THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA - 2026-2027 WINTER TERM 1
MATH 190:101 - Calculus Survey
Instructor :  Pablo S. Ocal
Office hours :  W 14:00-15:30 (TBD)
Description

The course Calculus Survey will treat, among others, functions, limits, asymptotes, derivatives, related rates, Riemann sums, and integrals. The prerequisites required for this course are covered in Pre-calculus 12.

The course will have weekly classes on

  • Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in IRC, room G3, from 14:00 to 14:50.

The book we will be following is Single Variable Calculus (2nd edition) by Jonathan D. Rogawski. We will be covering material in Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. The books CLP-1 Differential Calculus and CLP-2 Integral Calculus by Joel Feldman, Andrew Rechnitzer, and Elyse Yeager, are useful references for the material covered in the course. We will be covering material in CLP-1 Sections 0.4, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 2.4, 2.6, 2.7, 2.8, 2.9, 2.10, 3.2, and 4.1, and material in CLP-2 Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, and 1.8. You may find all the information you will need on the Syllabus and on Canvas, and you may ask any questions you have on Piazza.

Class Notes

There will be weekly class notes posted on the schedule. If you find mistakes (typographical or other) in the notes, or have comments, please let me know.

The following are additional materials closely related to the class notes.

Tentative Schedule
Sep 7-11 Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 7.2.
Functions and their inverses.
Sep 14-18 Sections 1.4, 7.8.
Trigonometric functions.
Sep 21-25 Sections 7.1, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5.
Exponential and logarithmic functions.
Sep 28-Oct 2 Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3.
Limits and asymptotes.
Oct 5-9 Sections 2.5, 2.7, 3.1, 3.2, 4.5.
Limits and asymptotes (continued). Definition of the derivative.
Oct 12-16 Sections 3.3, 3.4, 3.5.
Rules of differentiation.
Oct 19-23 Sections 3.6, 3.7.
Rules of differentiation (continued).
Oct 26-30 Sections 3.9.
Related rates. Review.
Nov 2-6 Sections 4.8, 5.1.
Definition of the integral. Midterm exam.
Nov 9-13 Sections 5.2, 5.3, 5.4, 5.5.
Definite and indefinite integrals.
Nov 16-20 Section 5.6, 8.1.
Techniques of integration.
Nov 23-27 Sections 8.2, 8.3.
Techniques of integration (continued).
Nov 30-Dec 4 Sections 4.8, 5.5, 6.2, 6.5.
Integration word problems.
Dec 7-11 Sections 1.1-1.4, 2.1-2.3, 2.5, 2.7, 3.1-3.7, 3.9, 4.8, 5.1-5.6, 6.2, 6.5, 7.1-7.5, 8.1-8.3.
Review.
Dec TBD Sections 1.1-1.4, 2.1-2.3, 2.5, 2.7, 3.1-3.7, 3.9, 4.8, 5.1-5.6, 6.2, 6.5, 7.1-7.5, 8.1-8.3.
Final exam.
Quizzes

There will be five quizzes, worth a total of 120 points. These intend to be short exercises to keep you engaged with the weekly material being covered in class. The exercises featured in the quizzes will be based on exercises from the coursebook. The quizzes and their solutions will be posted here. The quizzes will happen in class, starting at 14:00 and ending at 14:10. You must work on your own, you are not allowed to work in groups.

Laboratories

There will be ten laboratories and one laboratory review, worth a total of 40 points. These intend to allocate time for you to work on exercises with your peers while having readily available feedback. The exercises featured in the laboratories will be based on exercises from the coursebook. The laboratory assignments and their solutions will be posted here. The assignments will be due on Canvas, on Friday at 23:59. You are encouraged to work in groups.

Sep 14-18 Laboratory 1.
Deadline: Sep 18.
Sep 21-25 Laboratory 2.
Deadline: Sep 25.
Sep 28-Oct 2 Laboratory 3.
Deadline: Oct 2.
Oct 5-8 Laboratory 4.
Deadline: Oct 9.
Oct 12-16 Laboratory 5.
Deadline: Oct 16.
Oct 19-23 Laboratory 6.
Deadline: Oct 23.
Oct 26-30 Laboratory 7.
Deadline: Oct 30.
Nov 2-6 Laboratory 8.
Deadline: Nov 6.
Nov 16-20 Laboratory 9.
Deadline: Nov 20.
Nov 23-27 Laboratory 10.
Deadline: Nov 27.
Nov 30-Dec 4 Laboratory review.
Homework

There will be eight homework assignments, worth a total of 80 points. These intend to be representative exercises helpful to follow the material being covered in class. The exercises featured in the homework will be based on exercises from the coursebook. The assignments and their due date will be posted here. The assignments will be due on Canvas, on Monday at 23:59. You are encouraged to work in groups.

Sep 7 Homework 1.
Deadline: Sep 21.
Exams

There will be a midterm exam worth 160 points and a final exam worth 400 points. The exercises featured in the exams will be based on exercises from the coursebook, with roughly half of them based on exercises from the quizzes, laboratories, and homework. The exams and their solutions will be posted here. You can find information on the UBC schedule for the final exams here.

Nov 2 Midterm,
IRC G3 from 14:00 to 14:50.
TBD Final exam,
TBD.

The past exams for MATH 190 are archived below.

  • The Department of Mathematics archive can be found here.
Resources

There are many resources available for a student at UBC, I encourage you to use them and make the most out of them. Here are some materials specific to this course:

  • The open office hours at the Math Learning Center can be found here.
  • The online calculator Wolfram|Alpha can be found here.
  • The online calculator Desmos can be found here.
  • The MATH 190 course taught by Shirin Boroushaki in 2018 can be found here.
  • The MATH 190 course taught by Matt Coles in 2016 can be found here.
  • The MATH 190 course taught by Matt Coles in 2015 can be found here.

Here are some general materials about the Department of Mathematics, the Faculty of Science, and UBC:

  • The Frequently Asked Questions of the Department of Mathematics can be found here.
  • The Frequently Asked Questions of the Faculty of Science can be found here.
  • The Science Peer Academic Coaches can be found here.
  • The UBC Academic Calendar can be found here.
  • The UBC Wiki can be found here.
  • The UBC support page with resources for students affected by unanticipated circumstances can be found here.

I also encourage you to form study groups with your classmates. However, please keep in mind that you will only learn how to do the exercises if you try them on your own: without trying, looking up the solutions or copying others' work is absolutely useless.

Grades

You can compute your grade using the calculator below. Please input the sum of your quizzes (out of 120), the sum of your laboratories (out of 40), the sum of your homework assignments (out of 80), the score of your first midterm (out of 160), and the score of your final (out of 400). Then, click "Compute grades" to see your grade (out of 100).