MTH 151/152 Math for Liberal Arts Syllabus

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1 MTH 151/152 Math for Liberal Arts Syllabus Teacher: Brandon Wright Room: 4016 Contact: Phone: Website: Class Description: This course will cover topics in sets, logic, numeration, geometric systems, functions, combinatorics, probability, statistics, and algebraic systems. Text: Math for the Liberal Arts (2 nd Custom Edition for NOVA), Boston: Person Learning Solutions. [Taken from Miller, C.D., Heeren, V.E., & Hornsby, J. (2008). Mathematical Ideas (expanded 12 th edition)] Credit: Full year, one high school credit AND up to 6 college credit through NVCC. Prerequisite: Competency in Math Essentials Units MTE 1-5 as demonstrated through the placement and diagnostic tests, or by completion through unit 5 in an MTT course. A student who provides official evidence of a minimum mathematics score of 550 on the SAT or a minimum score of 22 on the ACT taken within the last two years may register for these courses without taking the math placement test. MTH 151 and 152 do not have to be taken in sequence. Materials: You are required to bring all necessary materials to class daily: Textbook Paper Pencil(s) Binder Scientific or higher calculator (TI-83 plus or higher calculator is highly recommended) Grading Scale: Tests/Projects 65% A C Homework/Classwork 15% B D+ Final Exam 20% B D C E All assessments may contain any previously taught material. Student grades reflect student achievement and not student behavior. NVCC Grading Guidelines: This is a dual enrollment course with Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC). As a result, there are grading requirements made by NVCC that vary slightly from the APS grading guidelines. These requirements include: 1. Submission of two separate grades to NVCC, one for MTH 151 and one for MTH 152. However, the final grade on the APS transcript will be a combination of the two grades. 2. A separate final exam at the end of each course. MTH 151's final exam will be administered at the end of 2nd quarter, while MTH 152's final exam will be administered before Senior Experience begins. 3. Not using plus or minus grades for the NVCC final grades. For example, a student may receive a B+ on their APS transcript, but that grade will be reported as a B for the NVCC transcript. High school GPA is determined by the APS transcript only. In order to simulate the experience of a college-level semester course, grades for MTH 151 will carry over across both 1st and 2nd quarters. The 1st quarter grade will be equivalent to an interim grade in a college-level semester course, although it will be reported as the 1st quarter grade on the APS report card. No grades will be counted twice, but a student will be able to see a running record of his/her grades throughout the entire semester. Additionally, at the end of the 2nd quarter, the lowest test grade from the entire semester will be dropped before calculating the final grade for the MTH 151 course. MTH 152 will work the same way across the 3rd and 4th quarters.

2 Drop/Withdrawal Information: A student may drop the class by October 20 th, 2016 or withdraw by December 12, Dropped classes will not appear on the student s transcripts while a withdrawal will appear on the transcripts as a W. If you choose to exercise either of these options please speak with me as I need to send information to NVCC. Spring dates are February 24 th and April 28 th for drop and withdrawal. Course Expectations: This is a college course. My expectations for you are high. Students must take the responsibility for understanding the material by: Be present for all class meetings. Using time management skills to ensure keeping up with the class Completing homework and other assignments - including online assignments Turning in things on time - no late work accepted Not expecting credit for work that does not deserve any. Grades are based on quality. Homework: Homework will be assigned but not all assignments will be collected. On the day of the test selected homework assignments will be turned-in with the test. You are allowed to work with other students to complete your homework; however your write-ups must be your own. Tests: For the most part, we will have chapter tests. I will announce the date of the test at least a week in advance. If you know ahead of time that you are going to be absent, for any excused reason, you must tell me before the day of the test to schedule a time to take the test BEFORE it is given in class. If you neglect to do so, you will not be given the opportunity to retake the test. Please avoid making doctor's appointments during our class times. You will be asked to make up any previously scheduled missed test within one week of the last day of your absence. You must take the responsibility to schedule a make-up time. Credit will not be given if you have an unverified absence on the day of a test or quiz. Academic Integrity: Students are both part of Arlington Public Schools (APS) and NVCC, and they are accountable for both academic honor codes: APS (page 8-9 of Washington-Lee High School student handbook) There is one fundamental principle: all work submitted must be the student's own. For homework and class work, students may ask for assistance from other classmates or faculty, but each student's work should be unique. During exams, help is not to be given or accepted. Using another student's work or answers, and claiming them as your own is a violation. Violations will result in an automatic zero on the assignment or exam. In addition, parents and the administration will be contacted. NVCC ( Neither cheating nor plagiarism will be tolerated. If you are found cheating or plagiarizing, you will receive a grade of 0 and the incident reported to the department and dean. According the NOVA Student Handbook: Academic dishonesty cannot be condoned. When such misconduct is established as having occurred, it subjects you to possible disciplinary actions ranging from admonition to dismissal, along with any grade penalty the instructor might, in appropriate cases, impose. Procedural safeguards of due process and appeal are available to you in disciplinary matters. Please reference the student handbook online at

3 Where To Find Extra Help: At some point during this course it is not unusual to find you need extra help. Below are several resources at your disposal and pertinent information about them: Student Expecations: Zero Period Room 4016 o 7:20-8:10 daily Generals period o Must get a pass from Mr. Wright to attend. Lunch Room 4017 o A teacher will be present during each lunch to help. After School o Mr. Wright s Room (room 4016) Most days (Wednesday is usually a meeting day for the school) 3:01-4:00 ish Let me know if you plan to come after school, as I will leave if no one is in my room by 3:20 It is expected that all students understand what constitutes appropriate behavior. You can refer to your student handbook regarding particular policies. Remember beyond the 2 nd unexcused tardy in a quarter a detention will be assigned to the student. Please note that electronic devices (cell phones, ipods, mp3 players) should be put away at all times in my class. See the electronic device policy at the end of the syllabus. The key to success in this class is very simple. Come to class every day ready to learn (we do not have free days in my class), be prepared for class, do your homework, pay attention, participate in class, and study for tests and quizzes. If you do all these simple things you will have a great year in math! I m looking forward to a successful year, and I hope you are too. MTH 151 Major Topics to be Included A.Sets 1.Set notation 2.Relations-equality, subset, disjoint sets 3.Operations-union, intersection, complement 4.Venn diagrams 5.Applications-survey problems B.Logic 1.Statements 2.Connectives 3.Propositions (negation, conditional, converse, inverse, contrapositive) 4.Truth tables 5.Validity of arguments 6.Logical equivalence C.Numeration Systems 1.Historical perspective of numerical systems 2.Place value systems a.binary

4 b.octal c.decimal d.hexadecimal 3.Conversion between bases 4.(optional) Computation in bases other than decimal D.Geometry 1.Euclidean geometry -concepts such as area, perimeter, and volume 2.Non-Euclidean geometry 3.Topology -concepts such as genus, networks, tiling, and the four color theorem E.Optional topics 1.Sequences and Seri 2.Chaos 3.Fractals 4.Consumer mathematics 5.Metric system 6.Number Theory 152 Major Topics to be Included A.Statistics 1.Organization and display of data 2.Measures of central tendency, such as mean, median, or mode 3.Measures of dispersion, such as range, variance, or standard deviation 4.Normal curve 5.Samples and populations 6.Inferential statistics, such as confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, or regression B.Combinatorics 1.Counting techniques, such as tree diagrams 2.Counting principles a.permutations b.combinations C.Probability 1.Basic concepts such as theoretical probability, empirical probability, or odds 2.Computation of probabilities a.negation or complement b.sum or union c.conditional D Algebraic systems 1.Real number system axioms 2.Modular arithmetic 3.Systems such as groups, rings, or fields E.Functions 1.Coordinate geometry 2.Linear functions a.graphing b.applications F.Optional topics 1.Systems of linear equations 2.Linear programming 3.Exponential growth and decay 4.Matrices

5 Electronic Devices Policy In order to help maintain a classroom environment centered on learning, the math department has adopted a cell phone policy in all math classrooms. Students will not have cell phones (or other electronic devices) on their person, their desk, or visible in any way. Cell phones (or other electronic devices) must be silenced and out of sight at all times unless specifically permitted for instructional purposes. Upon the first offense the student will hand over their device until the end of class. If a student refuses, administration will be notified. Upon the second offense the device will be turned over to the main office for the student to collect at the end of the day. Any offense beyond that will require a parent or legal guardian to come to Washington- Lee to collect the device from the student s administrator.

Instructor: Matthew Wickes Kilgore Office: ES 310

MATH 1314 College Algebra Syllabus Instructor: Matthew Wickes Kilgore Office: ES 310 Longview Office: LN 205C Email: mwickes@kilgore.edu Phone: 903 988-7455 Prerequistes: Placement test score on TSI or