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Syllabus
Mat 152a Fall, 2001 Instructor:
George Drake Having
received this document, the student is expected to know its contents, whether
explained verbally or not. Read it!
This syllabus may also be viewed online by going to http://www.ltcc.edu/programs/math/,
then click to syllabi, Mat 152a
(Drake). Instructor:
George Drake
Office: F103
Phone:(530)541-4660x256
Office Hours: M 3:30-4:30, T
5:00-6:00, W 12:00-1:00, Th 2:30-3:30, F 12:30-1:30
These hours are for drop-in student counseling (i.e., I am there waiting
for someone, anyone, to show up). If
I appear to be busy, be sure to make your presence known, as I rotate
questioning amongst all students who are in attendance.
In addition, individual appointments may be made, but please observe the
courtesy of attempting to meet your needs through the drop-in service as much as
is practical. Thanks Text:
Auvil, Daniel L: Algebra for College Students, McGraw-Hill,1996,
ISBN 0-07-003106-1 Prerequisite:
A grade of C or better in all modules of Mat 181 or the equivalent, or a
satisfactory score on the Mathematics Assessment Test. Grading
Policy:
This class is entry level for algebra.
For success it requires a good understanding of arithmetic, upon which
algebra is built, hence the prerequisite requirements stated above.
A good understanding (as opposed to a casual understanding) of several of
the topics introduced in this class is necessary for success in the succeeding
math classes. In keeping with this
last observation, STUDENTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO DEMONSTRATE MASTERY OF CERTAIN
MINIMUM COMPETENCIES before being given a passing grade in MAT 152a.
Skills which must be mastered will be pointed out as such in
class. These will include, but
are not necessarily limited to, the ability to apply the properties of
equality, of inequality, of addition and multiplication, and of exponents to
expressions and/or equations involving variables and relations.
These properties are summarized on the inside cover of the textbook.
This material is only a small portion of the material covered in MAT152a.
It is, however, used throughout this course and is central to all work in
Algebra. Subject to the restriction
indicated in the previous paragraph, scoring will be on the basis of the
following:
Homework (due daily)
100pts*
Each midterm exam (3)
100pts**
Surprise quizzes based on the
homework and given at start
of class ($5)
50pts
Lab time at the Gateway Math Center
25 pts †
plus feedback to instructor
Class Notes
100pts** #
Final Exam (comprehensive)
150pts
Total Possible points
625pts *
If less than half of the homework is handed in (including late work) with
legitimate evidence of effort, the student cannot receive a grade greater than
C, no matter what other scores are attained in other areas.
Occasionally homework may include some problems from sections not yet
touched on in lectures. In such
cases any legitimate effort will be counted the same as a correct solution.
Not every problem on each homework assignment will be graded.
Instead, a representative sample (some easy problems, some medium, and
some hard, some odd numbers, some even) will be graded and scored.
The grade for that homework assignment will be the score received on the
sample. **
The best three scores of the three midterms and the class notes will be
counted. #
See the general policy statement for a description of the class notes
requirement. †
Each student is required to visit the GMC twice within the first 3
weeks of class (log in and ask the aide for help with the “math applets”)
and then give the instructor feedback on the experience and facility.
Feedback is preferred in written form (a note will do) but it may be in
verbal form so long as the log in records at the GMC reflect two visits before
October 10, 2001.
A maximum of 50 points may be earned through extra credit assignments
which will be given from time to time throughout the quarter.
All work will be graded on the basis of the process the student employs
at least as much as on the result, so always show your work!
Correct answers which obviously required written work will not be given
full--even much--credit if the work is not shown.
With the restrictions mentioned in the first paragraph and
at * above, grades will be assigned as follows:
A if $
562 points
B if $
500 points
C if $
437 points
D if $
375 points
F if < 375 points
The last day to withdraw from this class with no record is Oct 12, 2001.
The last day to withdraw with the letter grade of “W” is Nov 16,
2001.
The I grade is not intended as a way of avoiding a grade the student
doesn't want, or even one which the instructor doesn't wish to give.
It will not, therefore, be given except in circumstances which cannot
have been foreseen and which occur too late to withdraw from the class. Late
and Make-up policy:
Homework may be handed in up to one week late for ˝ credit.
However, late work will not normally be graded.
Instead the student will be given credit at the end of the quarter for
each late assignment at the rate of ˝
of his/her average homework score. To
meet the requirement that ˝ of the homework be attempted in order to score
better than a C, homework may be handed in until the date of the final.
Any homework received later than one week from the due date will be given
a zero point value.
Quizzes may not be made up.
Midterms and the final may only be made up if arrangements are
made before the exam or upon the presentation of written
documentation that the absence was beyond the student's control and
unpredictable (e.g., doctor's note on letterhead stationary, police accident
report, etc.) If a student misses a
midterm under other circumstances, that score will be the one thrown out.
If a student misses the final under other circumstances, the score on the
final will be zero. Restriction
on use of certain calculators:
The student will be expected to use a calculator for much of this class,
including on many specific homework assignments.
However, there are now on the market calculators (called symbolic
manipulators) which will do much of the work being taught in MAT152a.
Although it might be successfully argued that, in order to use such
calculators correctly, one needs first to know independently what it is that
they are doing, it can hardly be argued that, by using such machines, one will
learn to do what they do. Hence
their use in MAT152a is forbidden (yes, even for homework).
The machines prohibited include the TI 89 and some other so called
“graphing” calculators. If
you wish to use a graphing calculator other than the TI89--which you may
not use!--get the instructor's approval first. Lecture
and exam schedule, including due dates of assignments:
Lectures and exams will proceed according to the following schedule:
Sept 17 Introduction and §1.1
Sept 19 §§1.2-1.3
Assignment #1 due
Sept 24 §§1.4-1.5
Assignment #2 due
Sept 26 §§2.1-2.2
Assignment #3 due
Oct 1
Review §§1.1-1.5 Assignment #4 due
Oct 3
Midterm #1 (§§1.1-1.5) first hour + lecture on §2.3
Oct 8
Go Over exam + lecture on §2.4
Assignments ##5&6 due
Oct 10
§§2.5-2.6
Assignment #7 due
Also date
by which GMC visits must be
completed
Oct 15
§§2.7 and 3.1
Assignment #8 due
Oct 17
§§3.2-3.3
Assignment #9 due
Oct 22
Review §§2.1-3.1 Assignment
#10 due
Oct 24 Midterm #2 (§§2.1-3.1) first hour + lecture on
3.4
Oct 29
Go Over Exam + lecture on §3.5
Assignments ##11&12 due
Oct 31
§4.7
Assignment #13 due
Nov 5
§§7.1-7.2
Assignment #14 due
Nov 7
Review §§3.2-4.7 Assignment
#15 due
Nov 14 Midterm #3 (§§3.2-4.7) first hour + lecture on §7.3
Nov 19 §§7.4
Assignments ##16&17 due 7+
Notes Due!
Nov 21 Go Over Exam + lecture on §7.5 & 8.1
Assignment #18 due
Nov 26 Return Notes +§8.2 + review §§7.1 & 8.1 Assignment #19 due
Nov 28 Review all
Assignment #20 due
Dec 3
Assignment #21 due
Dec 3 (2:00-3:50)
Final Exam (Comprehensive with an emphasis on §§7.1-8.2)
NOTE THE IRREGULAR TIME FOR THE FINAL!
Also note the fact that the last homework is due on the date of the
final.
Please come to class having read the material which is to be covered in
class that day. Sometimes this will
be hard to do, as the material may be very difficult to understand when it is
read without the benefit of having heard a lecture on the topic. But, when that is the case, it gives the student the benefit
of knowing in advance which topics are most confusing. When it is not the case, it gives him/her a head start on the
lecture, making it easier to benefit from any special nuances which may be brought out in class. Homework
Assignments:
Homework assignments will be made via handouts which will be distributed
every two weeks, covering the following two weeks.
These handouts will also be available in the tray outside
F103 after distribution in class, but the student is expected to attend
class, and the instructor accepts no responsibility for difficulties which may
arise from the student's failure to do so--including the possibility that
the instructor may forget to leave the assignment sheets in the tray.
Homework is due at the start of class on the date due. Keys to the homework assignments will be posted on the white board next to F103 by the day after the assignment is due. How
your lecture notes are graded I)
Completeness, Accuracy, and Organization are each weighted at 25% of the
grade, Evidence of Use is 15%, and Neatness is 10%. II)
To appraise completeness and accuracy, several specific topics spread
throughout the grading period will be spot checked for inclusion and accuracy.
In addition, one or two dates will be selected for detailed examination.
If you have missed a class, inclusion of Xeroxed copies of someone else's
notes will be expected (be aware, however, that the completeness and accuracy of
the copied notes are still the responsibility of the student handing them
in--therefore it is wise to clarify any questions you have after reading over
your friend's notes with the instructor during office hours).
Satisfactory organization will require, at the minimum, clearly dated
entries in sequential order. Any
supplemental addenda, such as a glossary, returned tests/homework, etc., should
be incorporated in such a way as minimize interference with the logical flow
from lecture to lecture. For
example, Glossaries ought to be at the end of the notes.
Take care, in addition, that supplemental data not interfere with, nor
disrupt, the integrity of the lecture notes: for example, inclusion of a
definition in a glossary at the end of your notes will not support a "claim
of completeness" should that definition not also occur in your notes on the
date it was given in class.
Evidence of Use would normally take the form of highlighting and/or
underscoring, but other means of assessing whether you have referred frequently
and consistently to your notes may also be employed whenever
appropriate/possible.
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