COURSE DESCRIPTION: INSTRUCTOR: Roya Sabeti SYLLABUS Math 98 EMAIL: rsabeti@pierce.ctc.edu Phone: 253-840-8361 Office Hours: 10 am 12 noon M Th, CTR 190M, Puyallup Campus MA 98: Algebraic skills, concepts, and applications. Simplifying and operating with polynomial, rational, and radical expressions. Use of quadratic, rational, and radical models to solve problems encountered in the real world. Solving quadratic, rational, radical, and absolute value equations and systems of linear equations. Function concepts and graphs. REQUIRED MATERIALS: Web access Internet & Email (that you check regularly) You must use the Textbook website frequently and for extended periods to learn the material and to submit practice problems and assessments online. An appropriate internet browser and high speed access will be needed. You may use computers at school or any computer with internet access, but please be aware that online access is REQUIRED. The primary method of communication in any online course is through email so you MUST check your STUDENT email regularly. Access to ALEKS online: Online Text & Learning system We will use an online, interactive textbook through the ALEKS learning system. Directions to get into ALEKS can be found in Canvas. Technical & Organizational Skills You will need to navigate web sites, download files from websites, use email, and learn how to type mathematical expressions and equations. You will also need to keep neat and organized notes (notebook/binder/folder) whatever system you like to keep your papers organized. You must have a neat system for keeping your notes, weekly assignments and any classroom information. Even though this is an online class and I may never see your notebook it is very important to develop the habit to keep organized notes. This will help you in your other classes as well. Failure to log on to Canvas and ALEKS within the 100% refund window may result in being administratively withdrawn from the course.
IMPORTANT DATES: Check the Pierce College Academic Calendar at http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/studentlife/calendars/academic for important dates including when 50% and 100% refunds END and for the last day to withdraw from a course so no grade will be posted on your transcript. COURSE STRUCTURE: This class is a web-based lab format course using ALEKS. You will be taking most of the responsibility for your own learning. Your time is spent working topics in your pie, reading the text, watching videos, asking for help, and taking assessments. All of this will be available online. You may work on all available parts of your pie in ALEKS anywhere that you have internet access however THE FINAL EXAM MUST BE PROCTORED AND MUST BE TAKEN IN AN AUTHORIZED LOCATION. See the Canvas module on the proctored final for more details. Students often try to learn how to do a problem by simply trying it over and over again. ALEKS gives you many tools to learn the material and you should take advantage of all the resources if you miss a topic more than once or have never seen a question like it before. Ask for help before you get to the frustration level. Email is the best way to contact me for help. This course is specifically tailored to your needs: The first time you log onto ALEKS you will take an initial assessment to determine what you already know. If you know how to do a problem great, if not, simply click I Don t Know and move on. If you do not get any items correct you will start from the beginning. If you do get some of the topics correct then you will not have to redo them, although they can still show up on your assessments or final exams. Be honest and do not cheat yourself by guessing if you are not sure how to do a problem. No study aids, books or notes allowed. Once your initial assessment is done you start learning mode in ALEKS. If you get the topic right several times you will be prompted to move on to a new topic. If you get the topic wrong it will offer you an explanation, a reference/ reading assignment in the book, and for most topics a video will be available. You can also ask me questions through email, or call me during office hours. You will be allowed to take the Practice final exams early if you reach 90% or better on a weekly assessment.
REQUIREMENTS / % OF FINAL GRADE 1. PIE MASTERY 5% of your overall grade You must make steady progress in learning the topics required in the course. 2. TIME EXPECTATIONS 10% of your overall grade You must log a minimum of 10 hours in ALEKS every week. I will drop the lowest 4 scores to compensate for any unusual situations that come up and prevent you from putting in the required number of hours per week. Most students should spend 2 hours studying outside of class for every 1 hour spent in lecture for a regular math class. According to this theory you should spend 15 hours per week working on this online course even though the graded requirement is for 10 hours a week. If you do not spend this much time working on a regular basis you may find yourself ill prepared for college level math requirements and expectations. The more you put into your learning the more you will get out of it. Students that finish their course before finals week will be granted full credit for this category. 3. Knowledge Checks 20% of your overall grade Initial assessment + Every TUESDAY, you will have an assessment in ALEKS. The initial assessment will be given the first time you log onto ALEKS. The weekly assessments will be available Sunday through Monday. Only the highest weekly Knowledge Check will be kept for the final grade calculation. 4. Check-Ins 5% of your overall grade In the first weeks of the quarter I will send a few questionnaires for you to fill out so I can make sure you are on track to successfully finish the course on time. 5. FINAL EXAM 60% of your overall grade The final exam is comprehensive and proctored. You must take the final in an approved supervised location. You must get at least a 60% on the final exam to pass this class. No calculators, notes, or books will be allowed on the Final Exam. There will be required practice tests for the final exam that will help you study. *This represents 100% of your grade and you must have at least a 2.0 / 75% to move on to the next course
Determining your grade Your grade will be calculated based on the points you earn on the Progress Checks, Time Expectations, Canvas, and Final Exam. The percentage of points earned out of the number of possible points will be calculated. The percentage grade is translated to a decimal grade as follows: 95-100% = 4.0 A 89% = 3.4 B 83% = 2.8 B 77% = 2.2 C 71% = 1.6 C 65% = 1.0 D 94% = 3.9 A 88% = 3.3 B 82% = 2.7 B 76% = 2.1 C 70% = 1.5 C 0 64%= 0.0 F 93% = 3.8 A 87% = 3.2 B 81% = 2.6 B 75% = 2.0 C 69% = 1.4 D 92% = 3.7 A 86% = 3.1 B 80% = 2.5 B 74% = 1.9 C 68% = 1.3 D 91% = 3.6 A 85% = 3.0 B 79% = 2.4 C 73% = 1.8 C 67% = 1.2 D 90% = 3.5 A 84% = 2.9 B 78% = 2.3 C 72% = 1.7 C 66% = 1.1 D Note about Grades: 2.0 is the minimum requirement to advance to the next math course. Withdrawals: Withdrawals are student initiated. Please talk with your instructor before you initiate the withdrawal process. If you should "disappear" without a formal withdrawal by the withdraw date you will receive a 0.0. NO incomplete grades will be issued for this class. (NC are only used for unforeseen circumstances- contact your instructor) Special Needs: Your experience in this class is important to me, and it is the policy and practice of Pierce College to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you experience barriers based on disability, please seek a meeting with the Access and Disability Services (ADS) manager to discuss and address them. If you have already established accommodations with the ADS manager, please bring your approved accommodations (green sheet) to me at your earliest convenience so we can discuss your needs in this course. ADS offers resources and coordinates reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Reasonable accommodations are established through an interactive process between you and the ADS manager, and I am available to help facilitate them in this class. If you have not yet established services through ADS, but have a temporary or permanent disability that requires accommodations (this can include but not be limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), you are encouraged to contact ADS at 253-964-6526 (Fort Steilacoom) or 253-840-8335 (Puyallup).
Math Anxiety: Math Anxiety is real for some. I assure you that everyone in this class has the ability to learn the material for this course if they spend enough time working on it. That doesn t mean it will be easy or that every test answer will be correct. It means that you can learn math well if you give it enough quality time. If you think you have math anxiety seek help and don t give up. Tutoring Information: * Tutoring is available during open lab and at the tutoring centers at both campuses. Please see http://www.pierce.ctc.edu/dist/tutoring/ for more information. Note that ONLINE Tutoring is available at this website. Academic Integrity: You are on your honor to take all assessments without calculators (unless provided in ALEKS), notes, books, or help for others. It is your responsibility to be familiar with Pierce College s Code of Student Rights and Responsibilities. Class will be conducted adhering to this code. Any person caught cheating (ex. use of notes, calculator) on a test will receive a 0.0 grade for the test and may fail the class. * Information in this syllabus is subject to change. Any changes will be announced to the student via email or posted in the Course Forum in ALEKS.
MATH 98 Course Outcomes Function: Concepts and Graphs 1. Identify and analyze functions given as graphs, tables, formulas, or descriptions from realworld sources. 2. State the domains and ranges of functions represented in each of the above forms. 3. Evaluate functions represented in each of the above forms, particularly using standard function notation f(x). 4. Graph linear, absolute value, quadratic, square root, and exponential functions. Algebraic Expressions: Rational and Radical 5. Simplify rational expressions, including complex fractions. 6. Multiply, divide, add, and subtract rational expressions. 7. Convert expressions involving rational exponents to radical expressions and vice-versa. 8. Apply properties to simplify and evaluate expressions involving rational exponents. 9. Apply properties to simplify expressions involving radicals. 10. Apply the Pythagorean Theorem in a variety of contexts. 11. Describe the extension of the Real number system to the Complex number system and perform basic operations (add, subtract, and multiply) with complex numbers. Equations 12. Solve linear absolute value equations. 13. Solve rational equations including those involving extraneous solutions. 14. Solve radical equations containing one radical. 15. Solve quadratic equations, including those that involve non-real solutions, by factoring (review), square root principle, and using the quadratic formula. 16. Solve basic exponential equations (those not requiring logs). 17. Solve formulas for a specified variable, including solutions requiring multiple algebraic operations. Applications 18. Obtain and synthesize relevant information and use appropriate formulas in order to solve a variety of application problems. Finding the solutions may require the use of linear, quadratic, rational, or radical equations. 19. Interpret solutions of application problems in the context of the problem and evaluate the solution. General Content
20. Perform all the work of the course without a calculator, except as noted below. 21. Use a calculator to: find decimal approximations of radicals; evaluate exponents, evaluate rational expressions by using the order of operations correctly, evaluate numerical solutions to application problems, and convert solutions from the quadratic formula into decimal form 22. Read and interpret graphs, charts and tables. 23. Link algebraic, numeric, verbal, and graphical solutions with each other. 24. Use estimation to approximate solutions and to determine the reasonableness of solutions to problems. 25. Write solutions in the context of the problem in complete sentences, including units. Use mathematical notation and vocabulary correctly. 26. Interpret concepts in the context of the problem. 27. Clearly communicate methods of solutions. 28. Participate actively and responsibly in course activities.