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MATH 1112: COLLEGE ALGEBRA, FALL, 2005
Section 06: HHH 304, MWF 12:00-12:50 Course ID (CRN #): 8971
INSTRUCTOR
Yi Wang, Ph.D., Assistant Professor
Department of Computer Science, Mathematics, and Physics
College of Science and Technology
Room 315, HHH, Fairmont State University
Email: ywang@fairmontstate.edu
Homepage: http://www.fairmontstate.edu/users/ywang/ OR http://www.fscwv.edu/users/ywang
Phone: 304-367-4621
Office Hours: 10:00-11:00, M,W,F 9:15-9:30, 10:20-11:00 Tuesday 9:15-10:15 Thursday
Welcome to Math 1112, my name is Yi Wang, and I will be your instructor for this course. I wish by our joint effort, all of you will succeed this course. We will use Vista mainly for communication and grade book in this course. Another good resource for this course is my homepage, which can be found at http://www.fairmontstate.edu/users/ywang/ or http://www.fscwv.edu/users/ywang. In general, you may consider my office an “open door”, and I strongly recommend that you come and see me if you are having any trouble in class (or if you find that you are not being challenged enough). Come by…I enjoy seeing my students.
COURSE DESCRIPTION: This course includes a review of real numbers, algebraic expressions, equations and inequalities, graphing, systems of equations, exponents and radicals, binomial expansion, sequences and related topics.
3 Cretdits (3 lect/pres, 0 lab, 0 other).
PREREQUISITES: HS Algebra I and II and a Math ACT of at least 21; OR Math 111
GOALS: To give students an understanding of an appreciation for the theory and many applications of basic college algebra. Both computational and conceptual skills will be developed. The students will be exposed to both theoretical and applied points of view and applications to other disciplines will be stressed. This course also develops student capabilities related to several of FSC’s General Education Objectives, including:
· The ability to communicate effectively in a variety of contexts and formats.
· Comprehend the concepts and perspectives needed to function in national and international societies.
· Integrate knowledge and ideas in a coherent and meaningful manner.
TEXTBOOK: M. Sullivan, College Algebra (7th
edition). Prentice Hall, ISBN: 0-13-143110-2
VISTA: This course will use VISTA at http://vista.fairmontstate.edu. Class announcements, homework assignments and updated grades will be posted on VISTA. It is the students’ responsibility to check the information posted at VISTA.
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. There will be a worksheet approximately for each week. The collected Homework/Quizzes/worksheets will be averaged for part of your final grade. Quiz will be given without notice in advance.
EXAMS: There will be four in-class mid-term tests and one final. The final exam is comprehensive and is scheduled on Wednesday Dec. 14, at 10:00am.
GRADES: Here is a breakdown of the Homework/quizzes/worksheets/tests/final:
Homework/Quiz/Worksheet Average….12%
Test 1…………12%
Test 2…………12%
Test 3…………12%
Test 4. …….… 12%
Final………..…40%
If you get the following scores (out of 100) 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 four mid-exams and grade of the final.
SOME IMPORTANT POLICIES IN THIS CLASS:
1.
ATTENDANCE is critical to get high points for the assessment of the Homework/Quiz/Worksheet part. It may be taken form time to time. The attendance taken will be considered as in-class quizzes and 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.
A make-up exam will be given on the next work day after a given mid- exam if one can not attend the regular exam with a reasonable excuse. No other make-up is allowed until the last day of the class. On that day one can make up any one of the four mid-exams to improve the corresponding mid-exam. However, only one make-up on the last day of class is allowed.
4.
A reasonable excuse commonly refers to an institutional excuse, a doctor-signed excuse, or an excuse signed by some authorized people.
5.
In general an exam before the scheduled time is not offered unless under some extreme cases such as with a reasonable excuse.
HOW TO SUCCEED THIS COURSE?
In addition to my effort, your efforts are indispensable.
(1) Except extreme cases (such as one is super smart or with very good background in mathematics), 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 all most 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 overall score:
1. The overall score is calculated according to the contributions from quizzes (12%), Exams (12% each) and Final(40%).
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. Please note one to three quizzes with the lowest grades will be dropped. A missed quiz is scored as 0 for that quiz. If the number of missed quizzes is less than or equal to the number of quizzes dropped, your missed quiz(es) will not affect your quiz points AT ALL. Finally, the average percentage of all the quizzes are calculated for the points of the quiz part.
4. Please note there is no curving for all make-up exams. In other words, when the percentage is calculated for the make-up, please note out of which total score is your make-up score.
5. The grade (percentage) of the make-up is used to replace that of the SAME exam if it is higher. The percentage of the final is used to replace one of the worst percentages of the four 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 grades can take advantage of TWO opportunities to improve their grades.
ATTENDANCE
Students are expected to attend regularly the class and laboratory session of courses in which they are registered. Regular attendance is necessary to the successful completion of a course of study and is an integral part of a student's educational experience.
Each instructor shall make available on the first day of class what the attendance requirements are and what penalties shall be imposed for nonattendance.
Please check the student handbook (online) for more information.
The address is http://www.fairmontstate.edu/publications/campushandbooks/FS_StudentHandbook0405.pdf.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
Fairmont State values highly the integrity of its student scholars. All students and faculty members are urged to share in the responsibility for removing every situation which might permit or encourage academic dishonesty. Cheating in any form, including plagiarism, must be considered a matter of the gravest concern. Cheating is defined here as the obtaining of information during an examination; the unauthorized use of books, notes, or other sources of information prior to or during an examination; the removal of faculty examination materials; the alteration of documents or records; or actions identifiable as occurring with the intent to defraud or use under false pretense.
Plagiarism is defined here as the submission of the ideas, words (written or oral), or artistic productions of another, falsely represented as one's original effort or without giving due credit. Students and faculty should examine proper citation forms to avoid inadvertent plagiarism.
SPECIAL NEEDS
Services are available to any student, full or part-time, who has a need because of a [documented] disability. It is the student’s responsibility to register for services with the coordinator of students with disabilities and to provide any necessary documentation to verify a disability or the need for accommodations. The Coordinator of Disability Services, Andrea Pammer, is located in the Turley Center , room 304. The office phone is (304) 367-4686 or (800) 641-5678 Ext. 8. TDD# is 304-367-4200.
COPYRIGHT NOTICE
Material presented in this course may be protected by copyright law.
COURSE CONTENTS (SUBJECT TO CHANGE AS NEEDED DURING THE TERM):
Chapter Review
Chapter 1: Equations and Inequalities
Chapter 2: Graphs (*Section 2.5 )
Chapter 3: Functions and Their Graphs (*Section 3.6)
Chapter 4: Polynomial and Rational Functions
Chapter 5: The Zeros of a Polynomial Function (*Section 5.4)
Section 6.1: One-to-One Functions; Inverse Functions
Section 8.1 System of Linear Equations: Two Equations Containing Two Variables
Section 8.4, System of Linear Equations: Determinants
* These sections are optional.
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