MATH 2000WI1: Introduction to Higher Mathematics, FALL 2015

Section 1MW 10:50am--12:05pm (Goodwyn 317),   Course ID (CRN #):  1277

 

INSTRUCTOR

Yi Wang, Ph.D., Professor
Auburn University Montgomery

Department of Mathematics and Computer Science

School of Sciences

Room 310R, Goodwyn Hall

Email:  ywang2@aum.edu

Homepage: http://sciences-srv.aum.edu/~ywang

Phone: 334.244.3318

Office Hours: MW:12:05--14:05, or by appointment.

           

 PREREQUISITES: MATH 1610 or an equivalent course.

 

TEXT: Kevin Houston, How to Think Like a Mathematician   ISBN-13: 9780521719780.   

CALCULATORS:  All students are recommended to have a graphing calculator; the TI-84 (TI-83) is recommended. If you own some other graphing calculator, it is your responsibility to find out how to perform the required operations on it. Please bring the calculator to all class meetings and exams. You may use the calculator for each test, but you will be required to show all work for the tests and if you rely on the calculator for solutions, you will get zero credit. You are here to learn mathematics and the calculator will be used only as an aid. A calculator with CAS is prohibited and using such a calculator will be considered as cheating and may jeopardize your student status.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The major goal of this course will be to prepare the undergraduate mathematics major for success in the junior and senior level mathematics courses which require

 students to write mathematical proofs. Therefore developing proof techniques and strategies and writing a mathematically sound proof, with a focus on the following topics, will constitute a large portion of the class.  In the meantime, reading is also an important component of the course.

Topics to be covered are: basic logic, basic set theory, functions and relations, Equivalence relations and partitions, number systems, cardinality, well ordering

 and the axiom of choice.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

  • Prepare the undergraduate mathematics major for success in junior and senior level mathematics courses;

  • prepare students for mathematical   writing in the general sense;

  • teach students the steps involved in making a rigorous mathematical argument;

  • educate students in the use of the mathematical typesetting language Latex.

·       WAC Statement:

Information on AUM’s Writing Across the Curriculum Program can be found at www.aum.edu/writing. This writing-intensive course is in partial completion of AUM’s 5-course WAC program requirement. Requirements: Because this is a writing-intensive course, students will be required to complete a minimum of 4 written products; students will have opportunities for prewriting, drafting, feedback (peer and/or individual), and revision during the drafting of at least one of these written products.


Writing Across the Curriculum: This course is a writing intensive course and will satisfy one of the two required content writing intensive courses that mathematics majors need to have in order to graduate. As such there will be a great deal of writing in this course. Many short writing homework assignments will be given where students will be required to write a number of proofs.    In addition, all students will have a writing project where a topic of significantly more depth than the standard homework writing assignment is considered. It is expected that the students will write a short paper over such a topic agreed upon by the instructor and the student.  It is expected that this projects will  go through multiple drafts. There will be a peer-review component with feedback, multiple drafts, and instructor feedback before a final paper is turned in for assessment.

WAC Intern: TBA
 Email: TBA. The WID Intern office is now located in the WarHawk Student Success Center (2nd floor of the Library).

Th The Typesetting system Latex: Latex is an open source typesetting system that is mainly used by mathematicians and engineers to write mathematics. Students will be introduced to Latex and will be expected to complete all assignments using Latex.

 This course will use Blackboard http://bb9.aum.edu. Syllabus, Class announcements, homework assignments, weekly schedule and updated grades will be posted on Blackboard. On-line quizzes within BlackBoard may be offered.  It is the students’ responsibility to check the information posted on BlackBoard . I will also post from time to time some studying resources such as old exams on BlackBoard .

 

HOMEWORK/QUIZZES/WORKSHEETS:  It is imperative that you do the homework. If you have trouble with the assigned problems (or any others in your book) then see me ASAP. Please work as many problems as you can (even beyond the assigned list if possible). The bottom line is that if you want to learn some mathematics, the only way to do this is by “getting your hands dirty” working problems.  The collected Homework/Quizzes/worksheets will be averaged for part of your overall grade. Sometimes in-class Quiz will be given without notice in advance.

 

LAST DAY TO  DROP/RESIGN CLASSES: Wed.,  Oct. 28, 2015.

 

EXAMS: There will be two in-class   tests and one final presentation.  Being absent from the Final presentation results in a grade of FA.

 

GRADES: Here is a breakdown of the Homework/quizzes/worksheets/tests/final:

                                                     Homework writing assignments, (may include quizzes) ….40% 

                                                     Test 1…………10%

                                                     Test 2…………10%

                                                     Final presentation………..…10%

                                                    Topic paper.........30%
                                      

 

            If you do not miss more than five classes and get the following percentage you will receive

                                                        >=90..................………A

                                                        >= 80 and <90………..B

                                                        >=70 and <80………...C

                                                        >=60 and <70….……..D

A student who misses more than FIVE classes that are Unexcused  are automatically assigned a `FA'. No excuses are taken.

Grades in the course will reflect students’ demonstrated attainment of course objectives. I reserve the right to adjust these ranges downward or make appropriate scaling if necessary due to excessive difficulty of assignments or tests. Borderline cases will be considered according to the attendance, grades of all turned-in work by the discretion of the instructor.  

 

STUDYING RESOURCES:

  • There are 28 class meetings (each of 75 minutes).

  • FREE TUTORING HELP: Students can go to the Learning Center, 325 Moore Hall, 244-3470, for free tutoring help for this course by appointment.   Additional tutoring services are available in the Instructional Support Lab, 203 Goodwyn Hall, 244-3265.

  • Book Companion Website: http://www1.maths.leeds.ac.uk/~khouston/httlam.html                                                          

SOME IMPORTANT POLICIES IN THIS CLASS: 

  1. ATTENDANCE is critical for this class. I will take attendance at every class. However no grades will be given toward attendance. You must be present to take all exams.   Leaving the class earlier without the permission of the instructor is considered as an absence. The attendance record may be used as one of the factors to determine borderline grades. 

  2. There is absolutely no make-up for the homework/quizzes/worksheets. Late work passing the given deadline is not accepted.

  3. Missing test/exam: No make-up test/exam is allowed. A missing test/exam receives a grade of zero. No exam will be given earlier than the scheduled time. 

  4. A reasonable excuse commonly  refers to an institutional excuse, a doctor-signed excuse, or an excuse signed by some authorized people. 

  5. Exceptions only are made at the sole decision of the instructor.

HOW TO SUCCEED THIS COURSE?

In addition to my effort, your efforts are indispensable. 

(1) Except extreme cases, attending class only is far less sufficient to succeed (pass? ) the course. Let alone occasionally attending class.

(2)  To get a grade C, one is advised to spend at least 1 hour (depending on your background in mathematics) for each lecture hour in reviewing the lecture notes, doing the examples in the lecture notes and in the book, and doing some homework problems.

(3) To get a grade B, one is advised to spend at least 1-2 hours for  each lecture hour in reviewing the lecture notes, doing the examples in the lecture notes and in the book, and doing most of the  homework problems.

(4) To get a grade A, one is advised to spend at least 1-3 hours for  each lecture hour in reviewing the lecture notes, doing the examples in the lecture notes and in the book, and doing almost all the  homework problems.

 

I would suggest you to write down your objective grade for this course, and commit your effort to this milestone of your life goal. Again, I wish you succeed.

My objective grade for this course is                         . I will commit         hours for each lecture hour to study the course materials. 

 

GUIDELINES OF HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR FINAL GRADE:

  1. All raw scores are converted to percentage to participate in calculating and comparison. The maximum percentage is 100% for any given quiz or exam.
  2. A missed quiz is scored as 0 for that quiz.   Finally, the average percentage of all the quizzes are calculated for the points of the quiz part. 
     

APPEALS: After final course grades have been submitted, you may appeal your final grade. As a first step, you would make a written appeal to the instructor of the course.

CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ENVIRONMENT: Perfect or near-perfect class attendance is important for students to gain and demonstrate competency in course concepts and skills. Students are expected to accept responsibility for class attendance and to complete in-class work assignments and examinations as scheduled by the instructor.

            Please be courteous to your fellow students and the instructor at all times. For example, do not converse with other students, read the newspaper, or sleep during the lecture. Do not pack up earlier than scheduled dismissing time.

Cell phones have to be set to silent (or preferably be turned off). If you have to answer a cell phone call during class, please quietly leave the classroom and move to a location where your conversation does not disrupt any class in progress.

Children should not be brought to class, except in emergency circumstances and only with the permission of the instructor.

Food, drinks, or gum should not be brought into the classroom.

AUM prohibits smoking in campus buildings. If you smoke, you may only do so outside the buildings.

PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. You can discuss solutions with classmates, but cannot copy (totally or partially) someone else’s solution or allow someone else to copy your solution. You will receive an ”F” in the course if you are caught.

DISCIPLINE AND ACADEMIC HONESTY. The policies of the Student Discipline Code apply. You are advised to familiarize yourself with these policies, which can be found in the current edition of the AUMANAC.  Please, adhere to the standards of academic integrity stated in the AUM Catalog.

SPECIAL SERVICES.
Auburn University at Montgomery attempts to make reasonable accommodations to meet the special needs of its students with disabilities. Students requiring special services should notify their instructor as soon as possible. Assistance is available from the Center for Disability Services (CDS), which is located in 147 Taylor Center and by phone at 334-244-3631 or by email at cds@aum.edu.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Material presented in this course may be protected by copyright law.    

 

Disclaimer: The right of interpretation of this syllabus solely belongs to the instructor.

            

Weekly Schedule for Math 2000WI1-Introduction to Higher Mathematics : FALL 2015

Office Hours: MW:12:05--14:05, or by appointment.
Note: This is only a guide as how the course should proceed. Changes might occur.


Section with an asterisk (*) is optional.

Week 1

1. 8/17:  chapter 1 (bring your laptop next time)
2.
8/19:  How to use latex and get ready for happy typesetting
  • Homework: 

Week 2

3. 8/24 chapters  2,3
4.
8/26:   chapter 4, Appendix B
  • Homework: 

Week 3

5.  08/31:  chapter 5, Appendix C
6.
09/02: chapter 6
  • Homework:

Week 4

    09/07:  Labor Day Holiday. 09/08: Student Holiday. No class.  
7
. 09/09:  chapters 7, 8, 9
  • Homework:

Week 5
 

8. 09/14: chapters 10
9.
09/16: chapters 11, 12, 13 
  • Homework:

Week 6
 

10: 09/21:  chapters 14, 15, 16
11: 09/23:  chapters 17, 18, Appendix C
  • Homework: 

Week 7

12. 09/28:   Lecture/Review for Exam 1
13:
09/30:   Exam 1
  • Homework:

Week 8

14. 10/05:   chapter 19
15:
10/07:   chapter 20
  • Homework:

Week 9
 

16: 10/12:   chapters 21-22
17:
10/14:   chapters 22-23
  • Homework:

Week 10

18. 10/19:   chapters 23-24
19.
10/21:   chapters 24-25
  • Homework: 

Week 11

20: 10/26:   chapters 25-26
21: 10/28:   chapters 26-27
       Homework: 
 Last day to drop/resign classes: Wed., 10/28
 

Week 12

22: 11/02:   chapters 27-28
23:
11/04:   chapters 29-30
  • Homework: 

Week 13

24.  11/09:  chapters  31-32
25.
11/11:   chapters  33--35
  • Homework:

Week 14

26: 11/16:   Lecture/ Review for Exam 2   
27:
11/18:   Exam 2 
  • Homework:

Week 15

        11/23--11/27: Thanksgiving  break, no classes.

Week 16

28: 11/30: Final Project Presentation (using Latex beamer/PPT)
29: 12/02  Final Project presentation   
Please submit your presentation in e-form to me after your presentation.
       Homework:
 
  • Last day of class:  Mon., 11/30, 2015 for Monday/Wednesday classes.                            
    Tuesday, Dec 01  for Tuesday/Thursday classes.
  • Final Exam week begins on Thursday

Week 17

  • Final week Dec 03, 07--09.
  • GOOD LUCK ON THE FINAL AND HAVE A GREAT WINTER BREAK!!!

Last updated: 08/15/2015