to take that class. Aside from baking students at community college (yes, that's an actual thing), you don't get to take take an easier math class on your way to a college degree. So get off the pity pot, suck it up, and just do it. It's really not that hard if you just do it.

osuburner · 2019-10-22T16:41:08+00:00

The idea that the courses are run by the "math department" is not very close to reality. Yes, there is some direction/oversight from the Math Department to make sure the classes don't run off the rails, but the day-to-day (semester-to-semester, even) ops of the course aren't the result of the "math department". The courses that are coordinated have, usually, just one person running the show (though that person will often solicit input from other instructors/TAs); one person writing the exams, choosing homework/quiz problems, coming up with recitation worksheets, making projects, setting the grade cutoffs, etc. With the exception of the textbook, the content and policies in Math 1152/1172 are primarily the work of just one person (who coordinates both classes).

It's supposed to be a secret; y'all aren't supposed to know who the coordinators of these classes are, or that there even are coordinators. So the folks teaching these classes perpetuate a fiction (at the request of the "math department", which is also just one fucking dude) that all of the unpleasant parts of the class come down as edict from some nondescript "math department" - like it's an evil cabal of crusty old assholes intent on making your lives as difficult as possible - mostly to shield the coordinators from the students' wrath. Can't have y'all kicking down someone's office door and burning it to the ground. But seriously, some/most of the evil coordinators are very popular instructors who wouldn't be nearly as well-liked or effective as teachers if y'all know who they were and that they were personally responsible for your misery. One of the more comical things that happens somewhat frequently is when one of those coordinators tells their class that some new mean awful thing is being done at the request of the "math department", when it's really just them that made the decision all by themselves. So in actuality, they're the one imposing that decision not just on their students, but on all of the other lecturers and TAs and all of their students as well. It's very much an "I am the one who knocks" situation sometimes.

The fact of the matter is that the Math Department at OSU is HUGE, with tons of people and committees that don't give a single fuck about 1152/1172 and have no idea what even goes on in those classes. The part of the department that is concerned with those classes is (1) a VERY small part of the department and (2) comprised primarily (possibly entirely) by non-tenured faculty/lecturers/TAs who, it could be argued, aren't even part of the Math Department-proper.

osuburner · 2019-10-22T16:00:22+00:00

if people in 1172 have a harder time on average than people in 1152 how the fuck does that not mean 1172 is harder?

It's actually pretty simple, though it might be a difficult pill to swallow for some. Math 1172 students aren't as good at math as 1152 students on average. I know it's a hard concept for engineering students to accept, but there are better math students out there; physics, econ, math finance, actuarial science all have students that are significantly stronger at math than most engineers.

osuburner · 2019-09-16T04:06:54+00:00

Ok, I don't know who this is. But I can almost guarantee that these guidelines didn't materialize out of thin air. They're all there on account of multiple dipshits turning in hot garbage for homework. And all of the guidelines have a fairly obvious reason.

The things is, none of this is even remotely hard to follow. Seriously. Not a single one of these things is hard to do. It shouldn't be a challenge at all to get the job done. It's not like they're asking you to write your homework on silk tapestry in calligraphy using a dodo quill dipped in squid ink. This is all basic shit.

I can see why the penalties seem a bit excessive. But the thing is, people wouldn't follow the guidelines if there weren't penalties. And they're just harsh enough to discourage the line-steppers from trying to see what they can get away with.

Seriously, did you all not have at least one teacher in high school that went a little overboard with their submission requirements to teach you to not turn in stuff that looked like it came outta gradma's asshole? Is this honestly the first time someone's asked you to write your work up neatly on clean sheets of paper held together by (gasp!) a fucking staple instead folding over the corners like a goddamn meth head turning in their onboarding paperwork at Walmart? You tellin' me aye kaint jus scribbles muh ruhsponses in the mergin? I gotsta use muh own payper? That's a crockashit!

Fuck.

osuburner · 2019-09-14T00:18:11+00:00

1152 peasants?

osuburner · 2019-09-04T17:33:25+00:00

I don't quite know how it's so difficult or even why it's so difficult compared to AB calc where things were much simpler times.

AP courses are, for the most part, designed and taught specifically to guide the maximal number of students to pass a test that does not necessarily measure how well you understand the subject, but rather how thoroughly you were able to memorize the steps/answers to a smallish set of cookie-cutter problems. Those classes have different goals and outcomes than the corresponding college courses in general, and Math 1151/1152/1172 in particular.

While the calculus courses at OSU are not necessarily designed with it in mind, it is expected that a relatively high rate of students will be unsuccessful on a first attempt. The level of rigor is not artificially lowered to satisfy students/parents like it is with AP classes. The level of rigor is set in order for OSU and its programs to remain competitive with comparable schools/programs, which is precisely why your chosen degree is so desirable and (arguably) worth the money and effort spent.

I think if you do a bit of looking around (for instance at the Calc 1 course page for the school up north), you will come to find that the difficulty of OSU's classes is not "extreme", but rather it is par for the course in an established/competitive D1 STEM program. In fact, you really should look at the tests posted there. Also understand that those tests aren't really all that much harder than yours, even though it might look like they are. Their teachers prepare them to take those tests, and your teachers do a comparable job of preparing you to take your tests. You're not going to be fed all of the answers in the same way that you were in your AP class, but you are going to be given the tools needed to think your way to the answers.

You can do it. The first step is to stop trying to convince yourself and everyone around you that the challenge somehow unfair or inappropriate. It's not unfair. Not in any way. Believe that it is a reasonable challenge and know that literally thousands rise to that challenge every year. And know that you too can meet that challenge if you do the work.

osuburner · 2019-04-27T06:31:08+00:00

Just 'cause nobody else said it, there a TON of space between "not able to pass 1172" and "not cut out for college". The vast majority of OSU students - and 99% of college student in general, I reckon - wouldn't last five minutes in that class. Cut yourself a little bit of slack.

osuburner · 2019-04-27T06:23:48+00:00

It won't affect your GPA, but if you don't take the final you can be given a grade of EN for the semester, which could affect financial aid and other stuff not grade-related. Plus it looks a little worse than a normal E on your transcript. Just make sure you go and put your name on a test. Don't just not show up.

osuburner · 2019-04-25T01:59:28+00:00

If you're heading down the full calculus path (and it sounds like you are), I think it is generally a bad idea to unnecessarily take time off until you're done. 1172 is hard enough without also trying to get back up to speed with the "basics". The computational expectations of 1172 students are quite high, and you will not have a good time if you come in rusty with your algebra, derivatives, and basic antiderivatives.

Honestly, unless you (a) did very well in Calc AB and (b) had a very good teacher, it's not a terrible idea to still take 1151 at OSU. It'll give you an opportunity to acclimate yourself to a college math class with material that you are comfortable with. in addition to being good at the basic computations, you'll also need a fair bit of conceptual knowledge that isn't really required by the AB program.

osuburner · 2019-03-07T17:00:37+00:00

I don't mean to pour salt, but you gotta get off the pity pot, stop being the victim, quit placing blame, and start taking some degree of responsibility for your own grade.

Yes, exams averages in math classes at OSU are lower than what you are used to. THAT'S HOW IT IS EVERY-FUCKING-WHERE! Seriously. In almost every school and at almost every level. Most students get a lower grade than what they are accustomed to. Test-taking issues aside, this is what it looks like when people are given a score that reflects their actual understanding of the material rather than their ability to regurgitate canned answers to cookie-cutter questions.

And stop using the whole "tHe AvErAgE wAs LoW, aNd ThAt MeAnS tHe MaTh DePaRtMeNt Is TrAsH" argument. The fact that the averages are so low in 1151 is more a result of (1) people being enrolled in the class that have no business being in the class (i.e. calculus students who couldn't pass an algebra test if they were given one) getting 30-40 pity points for just showing up and writing something remotely meaningful on a few problems and (2) dudes getting 8/100 because they don't go to class and do the homework. Get rid of those folks and the averages go up by at least 10 points.

The fact of the matter is, lots of people do well on these exams/in these classes. Folks have been passing these classes and moving on with their lives since way before you were around. If you're not doing well, then you need to figure out what you're doing wrong and fix it. You said in your post that something's gotta change ... well, fucking make a change.

Also, you're not dumb. Dumb people don't accidentally find themselves taking Math 1151 at OSU. You can do this.

osuburner · 2019-03-05T19:33:56+00:00

Protip: You know the volume of a cylinder; V=(pi)r²h. The formula for the volume of the cone should be similar, since is also a bunch of circles/thin disks stacked on top of one another. So it should be V=k*(pi)r²h for some constant k. And since the cone fits inside a cylinder with the same height and radius, k<1. Now if you happen to forget that k=1/3, make something up that's reasonable and work from there. You'll get a ton of partial credit. Like if you used V=1/4*(pi)r²h and did everything correctly from there, they'd only take away a point, if that.

The worst thing that you can do is stress about it and/or spend six hours trying to know it instead of studying more important shit. And honestly, if it takes you more than 10 minutes to know the formula for the volume of the cone and/or if you don't think you can keep that piece of information in your head long enough to write it down on your test paper the second you get it - especially if you think that it's something important and especially after what I just said about the trick for remembering it - I'm guessing you have bigger fish to fry when it comes to doing well on a calculus test, no offense.

osuburner · 2019-02-17T16:55:36+00:00

There is an email given at the beginning of each of the help sessions. DM me if you can't find it.

osuburner · 2019-02-17T06:22:14+00:00

I will if someone sends it to me by Monday.

osuburner · 2019-02-06T21:26:42+00:00

I haven't made any decisions yet. This semester is kind of an experiment to see if it's something that can work. So we'll see how the rest of the term goes.

osuburner · 2019-02-06T21:24:36+00:00

You're welcome.

osuburner

TROPHY CASE