Math 125 Los Angeles City College MW 7:00pm-9:30pm Section 3426 fall 2014

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1 Dear student, Math 125 Los Angeles City College MW 7:00pm-9:30pm Section 3426 fall 2014 Welcome to Intermediate Algebra: Math125!! I, Farrah Esmaeili, your Math 125 teacher for the fall semester of 2014, am thrilled to have you as a student! I am on your side and I really want you to learn Math 125 so well that you can successfully move on to the next level and beyond! Below you will find valuable information that will help you succeed in this Intermediate Algebra class. Be sure to read it carefully, and consult it throughout the semester. Remember that the information in it is subject to change, so it is up to you to keep up with any changes by coming to class regularly and staying in touch with your classmates and me. The syllabus begins with the best ways to stay in touch with me - my address and my Math workshops: Instructor: Farrah Esmaeili enjoylearningmath@yahoo.com OR esmaeia@lacitycollege.edu Classroom: FH B14 Office Hours: MW 6:25pm-6:55pm Important Dates: Last day to drop a class without a W: Sep 12 Last day to drop a class with a W: Nov 21 Labor Day (No Class): Sep 1 Veterans Day (No Class): Nov 11. Thanksgiving Holiday (No class): Nov Textbook and other required materials: INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA (3rd ed.) by Sullivan & Struve / PEARSON Course ID: XL1N-01F (Please go to MATERIALS: TI-83 PLUS or TI-84 graphing calculator preferred (other scientific or graphing calculators are acceptable, but you will use the TI-83 and TI-84 in Math 125 and beyond); pencils, small stapler; small pencil sharpener; small ruler, binder or spiral notebook. Calculators or laptops with symbolic manipulation capabilities are not allowed on quizzes or tests. Description: This course is designed to give the student a competency and mastery of more complex algebra operations. The topics include laws of exponents, radicals, equations in one variable (linear, quadratic, and some of higher degree), systems of linear equations, graphical representations, logarithms, binomial theorem, and complex numbers. Prerequisite: Mathematics 115 with a satisfactory grade (C or better) or equivalent. Students are required to present proof of satisfying the prerequisite the first week of class. Students not complying with the prerequisite may be excluded from the class Page 1

2 ATTENDANCE: Class attendance is essential to student success in math. You are expected to be present, prompt and prepared to ask questions about the class material for all class meetings. Coming late to class is irresponsible, impolite, disruptive to your classmates, and is not acceptable. If you miss more than four classes, I may drop you from the course. It is YOUR responsibility to drop the course should you decide to stop attending, DO NOT rely on me to do it for you. If you need to be late or miss a class, please let me know, preferably by and before the class. QUIZZES & CLASSWORK: Quizzes will be given each day and will be approximately 10 minutes long. Quizzes will test your understanding and completion of the homework problems. You will need to do the homework thoroughly and completely to do well on the quizzes. Your two lowest quiz scores will be dropped. Class work, or in-class assignments are designed to further sharpen your skills, and cover some of the harder homework problems. HOMEWORK: Homework is an essential part of the course work. You are expected to spend at least 3 hours outside the classroom on homework and associated studying for each class hour. i.e. for a five-unit class, you should be prepared to spend at least 15 hours doing work per week. EXAMS: There will be four exams. See the schedule for the date and coverage of each exam. All exams are to be taken on time. If the absence is excused, the value of the final exam will be increased by the value of the missed exam. If the absence is unexcused, the exam score will be ZERO. If a second exam is missed, it will be recorded as a ZERO. FINAL EXAM: There will be a Departmental Common Final Exam on Friday Dec 12, 2014 from 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. This Math 125 course has a Departmental Cumulative Common Final scheduled for Friday, Dec 12, 2014, 3:00 5:00 PM. Please make necessary arrangements now (with your employer, for childcare, etc.) because attendance on that day is mandatory. Only cases of emergency (with proper verification) will be accommodated if approved by the Mathematics Department Chair. This will replace any times scheduled for the final for this course in printed class schedule". Cheating Any form of dishonesty will not be tolerated. Do not give me reason to suspect that you are cheating on an assignment, quiz, test, or final. Any form of cheating on any of the above will earn an automatic 0 (zero). This zero cannot be replaced by the final exam score. In addition, the student or students caught cheating will be reported to the Academic Affairs Office and to the Math Department. Classroom conduct: Please check LACC Standard of Student Conduct for expected behavior/consequences. Activities that in any way disrupt other s learning will not be accepted. Disruptive students will be reported to the college s disciplinary office and must meet with a school disciplinary counselor before returning to class. They will be responsible for material missed. Food and drinks are not allowed in class. All pagers, cellular phones, and texting devices must be turned off during class. Office of Special Services:students with a verified disability who may need a reasonable accommodation(s) for this class are encouraged to notify the instructor and contact the Office of Special Services (CH 109, , ext. 2270) as soon as possible. All information will remain confidential. STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOME FOR INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA OUTCOME: Solve a logarithmic equation of a single variable. Page 2

3 CRITERIA: The student will: - Use the properties of logarithmic functions to write an equivalent equation in which each side is just one logarithmic expression, or only one side is a logarithmic expression and the other side is a constant; - Use the principle of logarithmic equality or the definition of logarithm to get an equivalent equation without logarithms; - Solve the equivalent equation and check the answer. ASSESSMENT: Embedded assessment random samples of student work product are collected to be assessed by a committee of faculty from the math department. RUBRIC: - Exemplary: The student is able to satisfy all of the criteria. - Acceptable: The student can write an equivalent equation without logarithms and solve the equivalent equation, but does not check the answer. - Unacceptable: The student is unable to write an equivalent equation without logarithms. Evaluation/Grading: Homework, quizzes, collaborative learning activities 15% Tests (4) 60% Common Final Exam 25% Grading Cut-off: 90% - 100% A 80% % B 70% % C 60% % D 59.9% - below F Tentative Schedule for Math 125 Fall 14 M W F 1 No class! Sec , Sec 2.4, Sec , Sec 3.4, 3.5, 3.6 Sec 4.1, 4.2, TEST # 1 (CH 2&3&4) Sec 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 Sec, Sec 4,8, 5.1, 5.2 Sec 5.3, 5.4,5.5 6 Sec 5.6, 6.1, 6.2 Sec 6.3, 6.4, 6.5 Page 3

4 7 8 9 TEST # 2 (CH 4&5&6) Sec 6.6, 6.7, 6.8 Sec7.1, 7.2, 7.3 Sec 7.4 Sec 7.5, 7.6, 8.1 Sec 8.2, 8.3 Sec 8.4, Sec 9.1 review TEST # 3( CH7&8) Sec 9.2 Sec 9.3, 9.4 Sec 9.5, 9.6 Sec 10.1 Sec Sec 10.4 review Sec review TEST # 4 (CH 9&10) review 15 review review Friday Dec. 12, 2014 Final Exam 3:00 p.m. 5:00 p.m. *Tentative schedule is subject to change. You are responsible for all changes. Homework Assignment SECTION PROBLEMS EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO Odd EOO 3.2 9, 11, 13, 15, EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO Page 4

5 EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO Odd EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO EOO Odd Odd Odd Odd Odd Page 5

6 Farrah Esmaeili Fall Ways to get A s Spend enough time studying Schedule your study time to ensure that you study 2 hours outside of class for every one hour you spend in class each week (12 credits = 12 hours in class/week = 24 hours studying outside of class/week). Make a weekly class/study schedule and follow it! Review what you are learning Spend 5 minutes every day to review class notes, do weekly reviews of each subject. Review the material prior to class and review your notes after class. Stay on Track Keep up with your studying and class assignments. Do all of your homework and turn in all assignments. Try to stay 1-2 chapters ahead in your textbooks and definitely don t fall behind, it is stressful and almost impossible to catch up. Most importantly attend class! Plan your study time Take a few minutes to plan your study time, review what you want to accomplish and get to it. Study minutes than take a short 5 minute break. A short break does wonders for the concentration. Don t check your or phone messages it will be harder to get back to studying and stop your momentum. Use study groups Study groups help you gain a better understanding of what you are learning in your classes. Participating in a study group gives you the opportunity to discuss class material, clarify areas of confusion, compare class notes, and gain different perspectives on class material. Most importantly, you will be motivated to stay up to date with your class assignments and spend more time to studying. Ask 3-5 students in your class to form a study group then schedule weekly study group sessions. Don t multitask while studying When you study, do just that study! Studying while doing two things at once such as sending instant messages (multitasking) makes your studying less effective. This type of studying makes the information you are learning harder to remember later on, especially during tests. Ask questions, get assistance Ask questions. Get help before there is a problem; talk with your instructor, use the campus labs and tutors. Always get assistance if there is a problem never try to do everything by yourself. There are many campus resources designed to support your college success; find out what they are and use them! Page 6

7 Farrah Esmaeili Fall 2014 Battling Math Anxiety Confidence + Preparation = Success Math gets more challenging when you are in college, and it is easy to feel overwhelmed. Here are some tips for approaching this subject: Develop a Positive Attitude Perhaps one of the most important ways that you can do better is simply by having a positive attitude. Don't sell yourself short by saying things like, "I can t do math; I am no good at math." If you believe you can do it, you will be able to do it! Ask a Lot of Questions There's nothing embarrassing about wanting to get some clarification. It may not even be a matter of you not getting something. It may be a matter of the teacher not explaining it fully. Don't Fall Behind You're building on a base of skills and concepts. If you miss something early on, it gets harder to catch up later. Plus, to take the next level of courses in math or science, you need to master the concepts to be successful. Get a Tutor Use the math lab or tutoring centers and resources on campus for help. Ask your instructor for advice or a recommendation. Build Your Confidence When you do your homework, start with easier problems or problems you know you can do. That will give you confidence to approach more difficult problems. Study with Friends or Classmates Working through problems with them is sometimes more helpful and enjoyable than do so by yourself. Don't Ignore Your Wrong Answers While accuracy is always important, a wrong answer can tell you to look further and see if you really understood the question. Page 7

Please read this entire syllabus, keep it as reference and is subject to change by the instructor.

Please read this entire syllabus, keep it as reference and is subject to change by the instructor. Math 125: Intermediate Algebra Syllabus Section # 3288 Fall 2013 TTh 4:10-6:40 PM MATH 1412 INSTRUCTOR: Nisakorn Srichoom (Prefer to be call Ms. Nisa or Prof. Nisa) OFFICE HOURS: Tuesday at 6:40-7:40 PM