SECTION #: 050 Lecture Time: 1:50 2:40 p.m. Lecture Location: C-103 Holmes Lecture Instructor: Robert Bell Office Hours: MWF 8-9 a.m. & by appt. Office Location: W-32 Holmes E-mail: rbell@math.msu.edu Recitation Day/Time: Tuesday / TBD Recitation Location: TBD LA's: Julie Wilt & Jarred Fitch Office Hours: TBD Office Location: 2 nd FL lounge, E. Holmes E-mail: wiltjuli@msu.edu, fitchjar@msu.edu Class Materials: Graphing Calculator: A graphing calculator is required for this course and should be brought to every class meeting. A TI-83 or 84 is recommended for this course. Only a pencil (or pen) and one graphing calculator will be required for quizzes and exams. Calculators such as the TI 89/92, laptops, ipads, computers, cell phones, etc., are not to be used for any graded work in this course. WeBWorK Online Homework System: Graded homework is completed online with WeBWorK. (See Pages 6 and 7.) There is a course fee for WeBWorK (including class notes) which will be handled by the mathematics department. The department will be sending you more information after the semester begins. Recommended Course Text: College Algebra (Michigan State Edition) by Gustafson/Hughes, Cengage Learning, 2013. Evaluation: Your course grade will be determined by : four (50-minute) exams 400 points seven quizzes 100 points 27 graded WeBWorK homework assignments 100 points uniform final exam 200 points TOTAL POINTS FOR COURSE 800 points The grading scale will be no worse than what is shown in the table below. 90 100% 4.0 65 72% 2.0 85 89% 3.5 60 64% 1.5 79 84% 3.0 55 59% 1.0 73 78% 2.5 0 54% 0.0 There will be 28 graded homework assignments that will be submitted online using WeBWorK for a total of 100 points. (Homework from the class notes is self-graded and will not be turned in.) Additional practice problems can be found under Appendix A in the recommended textbook. WeBWorK homework submitted after the due date will not be accepted. (Refer to Page 6 for due dates.) There will be 7 in-class quizzes, each worth 20 points. Five highest scores will be counted toward the final course grade. The two dropped scores will accommodate 1
quizzes missed due to illness or other personal reasons, as well as low quiz scores. There will be no make-up quizzes. The final exam grading scale will be determined after all section results are submitted at the end of the semester. Students are expected to produce carefully written documents. All work must be shown for problems! All writing must be in complete sentences employing standard English and mathematical symbols. Writing must be legible and neat. Any use of crib sheets, stored information in calculators, etc., as an aid in writing quizzes or exams, is specifically prohibited in this course. Attendance: Students are expected to be present and ON TIME for ALL class sessions. You are responsible for the material covered if you are absent from class. If absent, you will need to obtain missed material/information from classmates. Any changes in this syllabus or in the scheduling of exams or quizzes will be announced during class and/or via email. Make-up Policy: There will be no make-up exams. A missed exam will receive a score of 0 unless a valid reason is presented before the time of the exam or after the exam in the case of an emergency. Only extreme situations with an official documented excuse will allow a student to be excused from an exam. The score for the missed exam will then be determined from the corresponding chapter questions on the final exam. Students must look at this syllabus carefully and plan well ahead. Advance travel schedules (business or personal) are NOT excuses. Uniformly Graded (WeBWorK) Homework: There are 28 graded homework assignments. These assignments will be posted on http://www.math.msu.edu/webwork/. Student solutions must be submitted by due dates for 100% credit. Homework submitted within three days after the due date will be given 75% credit. The due dates can be found on the WeBWorK website after you log in. (Refer to Pages 6 and 7 of this syllabus for more WeBWorK information.) Late homework will not be accepted. It is highly recommended that you submit homework early, before the due date/time, to allow for any technical difficulty or other unforeseen circumstances. Integrity of Scholarship and Grades: All students are expected to adhere to the University's policy concerning academic integrity. According to this policy, " no student shall claim or submit the work of another as one's own." For more information about this policy please visit: http://www.msu.edu/ unit/ombud/dishonestyfaq.html. 2
Mathematics Learning Center: The Mathematics Learning Center (MLC) is located in the C-wing lobby of Wells Hall and will open on Tuesday, September 4, at 11:20am. The MLC offers free and friendly help to students outside of the classroom setting. The weekly hours are: Monday-Thursday 11:20 am - 4:00 pm and 6:20 pm - 9:50 pm Friday 11:20 am 2:50 pm Sunday 5:10 pm 8:40 pm Important Dates: Wednesday, August 29 Monday, September 3 Wednesday, September 5 Monday, September 24 Wednesday, October 17 Thursday - Friday, Nov. 22-23 Friday, December 7 Monday, December 10 First Day of Classes Labor Day - University is closed. Online open add period ends at 8 pm. End of 100% tuition refund. MIDDLE OF SEMESTER: Last day to drop a course or withdraw from all courses with no grade reported. Thanksgiving Break. University is closed. Last day of classes. Final Exam, 10:00am 12:00 noon, Location TBA Tentative Exam Dates: Exam Sections MWF Classes 1 1.1 1.6 Friday, September 28 2 1.7 3.1 Friday, October 19 3 3.2 3.7 Friday, November 9 4 4.1 4.6 Friday, November 30 The uniform comprehensive final exam will be held on Monday, December 12, from 10:00 am to 12 noon. The location (according to section number) will be announced at a later date. Tentative Course Schedule: Fall 2012 MWF Day Classes Monday Wednesday Friday 8/27 ---------- 8/29 1.1, Course Info 8/31 Course Info, Review 9/3 ---------- 9/5 1.1, 1.2 9/7 Review 9/10 1.2 9/12 1.3 9/14 Review, Q1 (1.1, 1.2, Syll) 9/17 1.4 9/19 1.5 9/21 Review, Q2 (1.3-1.5) 9/24 1.6 9/26 1.7 9/28 EXAM 1 (1.1 1.6) 10/1 1.7, 1.8 10/3 2.1, 2.2 10/5 Review, Q3 (1.7, 1.8) 10/8 2.3 10/10 2.4 10/12 Review, Q4 (2.1 2.3) 10/15 3.1 10/17 3.2 10/19 EXAM 2 (1.7 3.1) 10/22 3.3 10/24 3.4 10/26 Review, Q5 (3.2, 3.3) 3
10/29 3.5 10/31 3.6 11/2 Review, Q6 (3.4, 3.5) 11/5 3.7 11/7 4.1 11/9 EXAM 3 (3.2 3.7) 11/12 4.2 11/14 4.3, 4.4 11/16 Review, Q7 (4.1, 4.2) 11/19 4.5 11/21 4.6 11/23 --------------------- 11/26 4.6 11/28 5.1 11/30 EXAM 4 (4.1 4.6) 12/3 5.1, 5.2 12/5 5.3 12/7 Review MTH 103 WeBWorK Assignment Due Dates: Please Note: Homework must be submitted by 7:00 am for all due dates. Section # 100% Credit 75% Credit Tutorial 9/10 9/13 1.1 9/10 9/13 1.2 9/15 9/18 1.3 9/17 9/20 1.4 9/22 9/25 1.5 9/24 9/27 1.6 9/29 10/2 1.7 10/6 10/9 1.8 10/6 10/9 2.1 10/8 10/11 2.2 10/8 10/11 2.3 10/13 10/16 2.4 10/13 10/16 3.1 10/20 10/23 3.2 10/22 10/25 3.3 10/27 10/30 3.4 10/29 11/1 3.5 11/3 11/6 3.6 11/5 11/8 3.7 11/10 11/13 4.1 11/12 11/15 4.2 11/17 11/20 4.3 11/19 11/22 4.4 11/19 11/22 4.5 11/24 11/27 4.6 11/26 11/29 4
5.1 12/8 12/10 5.2/5.3 12/10 Not Available Student Responsibilities: Attendance & Preparation: Regular attendance is required. Before attending the lecture, read the current sections. At minimum, attempt to work through the first two examples in each current section, and write down any questions you have. Work through the recommended textbook exercises for the current sections. How to read mathematics: You should always have paper and pencil (and eraser!) readily available when reading mathematics. Work through the examples by writing the steps out yourself until it is clear to you that the solution is correct. Once a topic has been introduced in lecture, you should re-read the corresponding sections from the text. You should work on the exercises at the end of these sections until you are proficient. Participation: WeBWork: Be attentive and stay alert. Work with your classmates, especially those adjacent to your seat. Take careful notes. Ask questions! Don't be shy: we (yes, me too) are all here to learn! Start the WeBWork assignments early and discuss these with your classmates. Write your attempts to solve the WeBWork problems on scratch paper. Re-write your solutions that you will submit as your final answer for WeBWork. When the solutions to WeBWork assignments become available, compare your attempts to the posted answers and solutions; you might learn a new technique or a more appealing way to think about a topic. 5
Recommended Textbook Exercises: Recitation: Attempt these problems and test your understanding. They will be assigned regularly. These problems are not collected, but rather are for self-assessment. Ask questions about these exercises. Ask your classmates, your LA, your instructor, your roommate, your lab parter, etc. Part of the fun of mathematics (and the learning part) is discussing mathematical ideas and challenges. You are required to attend the recitation. Prepare for recitation by making a list of specific problems or concepts with which you would like additional help. Please keep in mind that if time runs out before your question is answered that you can send questions via e-mail to either the instructor or the LA. What is recitation? Recitation is a problem solving session lead by your Learning Assistant (LA). The recitation will typically consist of a question and answer session followed by an opportunity to solve problems suggested by the LA or your classmates. Utilizing Office Hours: E-mail: Please consider bringing your questions to office hours. Both the instructor and LA have regularly scheduled office hours. Office hours are times set aside specifically as an opportunity for you to get additional help. If your schedule conflicts with the scheduled office hours, please make an appointment (send and e-mail to arrange). Please do not think of this as an inconvenience to your instructors; additional help is available if you seek it out. However, it is your responsibility to come to office hours only after first making a sincere effort to answer questions on your own. Learning is difficult: work hard, try new ideas, and ask questions. If you do this, you will see definite progress. E-mail can be an effective way to obtain more immediate help. When e-mailing your instructors, be sure to state your question clearly. If you are asking about a specific exercise or example in the text, be sure to restate the problem in its entirety since, while it is quite possible that your instructors are awake and online at 10 p.m., it is unlikely that he or she keeps a copy of the text under his pillow! 6
Students with Disabilities: MSU provides the Resource Center For Persons with Disabilities (RCPD); URL: http://www.rcpd.msu.edu/ Please contact the RCPD if you require special accommodations, and then schedule an appointment to meet with the instructor. Academic Honesty: Advice: Cheating in any form will not be tolerated and will be reported to the Dean. You will receive a zero on any assignment in which their is a case of cheating. This includes, but is not limited to, plagiarism, failure to give proper citations, and copying another's work. A copy of the Lyman Briggs College academic honesty policy can be found at this URL: http://www.lymanbriggs.msu.edu/academics/lbc-academic-honesty.pdf If you are preparing an assignment and have a question about whether you are adhering to this policy, please ask your instructor. The best way to learn mathematics is to write down solutions to specific mathematical problems. If you are able to solve most of the assigned problems, then I am confident that you will do very well in the course. But don't limit yourself to the assigned problems; the textbook offers a variety of interesting problems. Challenge yourself! Try working out problems that sound interesting to you. If you want more practice or want more challenging problems, please drop by my office during office hours or make an appointment to meet with me. If you are falling behind in the course, please seek help ASAP. There is help available during office hours, from your classmates (just ask them!), and here in the Holmes Hall math help room (2nd Floor of East Holmes Hall-- your LA and other LAs will hold office hours here). Additionally, the Mathematics Department hosts the Math Learning Center (MLC) in Wells Hall and in some of the neighborhood communities on campus. I want you to succeed in this course, and I'm here to facilitate this goal. But the burden is upon you to work hard, to set aside realistic amounts of time for study and to seek out help when you need it. Some final advice: read the textbook. Then work some problems and read the textbook again. I cannot emphasize this enough. Learn to read the textbook. 7