Syllabus Mat 152a Winter, 2000

Instructor: George Drake

George Drake

Office: F103 Phone:(530)541-4660x256

Office Hours: MW 4:00-5:00, TTh 9:30-10:30

Or by appointment if the student finds these hours difficult

Auvil, Daniel L: Algebra for College Students, McGraw-Hill,1996, ISBN 0-07-003106-1

A grade of C or better in all modules of Mat 181 or the equivalent, or a satisfactory score on the Mathematics Assessment Test.

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 (³5) 50pts

Class Notes 100pts**

Final Exam (comprehensive) 150pts

Total Possible points 600pts

* 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.

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 ³ 540 points

B if ³ 480 points

C if ³ 420 points

D if ³ 360 points

F if < 360 points

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.

Homework may be handed in up to one week late for ½ 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 ½ of his/her average homework score. To meet the requirement that ½ 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.

Lectures and exams will proceed according to the following schedule:

Jan 4 Introduction and §1.1

Jan 6 §§1.2-1.3

Jan 11 §§1.4-1.5

Jan 13 §§2.1-2.2

Jan 18 Review §§1.1-1.5

Jan 20 Midterm #1 (§§1.1-1.5)

Jan 25 §§2.3-2.4

Jan 27 §§2.5-2.6

Feb 1 §§2.7 and 3.1

Feb 3 §§3.2-3.3

Feb 8 Review §§2.1-3.1

Feb 10 Midterm #2 (§§2.1-3.1)

Feb 15 §§3.4-3.5

Feb 17 §4.7

Feb 22 §§7.1-7.2

Feb 24 Review §§3.2-4.7

Feb 29 Midterm #3 (§§3.2-4.7)

Mar 2 §§7.3-7.4

Mar 7 §7.5

Mar 9 §§8.1-8.2

Mar 14 Review §§7.1-8.2

Mar 16 Review all

Mar 23 (1:00-3:00) Final Exam (Comprehensive with an emphasis on §§7.1-8.2)

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 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 00

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. Homework is due at the start of class every day.