Math 154

Intermediate Algebra/three meetings per week format

Instructor:             George Drake: B.A., M.A., and C.Ph. all in math from UC Davis.

Office:    F-130

Phone:    (530)541-4660x256

Office Hours:

                Because of extremely limited space in F130, the instructor’s office hours will normally begin in an available classroom and persist there until such time as the room ceases to be available, or student questions are exhausted, whichever occurs first.  Always go initially to the room indicated first in the schedule below, but, if no one appears to be there, then go to F130, where the instructor will be completing the office hour:

M.W.:     3:20-4:20 A209/F130

                T.:           2:50-3:50 A211/F130

                Th.:         2:50-4:10 A211/F130

                F.:            12:10-12:50 A211/F130

Text:       Dugopolski, Mark: Elementary and Intermediate Algebra; McGraw-Hill, 1^st Ed., ISBN# 0-07-245028-2

Class Meets:         M.W. F. 11:00-12:10 (no break) in A211

Syllabus: (Note: This is a tentative schedule, subject to change via announcement in class.)

Week:                     Sections:

                1              10.3-10.4 (+handouts); (Quadratic functions and their graphs and more on quadratic equations), and the Notation and Pre-requisite skills handouts.

                2              10.5-11.2 (+translation of axes h.o.); (Quadratic and Rational inequalities, graphing functions, and transformations and translations of graphs).

                3              11.3-11.4; (Combinations of functions, and inverse functions).

                4              12.1-12.2 (+handouts), Review 10.3-11.4; (Logarithmic functions and exponential functions).

                5              Test #1, 12.3-12.4; (Properties of logarithmic functions, and applications).

                6              Revisit test #1, 8.3 and 13.1; (Systems in three variables and nonlinear systems of equations).

                7              13.2-13.3; (The parabola and the circle).

                8              13.4-13.5, 14.1-14.2; (ellipses, hyperbolas, second degree inequalities, sequences and series in general).

                9              Review 8.3 and 12.2-13.5, Test #2, 14.3 (Arithmetic sequences and series).

                10            Revisit test #2, 14.4-14.5; (Geometric sequences and series, the binomial theorem).

                11            Review.

Exact dates of assignments and contents of the tests will be given via announcements/handouts in class. The above is, therefore, only a guideline.  However, the indicated dates for each exam will be adhered to barring only severe, unexpected, circumstances.  Those exact dates are as follows:

                Test 1: Monday, February 3, 2003

                Test 2: Wednesday, March 5, 2003

Anticipate a comprehensive final exam.  This quarter's final is scheduled to occur in this room (A211) from 10:00 to 12:00 (note the early start!) on Monday, March 24, 2003.

General Policy Statement

Mat 154

I)             Time Commitment:

                Two hours out of class for each 50 minutes of class time.

II)            Note Taking:

                You are expected to keep comprehensive notes on lectures and will be tested on material from class whether or not it duplicates the text.  Arrange with another student to get assignments and notes from any classes you miss.

III)           Attendance:

                Instructors may drop students if they miss a total of two more meetings than the number of times the class meets per week.  See me if you wish to be exempted from this policy.

                However, If you wish to drop the class by a certain date in order to avoid various kinds of penalties, you must attend to the task yourself by going directly to the Admissions and Records office.  The Instructor is not responsible for a student not meeting deadlines!

IV)           Grading:

                Scores which count toward your grade are as follows:

Midterms (hour long exams)

Homework

Weekly Quizzes (Given at start of the first classmeeting of each non-midterm week)

Participation/Effort

Final Exam

                No scores may be “thrown out.”  The final exam is weighed between 1.5 and 2 times as much as a midterm.  The total of quizzes and homework is approximately equal to that of one midterm. Quizzes may contain questions on lectures as well as on homework-type problems. 

                All scores will be based on a modified version of “grading on the curve.”  The essential characteristics of this “modified curve” method are these:

1) Grading is, generally, competitive.  The students who perform best on any particular meassure will receive better grades than those performing less well. (Approximately 10% of the original number of students enrolled in the class will get A’s, 20% B’s, 40% C’s,20% D’s, and 10% F’s–important here is the “of the original number of students enrolled” comment, as it is always the case that many students who begin this class do not persist.)

2) No student will be given a grade lower than he would have received on the basis of “90-80-70" scoring schemes.

3) If the class as a whole performs unusually well (in the instructor’s opinion), the percentages listed as guidelines in 1) above may be adjusted to reflect this fact.  Likewise if the class performs unusually poorly.

4) If an individual student performs so poorly as to indicate insufficient mastery of the material to justify a passing grade, the student’s relative standing in the class will be disregarded.

V)            Late and/or Missed Work:

                Homework will be counted at one-half credit if received within one week of date due.

                Missed Quizzes cannot be made up.

                One midterm may be made up (i.e., taken at a time other than the scheduled administration) with the instructor's permission, which must be obtained in advance.  However, a made up exam is automatically subject to three penalties:

1) The actual score will not exceed the "earned score, minus," i.e. an earned B+ becomes, at best, an actual score of B, etc. 

2) The actual score will not exceed the best of the scores received on exams taken by the student on time, and

3) The actual score will not exceed the best of the scores received on that midterm by students taking the exam during its regularly scheduled administration.

WARNING:  It is the responsibility of the student taking a make-up exam to find out whether any corrections/clarifications were made between the time of the test's duplication and his/her actually seeing it.

VI)  Final Deadline for all Late Work and/or Extra Credit:

                The last Friday before the first week of finals.

VII)         Miscellaneous:

                Students must have a scientific handheld calculator, which they are to bring to class daily.  However, students will not be allowed to use graphing calculators on exams.

                Students are always required to show their work.  If there is any question in a student's mind whether a grader will doubt that a step might have been completed mentally, the student should write "B.I." (for "By Inspection") next to the written work.  Calculations which require the use of a handheld calculator should be annotated with “H. H. C.” (for handheld calculator).

                Homework must be properly addressed and formatted (the standard format will be explained on the first day of class). Graphs must be done on graphing paper!

                The prerequisite for this class is Mat 152b, beginning algebra, part two, with a grade of C or better.  If this course was not completed within the last two years, please see the instructor.  Anyone not meeting this prerequisite must take an assessment test administered by Student Services.  Beginning algebra classes from other institutions may satisfy the prerequisite: see the instructor for a determination.