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Syllabus
Mat 152b Winter, 2002 Instructor:
George Drake This
syllabus contains important information regarding requirements, grading, and
deadlines. Failure to meet the
expectations spelled out herein may result in receiving a poor grade.
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 152b
(Drake). Required
Text: Auvil, Daniel L: Algebra for College
Students, McGraw-Hill,1996, ISBN 0-07-003106-1 Syllabus
Internet Address:
http://www.ltcc.edu/programs/math/,
then click to syllabii, Mat152b
(Drake). Class
meets M W 1:30pm-3:20pm 1/2/02-3/13/01 and 2:00pm-3:50pm 3/18/01 all in A208 Instructor:
George Drake: (530)541-4660x256
Office:
F-103 Office
Hours: (in
F103) M 3:30-4:30, TTh 2:30-3:30, W
10:00-11:00
(in G4) F 11-12
These hours are for drop-in student tutoring (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 Prerequisite:
A grade of C or better in Mat 152a or the equivalent, or a satisfactory
score on the Mathematics Assessment Test. Grading
Policy:
This class is the continuation of Mat 152a.
Because it continues on in the same textbook, students who have either
not completed 152a recently, or who took the assessment test to get into 152b
are cautioned to expect to spend considerable time adjusting to coming into a
textbook in the middle. 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 152b.
Skills which must be mastered will include, but are not
necessarily limited to, all the skills which are the subject of study in Mat
152a, working knowledge (including their memorization) of the formulas for the
area of a rectangle, triangle, and circle, the perimeter of any polygonal
figure, distance in terms of rate and time, the circumference of a circle, the
Pythagorean theorem, the ability to factor trinomials, including use of the
ac-test, the ability to work successfully with
reasonably simple rational and radical expressions, and the ability to state and
use the quadratic formula.
This material is only a portion of the material covered in MAT152b.
It is, however, used throughout algebra and is essential for later
success in mathematics courses. 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
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 credit, and may not even get any credit at all, 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 the student's score, x, is such that
x > 530 points ( .
90%)
B if the student's score, x, is such that
510 $
x > 490 points ( .
80%)
C if the student's score, x, is such that
470 $
x > 430 points ( .
70%)
D if the student's score, x, is such that
410 $
x > 370 points ( .
60%)
F if the student's score, x, is such that
x < 350 points
Scores which fall in the 20 point windows implied above may go to either
the higher or lower grade depending entirely upon the instructor's personal
evaluation of which score is most appropriate for that student.
Exams will be graded on the basis of 90% = A, 80% =B, etc., unless the
student would do better based upon the instructor's use of a (modified) curve.
This is most often the case, and when the curve does better for the
student, the grade will be translated into a point value reflecting the point
system above.
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 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. The instructor
does not have access to the running total of students' homework scores until the
quarter has ended. It is the
student's responsibility, therefore, to keep track of his/her homework scores
for the purpose of evaluating how one is doing during the quarter.
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 an F. 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 MAT152b.
The use of such calculators in MAT152b 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. Plagiarism
and Academic Dishonesty:
The only portions of this class which may be conducted in a collaborative
manner are the homework, where collaboration is encouraged, and assignments
which may, from time to time be specifically made with the provision that they
are to be collaborative.
Tests and quizes are all closed book, closed notes.
Any attempts to cheat, including talking during a test/quiz or excessive
“wandering eye”, if discovered,
will be severely dealt with. Lecture
and exam schedule:
Lectures and exams will proceed according to the following schedule:
1/2/02 Introduction,
review of graphing, §11.1- (3/4)@
pg 526, review §2.2, Mr.Wright's Method
1/7/02
§ 2.7, Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (FTA) handout §§ 1, 3, &
4, and review multiplication of polynomials.
1/9/02
§§3.6-3.7
1/14/02 §§3.8-3.9
1/16/02 §§3.10-4.1
1/21/02 Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
1/23/02 §§4.2-4.3 and FTA §§5-7
1/28/02 §4.4 and Review
§§11.1+, 2.2, 2.7, 3.1-3.10, Mr. Wright's Method, and FTA §§1,3&4.
1/30/02 Midterm #1 (§§11.1+,
2.2, 2.7, 3.6-3.10. and FTA §§1,3, &4) (One hour) & lecture on §4.5
2/4/02
§§4.6, 5.1-5.2 and go over test
2/6/02
§§5.3-5.4
2/11/02 §§5.5-5.6 and review 4.1-4.6 and FTA §§5-7
2/13/02 Midterm #2 (§§4.1-4.6 & FTA §§5-7) (One hour) &
lecture on §5.7
2/18/02 Washington's Holiday
2/20/02 §§5.8-5.9 and go over test (Notes through 2/11/02
due this date)
2/25/02 §§6.1-6.2
2/27/02 §§6.3, 7.6
3/4/02
§§11.1-11.2 and review §§5.1-6.3
3/6/02
Midterm #3 (§§5.1-6.3 (One hour) & lecture on §11.3
3/11/02 §11.9 and go over test
3/13/02 review all
3/18/02(2:00-4:00)
Final Exam (Comprehensive
for approximately b
of the exam, emphasis on 7.6, 11.2-11.3, and 11.9 for approximately a of the exam)
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
approximately 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. Homework
is due at the end of class every day.
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