WACO, TEXAS INSTRUCTOR PLAN Contemporary Liberal Arts Mathematics Peter Blaskiewicz Fall 2013
Course Description: Develop competencies in the following areas: critical thinking skills, reasoning skills, probability and statistics; financial management; functions, graphs and their interpretations. It provides applications of these concepts and problem solving techniques to a variety of personal, vocational and professional areas. Prerequisites and/or Corequisites: MATH 0307 or TSI complete on THEA or an approved alternative test. Semester Hours 3 (3 lec) Course Notes and Instructor Recommendations: Math 1332 in a face-to-face format involves class meetings as well as homework assignments. Homework is assigned and discussed. Periodic pop quizzes may be given. Homework will be completed using MyMathLab at www.coursecompass.com. as well as written. Reviews for tests will be made available either in class or online in MyMathLab. Publisher videos are also online in MyMathLab. Instructor Information: Instructor Name: Peter Blaskiewicz MCC E-mail: pblaskiewicz@mclennan.edu Office Phone Number: (254) 299-8869 Office Location: MATH 213 Office/Teacher Conference Hours: MW 9:45 10:45 a.m.; TTh 1:00 2:00 p.m.; other times by arrangement Required Text & Material: Required: MyMathLab website access (978-0-321-19991-1) (Note: The entire textbook is available electronically inside MyMathLab.) Optional: Thinking Mathematically (5 th edition) by Robert Blitzer (2011 Pearson Prentice Hall) ISBN: 978-0-321-70900 4 (This bundle includes a printed text and an access code to MyMathLab) Required: graphing calculator TI-84 or TI83 regular, Plus, or Silver Edition MCC Bookstore Website 2
Methods of Teaching and Learning: Lecture with student participation in example problems; homework submitted online through MyMathLab; written tests in class. Course Objectives and/or Competencies: The student who successfully completes Liberal Arts Mathematics should be able to: 1. Solve problems using critical thinking and reasoning skills. 2. Evaluate and appreciate the structure, beauty, power of logic and deductive reasoning. 3. Utilize various strategies (making a drawing, table, graph, etc) for problem solving. 4. Compute loan payments, credit card charges, mortgages, and investments. 5. Real world analysis of data and information using probability and statistics to summarize, interpret, or predict. 6. Graph and interpret data in appropriate form to present a visual relationship of data sets in real life. 7. Introductory treatment of sets, logic, number systems, number theory, relations, or functions. 8. Using technology to enhance algebraic and statistical concepts. Course Outline or Schedule: Contemporary Liberal Arts Mathematics is designed to offer the student opportunities to explore ideas from the following areas: Unit 1 Consumer Mathematics and Finance Management Chapter 8 Unit 2 Critical Thinking Problem Solving Chapter 1 Set Theory Chapter 2 Logic Chapter 3 Unit 3 Measurement and Geometry Chapters 9 & 10 Unit 4 Probability - Chapter 11 Unit 5 Statistics Chapter 12 The schedule is subject to change. Should a change become necessary, students will be notified about changes verbally, during class. In the event school is closed for weather or any other unscheduled reason on the day a test is scheduled, the test will be given during the next class meeting. Week Sections Topic 1: Aug 26-28 8.1 8.3 Percent, Sales Tax, Income Tax; Simple and Compound Interest 2: Sep 4 8.4 Annuities, Stocks, and Bonds 3: Sep 9-11 8.5 Installment Loans, Amortization, and Credit Cards Test 1 (Chapter 8) 4: Sep 16-18 1.1 1.3 Inductive and Deductive Reasoning; Estimation, Graphs, and Mathematical Models; Problem Solving 3
5: Sep 23-25 2.3 2.5 Venn Diagrams and Set Operations with two and three sets; Survey Problems 6: Sep 30-Oct 2 3.1 3.3 Statements, Negations, and Quantified Statements; Compound Statements and Connectives; Truth Tables for Negation, Conjunction, and Disjunction 7: Oct 7-9 Test 2 (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) 9.1 9.2 Measuring Length; The Metric System; Measuring Area and Volume Measuring Weight and Temperature Triangles; Polygons; Perimeter and Tessellations 8: Oct 14-16 9.3; 10.2 10.3 9: Oct 21-23 10.4 10.5 Area and Circumference; Volume Test 3 (Chapters 9 and 10) 10: Oct 28-30 11.1 11.3 The Fundamental Counting Principle; Permutations; Combinations 11: Nov 4-6 11.4 11.5 Fundamentals of Probability; Probability with Counting, Permutations, and Combinations 12: Nov 11-13 Test 4 (Chapter 11) Measures of Central Tendency; Measures of Dispersion 12.2 12.3 13: Nov 18-20 12.4 12.5 The Normal Distribution; Problem Solving with the Normal Distribution 14: Nov 25 Test 5 (Chapter 12) 15: Dec 2-4 Review 16: Dec 9 Final Course Grading Information: Your course grade will be based on homework, chapter tests, and a cumulative exam. The relative weights of each of these factors is as follows: Homework (online using MyMathLab) 20% Tests (projected 5@ 12%; if other, the weights will total 60%) 60% Final Exam 20% Homework will be assigned and worked online using CourseCompass / MyMathLab. The deadline for each set of homework will be the scheduled time of the test over the sections covered by the homework. Late homework will be accepted for up to two weeks after the deadline, but it will be penalized 20% of the points earned on the part submitted late. Homework will not be accepted more than two weeks after the due date. If you must miss one test for one of the reasons given in MCC s General Catalog, and you have provided a documented excuse for doing so, the exam will also count as your make-up test for 4
that unit. If it is necessary for you to miss more than one test, you should discuss the situation with me. Unexcused absences from tests will not be made up. If pop quizzes are given, their average will count as an additional major test. The final exam will be cumulative. It is scheduled for Monday, December 9, at 6:00 p.m. Please plan accordingly. Your grade on the final may also count in place of your one lowest test grade (or one absence on a test), if that is to your advantage. The letter grade received in this course will be based on the customary 90-80-70-60 scale. Tentative Schedule: The following dates are tentatively scheduled as our testing dates. Test 1 (Chapter 8) Wednesday, September 11 Test 2 (Chapters 1, 2, and 3) Monday, October 7 Test 3 (Chapters 9 and 10) Wednesday, October 23 Test 4 (Chapter 11) Monday, November 11 Test 5 (Chapter 12) Monday, November 25 Our pace will generally be to cover one or two sections per class period. Please plan accordingly in preparing for class. In those rare, rare instances when you must be absent, use this as a guideline to know about how much material you would need to make up. In the event that the school closes for weather or other unscheduled situations, be prepared the next class period to do whatever was planned for the class period that was canceled. Late Work, Attendance, and Make Up Work Policies: Homework over a unit (chapter or group of chapters) is due the day of the test over those chapters. Since one of the primary purposes of the homework is to prepare you for the test, late online homework will be penalized 20% of the credit on the problems submitted late. Homework that is more than two weeks late will not be accepted. If you have to miss one test for one of the reasons given in MCC s General Catalog, and you have provided a documented excuse for doing so, the exam will also count as your make-up test for that unit. If it is necessary for you to miss more than one test, you should discuss the situation with me. Unexcused absences from tests will not be made up. If pop quizzes are given, they may not be made up. If any of the tests are take-home, in whole or in part, they are due at the specified time and will not be accepted late. 5
If you are absent from 25% (eight) of the scheduled class meetings by the deadline for studentinitiated drops (Oct. 31, 2013), you will be dropped from the class. If this limit is reached after that date, you will be kept on the roll, and the grade that you earn for the semester is the grade you will receive. Student Behavioral Expectations or Conduct Policy: Students are expected to maintain classroom decorum that includes respect for other students and the instructor, prompt and regular attendance, and an attitude that seeks to take full advantage of the education opportunity. Students are expected to come to class prepared and with supplies necessary to participate actively in each class meeting. For more details of College Conduct Policy, see the Highlander Student Guide. Consideration of Others: Please do not bring children to class nor leave them unattended on campus. To do so is contrary to school policy. Please do not share illnesses with us. Please do not use excessive amounts of fragrance. Doing so is grounds for being required to leave. Please turn off cell phones while in class. If you are expecting to be contacted during class time, please let me know before class starts, if possible, and plan to sit near the door with your phone in muted mode; handle the emergency with as little disruption to the rest of the class as possible, please. You are not to be conducting phone calls nor texting in the classroom during classtime. Note: Cell phones are not allowed to be in sight during in-class tests or the exam. If you access your phone during a test, you are automatically finished with the test and must turn it in immediately. You may not share calculators on a test. MCC Academic Integrity Statement: The Center for Academic Integrity defines academic integrity as a commitment, even in the face of adversity, to five fundamental values: honesty, trust, fairness, respect, and responsibility. From these values flow principles of behavior that enable academic communities to translate ideals into action. Individual faculty members determine their class policies and behavioral expectations for students. Students who commit violations of academic integrity should expect serious consequences. For further information about student responsibilities and rights, please consult the McLennan website and your Highlander Student Guide. 6
MCC Attendance Policy: Regular and punctual attendance is expected of all students, and each instructor will maintain a complete record of attendance for the entire length of each course, including online and hybrid courses. Students will be counted absent from class meetings missed, beginning with the first official day of classes. Students, whether present or absent, are responsible for all material presented or assigned for a course and will be held accountable for such materials in the determination of course grades. Please refer to the Highlander Guide for the complete policy. ADA Statement: In accordance with the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and the regulations published by the United States Department of Justice 28 C.F.R. 35.107(a), MCC s designated ADA co-coordinators, Dr. Drew Canham Vice President, Student Success and Mr. Gene Gooch - Vice President, Finance and Administration shall be responsible for coordinating the College s efforts to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under ADA. Students with disabilities requiring physical, classroom, or testing accommodations should contact Renee Jacinto, Disabilities Specialist, at 299-8122 or rrjacinto@mclennan.edu. TITLE IX No person in the United States shall, on the basis of sex, be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any education program or activity receiving Federal financial assistance. Legal Citation: Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, and its implementing regulation at 34 C. F. R. Part 106 (Title IX) In accordance with the requirements of the Title IX Education Amendments of 1972 MCC s designated Title IX Coordinator, Al Pollard Vice President, Program Development/EEO Officer and Deputy Coordinator, Phyllis Blackwood Director of Human Resources shall be responsible for coordinating the College s effort to comply with and carry out its responsibilities under Title IX. Contact information Al Pollard, Title IX Coordinator Vice President, Program Development McLennan Community College Administration Building, Room 408 Administration Building, Room 101 1400 College Drive 1400 College Drive 254-299-8669 254-299-8659 Phyllis Blackwood, Title IX Deputy Coordinator Director, Human Resources McLennan Community College FAX 254-299-8654 FAX 254-299-8592 apollard@mclennan.edu pblackwood@mclennan.edu 7