Biocalculus Computer Laboratory
MAP 2480 Summer 2013 C Session MTWRF 3:30-4:50 107 MCH
GOTO Current: MAP 2480

• Office Hours outside of the lab
  • Steve Bellenot (bellenot at math.fsu.edu) F1:00-2:00 LOV 223
  • Angela Jarret (ajarrett at math.fsu.edu) MW 2-3 MCH 409-C

Google Calendar: Current Schedule

• The Prelab/Postlab Server
• The Lab Server; It only works in MCH 107 You get the same type of problem over and over until you get it correct. This is where to see your lab grades.

Bookmark these pages, they run independently of everything else. If your fsu id is abc08z and your fsusn is XY7654321, then your login will be abc08z and your password XY7654321 You can find your FSUsn here

FAQ on mapleTA. There are several things that can cause confusion about the way mapleTA shows the correct answers.

• mapleTA will show the the answer to sqrt(2) as 1.414214 plus/minus 0.001 but the plus or minus sign is not part of the answer. Instead it is telling you that your answer must be correct within a 0.001. So if you answered 1.41, it would be marked wrong and if you answered 1.41455555 it would be marked correct
• mapleTA will add comma's to answers to mark the thousands and millions etc. These are not part of the answer. If the answer is 1234567, mapleTA will claim the answer is 1,234,567 but will mark 1,234,567 as incorrect.
• The lab portion gradebook will sometimes make it look like you only have partial credit, for example claiming 1/2. Do not believe it, the one on the top says you have full credit, the 2 on the bottom says it took you two tries. The number of tries does not effect your grade. (The gradebook is a link above all the assignments and the class name.)
• Only the best grade counts, (Except for postlabs), if you get a 0 after getting a perfect score, your grade is still the perfect score. Your postlab score is maximum of the score on the first attempt and 0.85 * the score on the second attempt.
• MapleTA is not the same thing as Maple, it is incorrect to shorten MapleTA to Maple.
• The Internal Error: java.lang.NullPointerException, ... error message is not a fatal error. You need to exit your current mapleTA session and start a new one. Here are things to try:
  1. Try logging out of mapleTA and then log in again.
  2. Try closing the current window of the broser and use a new window to log in with.
  3. Quit the browser and restart the browser.
  4. Quit the browser and start a different browser.
  5. Try a different computer.
  6. Go to a student lab and use one of those computers.
• The exec xx.sce only runs one line problem: Scilab edit menu select Preferences. Highlight SciNotes; the last line is Default End-Of-Line which needs to be Unix (LF). Restart the editor, throw away the old xx.sce.
• Mountion Lion on a Mac, it might refuse to run Scilab because of a security worry. Try holding down the control key when clicking on Scilab.

Our homework problems generate lots of computation, sometimes the server is slow to present the problem. Sometimes it stops and needs to be given a kickstart, do not count on the server being available at the last minute or even the last day.

READ THIS

If for some reason the server is not working, immediately email bellenot with a careful description of your problem. Include exactly where the error occurred and what the error message was. Do not assume that someone else also has the same problem or error.

What you need to do for each lab

Task	Where to Find It	Due	Where to Do It	How	Rough Value
Read lesson.pdf	lessons	before lab/prelab	anywhere	Available Thurs Week Before	everything
Do prelab	prelab/postlab server	1pm before lab	anywhere but 107 MCH	5 tries/all questions at once	25%
Do hardcopy	lessons	day of lab	anywhere	STAPLED, NO electronic copies	10%
Short Closed Book Quiz	lab server	First 5 minutes of the lab/no make-ups	107 MCH	Single attempt/all questions at once	Part of postlab
Do lab part a	lab server	day of lab to day before next lab	107 MCH	unlimited tries/question at a time	0.8*40% = 32%
Do lab part b	lab server	day of lab to day before next lab	107 MCH	unlimited tries/question at a time	0.2*40% = 8%
Do postlab	prelab/postlab server	1pm before next lab	anywhere but 107 MCH	2 tries/all questions at once	25%

Your private gradebook This has the same username password which is needed for the lessons. [You will also have to add your-code.html to the url above.] This grade book has the participation grade. At the end of the course the MapleTA grades get moved here and your final grade will get computed and reported here.

The free fsu email account are now managed from the FSUID site, this link will point you in the correct direction. You can have your email forwarded to your favorite ISP or you can read your mail directly from the web from this link or you can read your fsu email by several other methods.

MAP 2480 is a computer calculus LAB course mainly for Biologists

Course Description From the Bulletin:

MAP 2480. Biocalculus Computer Laboratory (1). Prerequisite: MAC 2311. A computer laboratory that applies calculus methods to solve problems in biology, medicine, and physiology.

The Dropbox:

• Letter from the Biology Department: Why this Course is Required
• This semester we will mainly being using the FREE Scilab version 5.4.1, You should download and install Scilab on your computer.
• Scilab is a free mathlab clone and availible from scilab.org. Newer Macs can download version 5.4.1,for Lion (10.7). Mac using INTEL machines and Leopard (10.5) or Snow Leopard (10.6) can just download version 5.3.3 if 5.4.1 doesn't work; Mac users on PPC machines or INTEL machines running Tiger (10.4) must also have X11 installed and use an older version of scilab; here is help if you need it.
• FSU Math Tutor List
• The University public computer labs in Oglesby Union (202 OGC), the Carothers Computer Lab (315 MCH) and the Strozier Library Basement all have the lastest stable version 5.4.1
• The RSVP link Used in Fall and Spring to sign-up for the optional quiz at the end of the semester. Wait for a e-mail saying the link is ready.

Last Modified: 2013-05-20