MATH 1070 College Algebra Fall Semester 2012 Section EO1 Instructor: Roxanne Byrne (Rox) Email Address: Roxanne.Byrne@ucdenver.edu (this will be your best method of contact) Office Hours: Ask questions in the threaded discussions. If it is about the course, post the questions in the Virtual Office. If you have a question about your grade or other personal issue, then email me. Text: There is no required text for this course. You are required to use the MyMathLab (MML) software for the book: College Algebra 2/e By J. S. Ratti Marcus McWaters You can buy a hardcopy of the text if you desire, but it is not required. It is in MML as an ebook. *note: The MML software required for this course has an electronic copy of the text book page for page so if you don t want to buy the paper copy you do not need to. If you do decide to buy the textbook I strongly recommend only buying a brand new text book bundled with the MML software. Make sure that MML is packaged with the new text book before you open the package because once you open it you cannot return it for full price. If you do not want to buy the text book then you can purchase an access code to MML online at http://portal.mypearson.com/ To register for the course you will need to enter the course ID listed in the Introduction.
Course Objectives: To help students understand the fundamental concepts of algebra. To introduce several algebra topics and functions. To reaffirm the students knowledge of Algebra and strengthen the students algebraic skills. Graphing Calculator: All students will need a graphics calculator for this class. You could use Excel or some other type of spreadsheet if you know how to use it instead of a calculator. The minimum required calculator is a TI-83/84 however the TI-89 will work. There are Calculator Videos under Course Home if you need help with using the calculator. Grading: There will be the following components to your grade and will be distributed as follows: Weekly homework Points 50 points each, 50 x 11 = 550 Percentage of grade 34.81% Introduction 10 points 0.6% Weekly threaded discussions (2 per week) 3 exams 10 points each, 20 x 11 = 220 200 points each, 3 x 200 = 600 13.92% 37.97% Comprehensive final 200 points 12.66% Total 1580 100% My grade scale is the following percentages: 93-100 : A 90-92.9 : A- 87-89.9 : B+ 83-86.9 : B 80-82.9 : B- 77-79.9 : C+ 70-76.9 : C 60-69.9 : D
0-59.9 : F Grading details: Threaded Discussion: This is a very important aspect of the course. If you fail to participate you will not only lose points toward your grade, you will in affect be taking a correspondence course. 240 points for the semester is considered 100% participation. You may earn up to 20 points per unit in the threaded discussion. Your entries may be one of three types: 1. Ask a question about the current section(s). Do not ask about a specific homework problem unless you have already tried working it and went through the Help Me Solve This. If the Help Me Solve This did not completely answer your question, then state where you got confused. Do not just say "I can't work this problem." You may also ask about another question that is similar to a homework question. You certainly may ask more than one question in the threaded discussions. 2. Respond to someone who has asked a question. You may respond to as many questions as you like. Nothing cements knowledge in your mind better than explaining it to someone else! If someone already answered the question and you have something that would extend that information, then you may also add to the response. 3. Comment on something you have learned in the current unit. This should be several sentences, not just "I learned how to differentiate a function." Questions and comments will only receive credit when entered during the current unit. Responses providing help or clarification will receive credit until I respond to the question. *I expect two postings per unit that homework is due. One posting must be by 10PM Wednesday of the week and the second by 10PM. Remember, these threaded discussions are your way to communicate with me and the other students in the class. Use them to your advantage!* NOTE: Replies like "I didn't get that problem either" will not earn you any points. Your comments must pertain to the question being asked and make some kind of contribution towards the solution. You can solve the problem or give a hint. There may be an example in the text that is helpful. If so, point the example out and note how it is similar to question being asked. It is OK to respond to a question that someone else has already responded to as long as you provide additional help, clarity or resource. The Threaded Discussion is not to be used for: Procedural questions (use the Virtual Office under Course Home). Personal issues email me. Complaints or venting frustrations email me. Extended personal discussions. A little personal discussion is very good - it helps us to feel comfortable and connected with our classmates; too much makes the threaded discussion like
a chat room. Anything you would not say in a classroom setting. Homework. The homework will be done on the mypearson.com website. Each homework assignment has between 20 and 25 questions so don't wait till the last minute to do them. There is not a time limit on the homework, but there is an absolute cut-off for access to an assignment. If your computer system has a tendency to give you problems, then do the homework early (all assignments are open a few weeks before the closing date.) Homework assignments can be printed so that you may work on them offline. You may work on the homework without submitting it, then leave and go back to it at another time. Make sure you click the Submit Work button each time you complete a problem and always before you leave a session. When you have finished the homework, just simply click the Submit Work button again in order to grade the final question. You have 3 chances to answer each question correctly. After 3 incorrect answers, you can ask for a similar problem to work and the system will generate another version of that particular homework question. You are welcome to do this as often as you like without penalty. Read Tutors, Study Group and Academic Dishonesty to see what is not allowed when doing homework or exams. Homework questions with multiple parts will be given partial credit depending on how much you have done correctly. For example if you answer parts a and b correctly of a 3 part question you would receive.67 points on that particular problem. If you ever feel your homework was graded incorrectly please let me know ASAP with the homework # and problem #. I will go in and look at your answer and give back points accordingly. Never be shy to ask points back because I m happy to look at the work you ve done and see if there has been a mistake in grading. However, make sure you followed the directions in the problem. It it says to round your answer to 2 decimal places, then you must round correctly to 2 places! No homework is accepted late for any reason. Exams and Final. There will be 3 exams worth 200 points apiece. The final exam will be comprehensive. The final will also be worth 200 points. Exams cannot be submitted after the closing date (at 10PM). All exams will be taken on the mymathlab website. The exams and final are timed and must be done in one session (you cannot leave the exam and come back to it later.) If you get kicked out of an exam, email me right away. Make sure that any technical difficulties you had with the homework have been resolved before you take your first exam. See Academic Dishonisty below to see if you may be required to do proctored exams in the MERC Lab. No exam is accepted late Extra Credit. Before you take an exam, if you find a really good video on one or more of the concepts we that will be on the exam, you can post that video with a complete description of the video in the Extra Credit link in the Exam Threaded Discussion. It will be worth 10 points if no one else has posted it. You must do this by the end of Thursday in the exam week to get credit. Time Commitment for the course: The general rule of thumb for time spent outside of the
classroom is 2 to 3 hours per course hour. This is a 4 hour course - so you need to spend a good 12 hours or more (probably more like 16 hours, accounting for the fact that you do not have in class time) on this course. You need to be disciplined about this time - set up a schedule to do your work. Do not wait until you "get around to it". Some parts of the course may require more time, and some may require less, depending on you. If this doesn't sound like your idea of an online course, then re-think if an online course is for you. Also, do not plan on doing all the work on. If you do this, you will not retain the information and you are at risk of not getting the assignments done. It is better to spend at least a couple of hours each day or every other day and then finish on Friday or early. This way, you can get answers to any questions that may arise. Other important information: Please see Fall 2012 policies and deadlines.doc about other important dates this semester. Course Prerequisites: Elementary Algebra is a prerequisite for the course. This means that you REMEMBER the material. Concepts covered: Unit Sections Covered Closing Date 10:00 PM 1 1.1, 12, 1.4: Linear and Quadratic Equations 8/25 2 1.5, 1.6: Solving Other Equations and Linear Inequalities 9/1 3 2.1, 2.2, 2.3: Coordinate Plane, Graphs and Lines 9/8 4 2.4, 2.5: Relations and Functions and Properties of Functions 9/15 6 7 2.8, 2.9: Combining Functions, Composite Functions and Inverse Functions 3.1, 3.2, 3.3: Quadratic Functions, Polynomial Functions, Dividing Polynomials 9/29 10/6 8 3.4, 3.6: Zeros of Polynomials and Rational Functions 10/13 9 4.1, 4.2: Exponential Functions and Their Properties 10/20 11 4.3, 4.4: Logarithmic Functions and Their Properties 11/3 12 4.5, 5.1: Solving Exponential and Logarithmic Equations, System of Linear Equations 11/10 13 6.1, 6.2: Matrix and Matrix Algebra 11/17 Incompletes The faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences passed the following policy relating to the awarding of incomplete grades. This CLAS policy is consistent with the UC Denver
campus policy. An Incomplete grade is NOT granted for low academic performance. To be eligible for an Incomplete grade, students MUST: o Successfully complete a minimum of 75% of the course o Have special circumstances beyond their control that preclude them from attending class and completing graded assignments o Make arrangements to complete missing assignments with the original instructor. Verification of special circumstances is required. Completion of a CLAS Course Completion Agreement is strongly suggested. Incompletes cannot be awarded that stipulate: o a student may repeat the entire course, o repeat or replace existing grades o allow the student an indeterminate period of time to complete a course, or o allow the student to repeat the course with a different instructor. The CLAS Course Completion Agreement is available from the CLAS Advising Office, NC 4002 The Center for Learning Assistance The Center for Learning Assistance is where students go to get help or insight with class assignments, course-loads, and study skills. The Center also helps with arranging tutoring sessions, which take place in the days or evenings. North Classroom Building (NC) Room 2006 (303) 556-2802 Monday - Thursday 8am-7pm Friday 8am-5pm Program Access for Persons with Disabilities The faculty at the University of Colorado system have both a legal and moral obligation to provide reasonable accommodations to students with disabilities. To be eligible for accommodations, students must be registered with the UC Denver Office of Disability Resources and Services (DRS) -- North Classroom 2514; 303-556-3450, 303-556-4766 TDD). The DRS staff has experience to assist faculty in determining reasonable accommodations and to coordinate these accommodations. If a student is given accommodations, they must be followed. If a student chooses not to accept the accommodations set forth by the DRS, they MUST complete all assignments and do all course work in the same manner as all other students. No exceptions or alternate forms of evaluation can be used except those mandated by the DRS. Faculty cannot arbitrarily decide to give a student extra time, extra assistance or other forms of aid unless it is formally mandated by the DRS. Academic Advising Center This office serves as the first point of contact for students who are pre-business, pre-
engineering, or who have not declared a major in CLAS or CAM. In addition, the center provides general information and resource referral to all students. North Classroom Building (NC) Room 1 Phone # 303-352-3520 Academic Dishonisty There is no tolerance for academic dishonisty. All the work done in this course must be your own. If you are in a study group, you may talk about approaches to working problems but each student is to do their own calculations and complete all the work themselves. On exams, you are not allowed to give or receive help, including telling someone about the questions on the exam before the closing date for the exam. After, the closing date, you are free to discuss any problem on an exam/assignment. The penalty for academic dishonisty is an F in the course. If I suspect that there may be cheating in the course, I may require you to take a proctored exam to verify your work. This does not happen often but registering for this course means you agree that you may be required to take a proctored exam. Career Center The Career Center offers a full array of services that prepare students for career success, such as resume help, internship and career counseling and they have a large career library. The Career CenterTivoli Student Union Room 260. Unit 1 2 3 Sections Covered 1.1, 12, 1.4: Linear and Quadratic Equations Introduction HW #1 1.5, 1.6: Solving Other Equations and Linear Inequalities HW #2 2.1, 2.2, 2.3: Coordinate Plane, Graphs and Lines HW #3 Closing Date at 10:00 PM 8/25 9/1 9/8
4 2.4, 2.5: Relations and Functions and Properties of Functions HW #4 9/15 5 Exam #1 9/22 6 7 8 9 2.8, 2.9: Combining Functions, Composite Functions and Inverse Functions HW #5 3.1, 3.2, 3.3: Quadratic Functions, Polynomial Functions, Dividing Polynomials HW #6 3.4, 3.6: Zeros of Polynomials and Rational Functions HW #7 4.1, 4.2: Exponential Functions and Their Properties HW #8 9/29 10/6 10/13 10/20 10 Exam #2 10/27 11 12 13 4.3, 4.4: Logarithmic Functions and Their Properties HW #9 4.5, 5.1: Solving Exponential and Logarithmic Equations, System of Linear Equations HW #10 6.1, 6.2: Matrix and Matrix Algebra HW #11 11/3 11/10 11/17 15 Exam #3 12/1 16 Final Exam 12/12 POLICY FOR TUTORS AND STUDY GROUPS
Students often use study groups, tutors or just friends to help them in a class. This can support learning and is encouraged if done correctly. However the border between legitimate help and academic dishonesty can be unclear. This policy is to help you understand were this border is. All homework is to be the student s own work. This means that students must do their own calculations and write-up. After the work is done, answers can be compared and errors noted. However, once errors are pointed out, individual students must make their own corrections. Approaches to problems and concepts used can be discussed before a homework problem is solved. For example, if a problem requires the use of the product rule for derivatives then this can be discussed and the product rule reviewed. The actual application of the product rule in the particular homework problem must be done individually. Concepts and examples in the text can be discussed freely. Problems not associated with a homework assignment or an exam may be worked on jointly. Problems on exams may not be discussed or help given or received until after the deadline of the exam. The exam may not be discussed with anyone until after the deadline. This includes telling others the types of problems on the exam. Failure to follow these rules could result in an F in the course or require proctored exams in the MERC lab.