154 Syllabus

Class: Intermediate Algebra
Instructor: Audrey Morrow
College Phone Number: 541-4660 Ext. 545
Home Phone: 577-4141
Email address: ammathtype@aol.com
Class meets: Mondays and Wednesdays, 7PM to 8:50 PM
Room A-208 on the main campus.
Text: Elementaray and Intermediate Algebra by Mark Dugopolski

Last day to register without written permission: Friday, April 9th.
Last day to drop Math 154 with no record: Friday, April 30th.
Last day to drop Math 154 with a "W": Friday, June 4th.
Final Exam date: Monday, June 21st, 7PM to 9PM in Room A-208.
College Holiday: Monday, May 31st, Memorial Day.

Math 154 covers Chapter 10, Sections 3-5; Chapter 11 through Section 4; Chapter 12; Chapter 13 through Section 4; and Chapter 14. We will cover second-degree equations and inequalities, conics and their graphs, both linear and nonlinear systems of equations, relations and functions including inverses, exponential and logarithmic functions, and last, sequences and series. The reading amounts to about 160 pages of college-level material, roughly 15 pages per week.

Homework will be assigned each lecture, with problems selected to coordinate with the material covered in class. You'll be given a reading and assignment sheet, showing which problems to work for each lecture date. Many of the problems will resemble those demonstrated in lecture, with others selected to motivate your thinking and comprehension of the class topics.

Quizzes: We will have three quizzes during the quarter. My quizzes are scheduled, so their content is quite predictable. Generally, they will reflect your last three or four homework assignments.

Tentative midterm schedule: We will have three midterms, and a final exam. Midterm 1 will cover 10.3 through 11.4, and should take place around the end of the third week, or no later than Monday of the fourth week. Our second midterm will cover Chapter 12, and take place sometime around week six; the third midterm covering the Chapter 13 material should take place during the 9th week of class. Anticipate a comprehensive final exam during week twelve, on June 21st. The final will be divided between Chapter 14 and the earlier material. The midterm dates won't deviate by much, but we'll keep them tentative until just before each exam. This way the class has some input regarding the most comfortable timing. Every class moves along at its own pace, and exams are more effective when students feel they've had adequate time to prepare for them.

During the quarter, students will take three exams including the final, 4 or 5 quizzes, and complete 20 or so homework assignments. If you are still enrolled on Monday, June 7th, you will receive a letter grade (A-F) for Math 154. My grading structure is as follows:

I grade on a gradual "curve" which means that students who perform at the top of the class usually get A's and B's, though my system by no means compels me to give D's or F's unless it's warranted. You'll be graded primarily on your level of mastery of the material, with the curve helping me to place those of you who end up borderline between two letter grades. Your grasp of the course topics will determine your grade for the most part, but your work ethic, and your personal behavior will also be reflected in your grade. Please be punctual, be courteous to others in class, and above all, participate in the class by taking notes and asking questions when you don't understand.

MAKE UP EXAMS: You are allowed to make up one exam, with a 10% penalty on your test score. This is not to punish you, it's intended to level out the advantage that is enjoyed by students who had extra time to study. Eg: If you score 90/100 points on a make up exam, 9 points will be subtracted from your total for a final score of 81/100 points. If you wish to make up an exam, you must notify me before the exam. Not showing up will automatically result in a zero. There are no make-up quizzes.

1) Attend each and every lecture if you possibly can. You are allowed two absences in Math 154. Be aware that LTCC's guidelines allow for you to be dropped from the class if you miss more than four classes.

2) Take notes on the material presented. Working along in class is essential to your success in any college course, so never sit through a lecture as a watcher. Don't be concerned if our pace gets in the way of perfect penmanship, you can revise your notes at home and add in any further details that occur to you. Keep a glossary of unfamiliar terms, and pretty soon they won't be.

3) Do the assigned reading before the class discussion, so that you can use your class time to clear up any points you may have found problematic. Work the example problems that accompany the reading for greater ease in handling the homework.

4) Work all of the assigned homework problems. The simpler ones will go quickly for you, and you can identify those that seem "out of reach" as you go along. Ask about those in class, but first attempt to work them, so you can see where your problem is.

5) Ask questions in class. At the beginning of each lecture we'll spend some time going over homework problems that were difficult, so come prepared to bring them to my attention. Chances are, if they were a struggle for you, others had problems with them too.

6) Please see me if you are worried that your performance is below par, or you become concerned about your ability to succeed in the class. I may be able to suggest a better strategy, or to assist you in some other way. Don't wait until you feel that your situation is hopeless.

LEARNING DISABLED STUDENTS: Please see me if you are in the Learning Disabled program, or if you think that you might have a disability. I'll need to know if you have special needs.

CALCULATORS: This course requires a scientific calculator having log and exponential functions. Graphing calculators are forbidden in Math 154. Note: The Gateway Math Center rents calculators for $15.00 per quarter.

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The successful student will: Exhibit proficiency in the topics covered; engage in logical and critical thinking; read technical information; demonstrate solutions to problems by translating written language into mathematical statements; interpret information by sketching relevant diagrams; analyze given information; and formulate appropriate mathematical statements, and checking and verifying results.

In general, homework will be assigned on every class meeting, and collected the following lecture. (Exam dates are an exception; there will be no written homework assigned on exam nights, though there will always be a reading assignment for next time.) For each date listed, there is a lecture with the current topics given, and the homework assignment which will be due on the following class date. (For example, the assignment given for April 12th is based on April 12th's lecture, and will be due next time, on April 14th.)

April 5th: Introduction to Math 154-3. Cover Chapter 10 Section 3, Quadratic functions and their graphs. Homework #1, due on Wed: Read 10.3 and 10.4, reviewing relevant material from 10.1 & 10.2 as needed. Do:10.3 # 1,4,7, 10,13,16,19, 22,25,28,31,34,37,39, 40,41,43, 45.

April 12th: Cover 10.5, Quadratic and rational inequalities. Begin 11.1 through P. 584. Graphs of functions and relations. Homework #3: Read 11.2. 10.5 # 4, 9, 14,19,26,31,36,43,50,61,64; 11.1# 1,5,6, 11, 16, 21. Note the quiz on Wednesday.

April 14th: Finish 11.1, cover 11.2, Transformation of graphs. Quiz on Chapter 10 material, sections 3-5. Homework #4: Read 11.3 & 11.4. Do: 11.1 # 26,31,36,41,46,51,56,61,66. 11.2 # 6, 11, 16,21,26,31, 36,41,46,51, 56,61,66.

April 19th: Cover 11.3 Combining functions, and 11.4, Inverse functions. HW #5: Reread the Chapter 10 and 11 material as needed, for Wednesday's review. Do: 11.3 #5,10, 15, and multiples of 5 through # 70. 11.4 # 1,2,3,8,10,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,53,58,63,68,73.

April 28th: Cover 12.1 and 12.2, Exponential and logarithmic functions. Homework #7: Read 12.3. Do: 12.1# 1, 2,5,6,7,12,17,22,27,32,37,42,47,51,53,56,62,67,71,72,77,82. 12.2 # 1,4,6,11,16,21,26,31,36, and every 5th problem through #86; 88.

May 5th: Cover 12.4, Properties of logarithms. Quiz on 12.1 - 12.3. Homework #9: Reread Ch. 12 as needed. 12.4#1, 2, 3,8,13,18, and every 5th problem through # 58,59, 62,66,67,70.

May 17th: Cover 8.3, Linear Systems in three variables. Begin 13.1, Nonliar systems of equations. Homework # 11: Read 13.2. Do: 8.3# 5,6,7,10,13,16,19,22,25,28,31,33,34,36,37,39.
13.1# 4,7,10.

May 19th: Finish 13.1 and cover 13.2, the Parabola. Note the quiz Monday. Homework #12:
Read 13.3. Do: 13.1# 13,16,19,22,25,28,31,34,37,41,44,47,48. 13.2# 4,7,10,13,16,19,22,27, 32, 37, 43,48.

May 24th: Cover 13.3, Circle, and 13.4, the Ellipse and the Hyperbola. Quiz #3 on 13.1 - 13.3. Homework #13: Reread relevant material from Ch. 13 for the review. Do: 13.3# 1,2,5,8,11, 14, 17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41,44,47,50,53,57; 13.4# 2,4,5,8,11,14,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,38,41, 44, 47,50,53,54. You may turn in this assignment, and HW #14, on 6/2.

May 26th: Review Chapter 13 for Midterm #3 next Wednesday. Homework #14 as assigned. Note that Monday, May 31st is a college holiday, Memorial Day. There is no class Monday.

June 7th: Cover 14.1 and 14.2, Sequences and Series. Homework #15; Read 14.3 & 14.4 Do: 14.1 # 1-5, 8,11,14,17,20,23,26,29,32,35,39,42,45,47,48. 14.2#2-5,8,11,14,17,20,23,26,29,32, 35,38,41,44,47,49,50,51,52.

June 9th: Cover 14.3 and begin 14.4, Arithmetic and Geometric Sequences and Series.Note that Monday, May 31st is a college holiday, Memorial Day. There is no class on Monday. Homework # 16: Read 14.5. Do: 14.3 # 2,4,7,10,13, and every 3rd problem through # 58. 14.4# 2, 4,6,7,12,17,22.

June 14th: Finish 14.4 and cover 14.5, Binomial expansions. HW# 17: Reread the course material as needed to study for the final exam. Do: 14.4# 27, 32, 37,42,47,52,57,58,59,61.
14.5# 1-6, 9,12,15, and every third problem through #39.