MATH 181 - Calculus I Syllabus at a Glance (Fall 2026)

📋 Course Information & Contacts

• Lecture: Monday + Wednesday 1:00pm–2:15pm HOS 384
• Discussion: Fridays (Check MyUNLV for your schedule)
• Instructor: Dr. Tony Ferrar (Anthony.Ferrar@unlv.edu)
• Office: TBE-A214
• Office Hours: Mondays 11:00am–12:00pm, Wednesdays 10:00am–11:00am (drop-in)

📊 Grading & Assessments

Grade Scale

• A: 90–100% | B+: 87–89% | B: 80–86% | C+: 77–79% | C: 70–76% | D: 60–69% | F: < 60%

⚡ Built-In Flexibility & Safety Nets

• 7-Day Rolling Grace Period: Get 100% full credit up to 7 days late on homework, provided you log a non-zero score before the original deadline.
• 4-Hour Effort Rule: Earn 100% credit on any homework assignment by either reaching 70% mastery OR investing 4 active hours.
• Retroactive Midterm Replacement: Your Final Exam score replaces your lowest Midterm score at the end of the term if you complete all midterm corrections and maintain a $\geq 80\%$ global homework attempt rate.
• Review Center "Buy Back": Log 8 hours in the Test Review Center to replace up to 2 zero-score homework sets per unit with 100%.

📅 16-Week Theme Schedule

• Week 1: Functions and Introduction to Limits
• Week 2: Algebraic Techniques for Limits and Asymptotes
• Week 3: Continuity and Special Limits
• Week 4: Rates of Change and Basic Differentiation Rules
• Week 5: Chain Rule and Advanced Differentiation Techniques
• Week 6: Midterm 1 Review and Related Rates
• Week 7: L'Hôpital's Rule and Critical Points / Extrema
• Week 8: Constrained Optimization of Geometry (Areas and Volumes)
• Week 9: Optimization of Motion (Distance/Time) and Curve Sketching
• Week 10: Numerical Methods and Vectors in 2D & 3D
• Week 11: Vector Operations, Applications, and Midterm 2 Review
• Week 12: Catch-Up / Holiday Recess
• Week 13: Antiderivatives and the Substitution Rule
• Week 14: Definite Integrals and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus
• Week 15: Comprehensive Final Exam Review
• Week 16: Final Exam