MATH 1120: PRE-CALCULUS ALGEBRA, Summer 2008

Section C:  TR 1:00--3:05 (Goodwyn 221),   Course ID (CRN #):  3502

Section D:  TR 5:45--7:50 (Goodwyn 218),   Course ID (CRN #):  3503

 

INSTRUCTOR

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

Department of Mathematics

College of Sciences

Room 310T, Goodwyn Hall

Email:  ywang2@aum.edu

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

Phone: 334.244.3318

Office Hours: TR 10:00--12:00 or by appointment.  

           

 PREREQUISITES: MATH 0800 (Intermediate Algebra) or an equivalent course, an appropriate score on the AUM Mathematics Placement Test or an ACT mathematics score of at least 20 (or  a SAT mathematics score of at least 540) .

 

TEXT: Precalculus - Mathematics for Calculus, 5^th ed., by Stewart/Redlin/Watson, Brooks/Cole, 2006.

 

CALCULATORS:  All students are required to have a graphing calculator; the TI-83 (TI-84) is recommended. Calculators  with a CAS are not admissible. Please bring the calculator to all class meetings and exams.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION: MATH 1120 is a three credit hour algebra course providing an algebraic foundation for calculus or other courses requiring a similar mathematical background; however in order enroll in the Calculus sequence a student should take MATH 1150 instead of MATH 1120.  MATH 1150 includes the content of this course plus trigonometry.

 

MATH 1120 and MATH1150 satisfy the AUM Liberal Education Requirement (core requirement) in mathematics and have been approved as State Core courses in mathematics.

 

COURSE OBJECTIVES: The objective of this course is to provide an understanding of concepts, develop competent skills, and demonstrate applications in the following areas:

•   analytic and geometric properties of algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions

•   analytic and geometric interpretation of systems of equations and inequalities

While building on the manipulative skills from algebra, this course strives to develop analytic skills needed for mathematical applications and further courses in mathematics.

 

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 final grade. Sometimes in-class Quiz will be given without notice in advance.

 

LAST DAY TO  DROP/RESIGN CLASSES: Wednesday, 07/02 2008.

 

EXAMS: There will be three in-class mid-term tests and one final.  The final exam is comprehensive and is scheduled on Tuesday, July 29, 2008 in the last class period. Being absent from the Final Exam results in a grade of FA. You must prove to the instructor’s satisfaction that your absence was unavoidable, in order to take a makeup Final Exam.

 

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

                                        Homework/Quiz/Worksheet Average….15% 

                                                     Test 1…………15%

                                                     Test 2…………15%

                                                     Test 3…………15%

                                                      Final………..…30%

                                                     Attendance........10%

 

            If you get the following percentage you will receive

                                                        90-100………A

                                                        80-89………..B

                                                        70-79………..C

                                                        60-69………..D

 

Grades in the course will reflect students’ demonstrated attainment of course objectives. I reserve the right to adjust these ranges downward if necessary because of excessive difficulty of assignments or tests. Borderline cases will be considered according to the attendance, grades of all three mid-exams and grade of the final.  

 

STUDYING RESOURCES:

1. There are 17 class meetings (each of 125 minutes), plus the final exam period (Tuesday, July 29 2008 in the last class period)

2. 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.

3. Book Companion Website: http://mathematics.brookscole.com

4. Homework Tools: Student solutions manual 0-534-49290-8
                                   iLrn Homework and Tutorial Student Version

5. Learning Tools: Interactive Video Skillbuilder CD ROM 0-534-49287-8
                                Study Guide: 0-534-49289-4

 

SOME IMPORTANT POLICIES IN THIS CLASS: 

1. ATTENDANCE is critical for this class. I will take attendance at every class.  A perfect attendance is equivalent to 10% of the overall score at the end of the semester (see the breakdown  of the grades). Missing every one class  results in losing one point.   The attendance is absolute regardless of any excuse whatsoever. Leaving the class earlier without the permission of the instructor is considered as an absence. The attendance record will also 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. The percentage of the final can be  used to replace  the worst percentage of the three mid-exams if it’s higher.

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

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. The overall score is calculated according to the contributions from quizzes/homework/worksheet (15%), three mid-exams (15% each),  final(30%) and attendance (10%).
2. All raw scores are converted to percentage to participate in calculating and comparison. The maximum percentage is 100% for any given quiz or exam.
3. A quiz in this syllabus refers to an in-class quiz, an attendance-taken, a collected homework, or a collected worksheet.
4. Please note one to three quizzes with the lowest grades may be dropped contingently.   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. 
5. The percentage of the final is used to replace the worst percentage of the three mid-exams if it’s higher.

The policy of this class is to encourage students who are diligent in this course and therefore any one who is serious about his/her study can take advantage of ONE opportunity to improve their grades.  

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.
It is the policy of Auburn University Montgomery to accommodate individuals with disabilities pursuant to federal law and the University’s commitment to equal educational opportunities. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor of any necessary accommodations at the beginning of the course. If you qualify for this service, please contact either the AUM’s Center for Disability Services (CDS) located in Library Tower, Room 706 (Phone: 334-244-3632, Fax:334-244-3907, TDD: 344-244-3754) or me for the corresponding referral.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

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

            

OUTLINE OF TOPICS:

•Chapter 1 is mainly intended to serve as a refresher on material that was covered in Intermediate Algebra (or High School Algebra 2). Section 1.9 introduces a graphical approach to solving equations and inequalities. Section 1.10 covers straight lines and their applications. 

•Chapter 2 introduces the notion of a function, which you should have encountered in earlier classes. Sections 2.2 - 2.7 cover graphs of functions, transformations and other geometric features of a function’s graph. Sections 2.8 and 2.9 are concerned with the algebra of functions and introduce the notion of the inverse of a function.  (Sections 2.3 and 2.6 may be optional)

•Chapter 3 Sections 3.1 - 3.3 and 3.6 cover polynomial functions and rational functions. The main objective is to understand the nature of their graphs and their main characteristics. In this context we will discuss properties of the zeros of polynomials and of division.  (May omit 3.4 and 3.5)

•Chapter 4 introduces a class of non-algebraic functions, namely the exponential functions and their inverses, and looks at some important applications in the life sciences and business.  (May omit 4.5)

•Chapter 9 covers systems of linear and nonlinear equations and inequalities. The main emphasis will be on the linear case though (Sections 9.1 - 9.3). If time allows, Sections 9.4 - 9.7 introducing matrices to solve systems of equations systematically will be covered (optional).  (Omit 9.8 and 9.9)

•Chapter 11  The last topic to be covered concerns sequences and series based on linear and exponential models (Sections 11.1 - 11.3), and the Binomial Theorem which gives us a handy formula for the expansion of an n-th power binomial by introducing the binomial coefficient (Section 11.6) .  (Cover 11.1-11.3 and 11.6 only.)

 

Weekly Schedule for Math 1120-Precalculus Algebra: Summer 2008

Office Hours: TR: 3:10--4:10;  or by appointment.   
Note: This is only a guide as how the course should proceed. Changes might occur.

Homework: 1. For each section covered: all odd-numbered questions; (The text has answers to all of them at the back.)
                    2. the red-numbered Discover-Discussion questions are optional for students with strong background.
                    3. all chapter review questions (concept check and exercises) and chapter test. (The text has answers to all of them at the back.)
                    4. Core exercises are bold-faced.

Section with an asterisk (*) is optional.

Week 1 05/28-05/30	Review: 1.1--1.5, 1.7--1.11. Class: Sections: 2.1--2.2 Homework: 1.1: 1,2,4,5,6,20,21,22,23,24,29,30,33,34,40,44,48,52,55,56,57,60,61,62,63,68,71,72,73,75,77,79 1.2: 9,11,15,19,20,27,28,29,30,39,40,47,48,59,60,61,62,69,70,72,74,76,80,81,83,84,92,94,95,97,98,101 1.3: 7,8,9,13,14,16,17,26,31,44,49,50,53,54,55,56,57,58,61,62,63,64,71,72,77,78,79,98,99,101,102,107,110,112,113 1.4: 4,5,6,8,9,10,14,15,16,18,19,22,23,31,32,39,40,45,47,51,52,61,62,64,67,68,69,70,74,75,76,93,95,97 1.5: 3,5,6,7,31,33,34,35,37,38,39,40,44,45,46,53,54,55,56,62,65,69,70,71,72,75,76,77,78,82,83,84,96,97,101,102,107,109 1.7: 7,8,9,10,25,26,29,30,35,36,37,43,44,47,48,60,63,64,75,76,82,83,96,97,101,104,105,107 1.8: 4, 10,17,18,26,33,34,38,45,51,53,56,58,61,68,69,70,72,75,82,83,87,88,90,92,95,96,98,99,106 1.9: 7,15,16,22,23,24,25,43,44,46,50,51,53,59,61 1.10: 1,2,9,11,14,15,16,19,22,24,28,29,31,32,41,43,44,45,47,48,49,50,61,67,68,73 1.11: 5,6,7,13,14,16,17,23,26,28,36,40,43 2.1: 3,4,8,11,12,15,18,20,23,25,26,28,29,30,45,48,51,52,56,61,62,65,70,71,73,75 2.2: 3,7,8,14,20,23,24,25,31,32,38,48,54,55,56,57,59,61,65,70,72,73,76,85,88,94
Week 2 06/02-06/06	Class:  Sections 2.3--2.5, 2.6*, 2.7--2.8. Homework: 2.3: 1,3,11,12,14, 18,22,29,30,31,34,35,37,39 2.4: 1,2,6,10,12,14,15,17,19,21,29,30,31,52,53,57,64,67,69,72,74,75 2.5: 3,5,9,18,21,24,25,26,29,30,32,33,34,40,43,45,50,53,54,60,62,65,68,72 2.6*: 2,3,5,6,9,12,14,20,24,26,28,29,34,36 2.7: 1,2,4,5,7,12,15,17,19,20,21,24,27,30,33,37,42,45,48,49,53,54,57,59,60,63,65,66 2.8: 2,4,5,8,13,15,17,18,23,25,29,34,36,41,43,47,52,57,63,66,69,73,74,79,80,81
Week 3 06/09-06/13	Review (one hour) for Test 1 (06/10). Test I  (Chapter 1--2) on Thursday 06/12, 2nd hour. Class:  Section 3.1--3.2 Homework: 3.1: 2,6,8,10,11,15,20,22,26,27,30,36,37,42,45,52,58,59,63,68,72,73,79,81,83 3.2: 1,4,5,8,12,13,14,17,18,24,26,28,29,30,38,40,46,49,50,53,55,56,58,59,62,64,66,67
Week 4 06/16-06/20	Class:  Section  3.3, 3.6, 4.1--4.2 Homework: 3.3: 2,3,5,8,12,17,18,27,30,34,40,41,48,49,52,55,62,65,66,69,71,75,77,80,84,98,92,94,97,100 3.6: 2,5,8,16,20,24,27,32,33,38,40,46,49,51,54,55,59,62,66,71,75,76,77,79,82,83 4.1: 3,6,8,12,13,15,17,20,23,24,28,31,37,39,41,43,45,46,47,50,53,59,64,67,70,72,73,74,77,82,83 4.2: 1,2,5,8,9,12,14,16,20,22,26,27,34,36,39,43,45,47,56,62,67,76,79,81,83,87
Week 5 06/23-06/27	Class: 4.3--4.4 Review for Test 2 (one hour) 06/24 Homework:  4.3: 3,4,7,10,16,19,27,30,32,39,42,44,45,51,56,57,60,62,63,64,65,66,68 4.4: 4,6,10,11,19,24,27,32,33,36,40,44,49,51,55,61,65,67,71,74,75,77,79,80,83,85
Week 6 06/30-07/04	Test 2 (Chapter 3--4) on Tuesday, 07/01 2nd hour. Test 2 grades will be posted at WEBCT by  8:00am Wednesday, 07/02. Class: 9.1--9.2 Homework: 9.1: 2,6,11,12,16,19,21,23,25,26,28,30,31,36,39,42,46,47,49,51,54,55 9.2: 2,4,9,14,16,17,20,23,24,26,31,32,34,36,37,39,41,42, 44,48,53,55,59 Last day to drop/resign classes: 07/02, Wednesday 07/04: Independent Day Holiday (Friday).
Week 7 07/07-07/11	Class: Section 9.3--9.5 Homework: 9.3: 1,3,4,6,8,9,11,14,15,16,17,21,22,24,29,31,33,35,36,37,38,39 9.4: 2,9,11,14,16,18,21,24,26,29,30,33,36,37,38,40,43,44,49,50,52 9.5: 2,4,6,8,11,13,20,25,26,30,33,34,38,40,42,45,47,50,52,55,56,57
Week 8 07/14-07/18	Class: Sections  9.6--9.7, 11.1--11.2 Homework:  9.6: 3,6,8,13,14,17,19,21,22,30,33,36,37,38,39,42,43,45,46,47,49,50 9.7: 3,5,8,10,12,17,19,22,24,25,26,27,29,34,35,39,43,44,46,49,55,57,60,62,63 11.1: 2,8,10,13,16,18,23,25,32,33,35,36,39,43,44,46,49,55,56,62,63,69,71,72,75,79,80 11.2: 2,4,6,9,10,11,17,21,22,28,31,33,36,40,42,45,50,55,56,57,58,63,64
Week 9 07/21-07/25	Class: Sections: 11.3, 11.6 Review for Test 3 (07/22) Test 3 (Chapter 9--11) on Thursday , 07/24, 2nd hour Homework: 11.3: 2,3,7,8,9,10,13,19,21,24,28,36,38,39,43,45,47,54,55,60,63,65,66,67,71,75,76,81 11.6: 1,5,11,14,16,18,21,26,28,32,33,38,40,42,43,44,47,49,51,52,53 Class: Review for Final. (07/24)
Week 10 07/28-07/29	Final Exam time: Tuesday 07/29-- in the last class period. Last day of class:  Tuesday 07/29 for Tuesday/Thursday classes. GOOD LUCK ON THE FINAL!!!

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Last updated: 08/10/2010