Kunkle's syllabus, HONS 280 01 (CRN 13799), Fall 2026

Tom Kunkle, 340 RS Small, kunklet@cofc.edu, (843) 953-5921 (office).
Hours: M 9-10am, T 12-1pm W 10-11am, R 10:45-11:45am, F 1:30-2:30pm, or by appointment.
I'm happy to meet at other times that fit your schedule, if I'm available. Here's what my week looks like.

Essential Calculus with Applications, 3rd edition, software and e-book access D. Franklin Wright, Hawkes. ISBN-13: 978-1-64277-552-5. Available at CofC bookstore, (with or without Cougar Complete) or directly from Hawkes Learning. (If you buy a physical copy of the text, make sure it comes with software and e-book access.)
A free account on Hawkes Learning. Set yours up at https://learn.hawkeslearning.com/Portal/accounts/createaccount/

You'll always find its most current version of this syllabus at https://kunklet.people.cofc.edu/ and on our Oaks page, under Content. Look for the last change date at the top of this document, and the description of changes at the bottom.

MATH 110 College Algebra or MATH 111 Precalculus.

Note: The number of exams and quizzes, their dates and their point values may change in the event of an emergency, e.g., the college changing its schedule or delivery of classes during the semester due to disaster.

We'll have three (3) 75-minute midterm exams, a 2-hour final exam, and some short in-class. All exams and quizzes will be in-person and closed-book: no notes, books, or electronic devices other than approved calculators.

Although basic ideas we learn in this course can appear on multiple exams or quizzes, each weekly quiz will be based primarily on material covered since the time of the previous exam or quiz, and, each midterm exam will be based primarily on material covered since the previous midterm. Our final exam will be weighted slightly toward material covered after the last midterm exam but will otherwise be cumulative. Unless I tell you otherwise, you should assume that any topic of this course could appear on the final. When in doubt, please ask me.

Lessons on Hawkes are not completed until you display an acceptable level of mastery on those problems. Incomplete lessons will be given the score 0. Complete lessons will all be given the score 10, minus 1 point for each day late (maximum penalty is 4 points). Each of the midterm exams is worth 100 points and the final exam is worth 140 points. At end of the semester, quizzes will be scaled to be worth 30 points altogether. Minimum required scores for letter grades are

A (90%)

A- (87%)

B+ (83%)

B (80%)

B- (77%)

C+ (73%)

C (70%)

C- (67%)

D+ (63%)

D (60%)

D- (57%)

I won't drop any exams, but if you do better on the final exam than on your worst midterm exam (excluding any on which you received a grade reduction for an honor code violation), I'll raise that (one) midterm exam score by averaging it with your final exam (percentage) score. Then, at the end of the semester, I'll calculate your course grade two ways--based on the percent you earned of the 440 possible exam points, and of the 470 possible exam and quiz points--and give you whichever letter grade comes out higher.

Here are some review notes I've written to help you study for the exams. These notes aren't meant to take the place of the text and lectures.

This is a list of all the problems in the e-book worth doing in each section we'll cover. I'll base exams questions on these.

"5-25" means at least the odd numbered problems between 5 and 25, inclusive, and preferably the even numbered problems as well.
"5-25(x15,18)" means problems 5-25, excluding 15 and 18.
"[17-25]" means 17-25 if we have time to include those topics in class. Ask me if you're not sure.

0.1: 7-36, 37-42.

0.2: 1-50.

0.3: 9-39, 43-49, 53-60.

0.4: 1-50, 51, 52, 55, 57, 60.

0.5: 1-15, 27-42, 44-47.

0.6: 1-46, 61-76, 81-98, 121.

0.7: 1-21, 31-52, 57.

0.8: 1-32.

1.1: 1-51.

1.2: 3-29.

1.3: 1, 2, 9-18, 29-37.

2.1: 7-59.

2.2: 1-20, 21.

2.3: 1-34, 35-36.

2.4: 1-28, 33-36.

2.5: 1-15, 16, 17.

2.6: 2-5, 6, 11, 13, 15, 18, 19, 20-21.

2.7: 1-32.

2.8: 1-29, 30-32, 35-37.

2.9: 1, 2, 4-6, 9, 10, 14-26.

3.1: 11-55, 56-61.

3.2: 1-63, 66-74.

3.4: 1-47, 50, 51.

3.5: 1-19, 24, 25.

3.6: 1-44, 53, 56.

4.1: 1-33, mathematicians only: 34-38.

4.2: 1-9, 17-30, 33, 34.

4.3: 1-41, 44.

4.4: 1-10, 13-22.

4.5: 9-23, 25.

5.1: 1-8, 11-22, 27-31.

5.2: 1-64.

5.3: 1-19, 25-38, 47-52, 55-59, 61.

5.4: 1-6, 9-16, 19-22, 27-32, 35-39, 41, 42.

5.5: 1-17.

6.1: 1-6, 13-45, 48-53, 58-60.

6.3: 1-10.

6.4: 1-9, 12-14, 33,34,37,38, 41, 42.

6.5: 1-8, 11-14, 21-23, 25, 26.

Here are the exams and solutions from the last time I taught MATH 116 under a format similar to this semester's. Since course content, exam dates, and the order of topics can change from one semester to the next, these exams might not always cover the material you should be studying for your exams. You can see exactly which sections are represented on these old exams by searching in the solutions for the word "Source."

math department sample final exams

Graphing calculators (e.g., TI-84 Plus or 83 Plus) will be allowed on exams and quizzes, but no other electronic devices. Symbolic or CAS calculators (e.g., TI-89, TI-Nspire) are not allowed.

I strongly encourage you all to attend and participate in class every day. Participation is a necessary first step towards a good grade. If you're absent on a non-exam day, I'll assume that you have a good reason for missing and will not require an excuse; however, I am unable to reteach the class to everyone who misses a day. Instead, try to catch up using the Hawkes text and software. See Make-up Policy for absences on exam days.

Only students officially registered (graded or auditing) for this course may attend class. During the week following the drop/add deadline, I will verify student enrollments in this course. Any student appearing on the class roll but determined not to have attended the class even once will be removed, except for cases where a student is absent because of quarantine or isolation due to COVID-19.

Exams:
If you must miss an exam, I expect you to make every effort to contact me as soon as possible. Do not delay. Out of fairness to your classmates, I can allow you a make-up exam only if I determine that your absence at exam time and every reasonable time until the make-up is excusable. If you've never seen a doctor for an illness causing you to miss the exam, it might be difficult for me to allow you a makeup. An unexcused exam will be given the grade zero, probably causing you to fail the course.

Quizzes:
At the end of the semester---starting from the date of the last in-class quiz and ending on the last day of final exams---I'll allow you to make up at most two (2) quizzes that you've missed for any reason. These makeups can only be used to replace quizzes that you've missed due to absences, not simply low scores. The topic of the makeup quizzes can be from anything we've covered during this semester and will be taken outside of class at a mutually convenient time. At the end of the semester, I'll drop your one (1) lowest quiz score (after any makeups) before computing your quiz average.

Attend and participate in every class, practice lots of homework, and read the book!

Begin extra studying at least a week in advance for the tests. Rework old problems that could appear on the test. Write and rewrite a special set of notes that summarize in your own words the important facts for the test. Include in these notes the different types of problems appearing in the homework and the steps you follow to solve each type. For example, here are the notes written by an A student while studying for the first test in MATH 111 Precalculus.

All class announcements, your exam and quiz grades, Hawkes lessons, and any course materials not found on the syllabus and will be available on Oaks, the College's learning management system. For technical problems with Oaks, please contact the IT Help Desk at 843.953.5457 or studentcomputingsuport@cofc.edu.

See CofC calendars and exam schedules for potential storm makeup days.
Content of exams and quizzes in this schedule refers to section/lesson numbers in Hawkes.

T 8/18 ( 1 ): 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4

R 8/20 ( 2 ): 0.5, 0.6, 0.7, 0.8

T 8/25 ( 3 ): 1.1, 1.2, 1.3

R 8/27 ( 4 ): 1.3 Quiz 1 (0.4-0.8)

T 9/1 ( 5 ): 2.1, 2.2 Desmos example

R 9/3 ( 6 ): 2.3, 2.4 Quiz 2 (1.1-1.3)

T 9/8 ( 7 ): 2.4, 2.5

R 9/10 ( 8 ): 2.6 Desmos example Quiz 3 (2.1-2.3)

T 9/15 ( 9 ): Exam 1 (0.4-2.5)

R 9/17 ( 10 ): 2.7, 2.8

T 9/22 ( 11 ): 2.9 Quiz 4 (2.6)

R 9/24 ( 12 ): 3.1, 3.2

T 9/29 ( 13 ): 3.4, 3.5 Quiz 5 (2.7-2.9)

R 10/1 ( 14 ): 3.6, 4.1

Express II classes begin Oct 7. Oct 22 is the last day to withdraw from this course with a grade of W.

T 10/6 ( 15 ): 4.1, 4.2 Quiz 6 (3.1, 3.2, 3.4, 3.5)

R 10/8 ( 16 ): 4.3

T 10/13 : fall break; no class

R 10/15 ( 17 ): 4.4 Quiz 7 (3.6, 4.1, 4.2)

T 10/20 ( 18 ): Exam 2 (2.6-4.3)

R 10/22 ( 19 ): 4.5, 5.1

T 10/27 ( 20 ): 5.2, 5.3 Quiz 8 (4.4)

R 10/29 ( 21 ): 5.4, 5.5

T 11/3 : election day. no class

R 11/5 ( 22 ): 5.5, 6.1 Quiz 9 (5.2, 5.3)

T 11/10 ( 23 ): 6.3, 6.4

R 11/12 ( 24 ): 6.4 Quiz 10 (5.4, 5.5, 6.1)

T 11/17 ( 25 ): 6.5

R 11/19 ( 26 ): Exam 3 (4.4-6.4)

T 11/24 ( 27 ): review

R 11/26 : thanksgiving holiday

T 12/1 ( 28 ): review

T 12/8 : Final Exam 10:30 am-12:30 pm

The Center for Disability Services/SNAP is committed to assisting qualified students with disabilities achieve their academic goals by providing reasonable academic accommodations under appropriate circumstances. If you have a disability and anticipate the need for an accommodation in order to participate in this class, please connect with the Center for Disability Services/SNAP. They will assist you in getting the resources you may need to participate fully in this class. You can contact the Center for Disability Services/SNAP office at 843.953.1431 or at charleston.edu/disability-services/ . You can find additional information and request academic accommodations at the Center for Disability Services/SNAP website. Currently, SNAP requires students to schedule alternate testing arrangements at least one week before the exam date.

A survey of the calculus of algebraic, exponential, and logarithmic functions, illustrated by its applications to business and economics. We'll study limits, continuity, the derivative and its applications, the integral, and the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus. Our goal is a useful understanding of calculus based more on intuition than on rigor. This course is not intended for students majoring in a STEM field or as the foundation of further calcuus courses.

By the end of the course, students should be able to

Recognize and manipulate algebraic and transcendental functions;
Determine the limit of a function at a given point(s) using various techniques;
Determine if a function is continuous at a given point(s);
Recognize points at which a function has a discontinuity and state the type of discontinuity that occurs;
Find the derivative of function using the limit definition of the derivative;
Find the derivative of function using standard rules of differentiation;
Determine the monotonicity, concavity, extrema, and inflection points of a function and use them to understand its graph;
Use ideas involving derivatives to solve extremal problems;
Use the concept of the derivative to the analyze real world problems in Business, Economics, and Social Sciences;
Calculate, both numerically and algebraically, the integrals of standard functions;
Explain the relationship that exists between integrals and derivatives via the Fundamental Theorem of Calculus.

These outcomes will be assessed on the final exam.

In this course, we will provide evidence for assessment of Problem Solving. Students will be able to apply appropriate methods to obtain conclusions. More specifically, students will be able to:

Clearly identify or define a problem.
Use a discipline-specific model to perform an analysis or procedure.
Draw a well-supported logical conclusion.

These outcomes will be assessed on the final exam.

As members of the College of Charleston community, we affirm, embrace and hold ourselves accountable to the core values of integrity, academic excellence, liberal arts education, respect for the individual student, diversity, equity and inclusion, student centeredness, innovation and public mission. Congruent with these core values, the College of Charleston expects that every student and community member has a responsibility to uphold the standards of the honor code, as outlined in the Student Handbook. In pursuit of academic learning, you are expected to reference the work of other scholars, and complete your own academic work, while utilizing appropriate resources for assistance. Any acts of suspected academic dishonesty will be reported to the Office of the Dean of Students and addressed through the conduct process. Your adherence to these practices and expectations plays a vital role in fostering a campus culture that balances trust and the pursuit of knowledge while producing a strong foundation of academic excellence at the College of Charleston. Any questions regarding these expectations can be clarified by your instructor.

Consistent with access for all, this course uses Anthology Ally in OAKS to ensure digital content is as accessible as possible. Captions or transcripts are provided on all videos and audio recordings in the course. If you find online course materials are not meeting your needs, please reach out to me so we can remediate the content to ensure accessibility.

If in-person classes are suspended, I'll announce a detailed plan for a change in modality to ensure the continuity of learning. All students must have access to a computer equipped with a web camera, microphone, and Internet access. Resources are available to provide students with these essential tools.