COLLEGE ALGEBRA -
Spring, 2004
M1314-52 – TR – 9:10-10:25 M1314-54
– TR – 10:35-11:50
M1314-58 – TR – 1:25-2:40
Instructor:
B. Williams Phone:
979-209-7391 E-mail: bwilliams@blinn.edu Office:
L233
Office Hours: MWF: 11:00-12:00 MW: 1:30-4:00 TR:
8:00-9:00 TR: 3:00-4:00 or
by prearranged appointment
Course Description: College Algebra is the study of real and complex numbers, factoring, exponents, radicals, linear, fractional and quadratic equations, inequalities, graphing techniques, equations of straight lines, functions, graphs of polynomial and rational functions, systems of equations, matrices, and exponential and logarithmic functions.
Prerequisites: MATH 0312 with a grade of
“C” or better or high school Algebra I, high school Algebra II, High school
Geometry, and a score of 270 or higher on the mathematics section of TASP/THEA,
or an appropriate score on the alternate test instrument.
Core Course: This is a Core Course in the
42-Hour Core of Blinn College. As
such, students will develop proficiency in the appropriate Intellectual
Competencies, Exemplary Educational Objectives, and Perspectives. The URL for the Blinn College Core
Curriculum web site is www.blinn.edu/corecurriculum.
Course Objective: The student should perform at a 70% or better average on examinations, homework, quizzes and class participation covering those topics included in the daily schedule.
Required Materials:
Textbook: College
Algebra by James Stewart, Lothar
Redlin, and Saleem Watson, Third Edition, Brooks/Cole Publishing Company, 2000
Supplies: course
packet (available in Copy Center), three ring notebook, braded folder,
notebook paper (not spiral), highlighter, colored pencils, and #882 scantron
and blue book for the final
Calculator Policy: A
graphing calculator is required in this course and I will be using the
TI-83 Plus in class. Other
graphing calculators may be used; however, the student is responsible for
learning how to operate them.
Symbolic calculators such as the TI-89 and TI-92 will not be
allowed. Students may use a
calculator on most quizzes and exams; however you may not share a calculator
with another student during a quiz or exam. The instructor reserves the
right to not allow calculators on certain quizzes and exams.
Course Content: Coordinates and Graphs,
Functions, Polynomial and Rational Functions, Exponential and Logarithmic
Functions, and Systems of Equations
Grading Policy: Homework will be assigned throughout the course. Homework must be worked on the pages
provided in the course packet.
Students will turn in the assigned homework for each exam on the date of
the exam.
Daily quizzes covering material from the
previous lecture will be given at the beginning of class. There will be 20 daily quizzes that are
worth 5 points each. At the end of
the semester all quiz grades will be added together to make one quiz
grade.
During the semester five calculator labs
worth 20 points each will be turned in.
These five scores will be added together at the end of the semester to
make one lab grade.
The average of the quiz grade, lab grade, homework
folder grades and any other work assigned during the semester will make up 20%
of your final grade.
Four free response major exams making up 60%
of your final grade will be given during class on the dates listed on the
tentative schedule.
A
multiple-choice departmental comprehensive final exam worth 20%
of your final grade will be given on the date designated by the college.
Grades will be assigned as follows: A = 100-90; B = 89-80; C = 79-70; D =
69-60; F = below 60
Make-up Policy: Missed quizzes or calculator labs can be made up
only if a student is absent because of a school-sponsored activity. Quizzes or calculator labs missed for
any other reason cannot be made up.
Make-ups on major exams will only be given for
authorized excuses. This excuse
should be in the form of a doctor’s note, a signed message from a college
official or an obituary from a death in the family. A prescription is not an authorized excuse. The student must contact the instructor
either prior to or within 24 hours of missing an exam. The instructor will note in writing if
the excuse is authorized. If it is
an authorized excuse, arrangements will be made to take the major exam within
one week of the date of the original test date. If the test cannot be taken within that time frame or if the
student chooses not to take it or if the student is absent for an unauthorized
reason, the grade of zero from the missed major exam will be replaced with the
final exam grade. In addition, if
all four major exams are taken, the lowest grade will be replaced with the
final exam grade provided the latter is a higher grade. No individual extra credit projects
will be offered.
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Math instructors would like
to help students with disabilities achieve their highest potential in
college. In order to receive
accommodations on exams or assignments, students must provide an accommodations
request from the Disabilities Coordinator, make an appointment to meet with the
instructor during their office hours, and discuss what accommodations are
appropriate for the course. Proper
documentation should be provided to the Disabilities Coordinator in the Center
for Student Development (209-7250) so that this can be done in a timely
manner. Accommodations are not
retroactive and no accommodations will be granted until all paperwork is
complete.
Attendance Policy: Because being absent from class may adversely affect your grade, students are expected to attend all classes, to be in class on time, and to remain until class is dismissed. If a student attends the class only long enough to take a quiz and then leaves, he/she will receive a grade of zero on that quiz. Any student who leaves the class without the instructor’s permission and does not return will be counted absent and will not be given credit for any work done during that class period. The only excused absence is a college-sponsored activity. Illness and/or emergency (even with a doctor’s note) does not constitute an excused absence. The instructor retains the right to determine whether an absence is authorized as far as make-up work is concerned, and will note in writing if the absence is authorized. See Make-Up Policy. Students will not be dropped from the course by the instructor. It is the student's responsibility to officially drop a class through the Admissions Office when he or she is no longer attending. (The last day to withdraw with a W is April 8, 2004.)
Sources of Help: Math Tutoring Room (L245), Math Lab (L247), Learning Center (L258), study groups, your instructor, a private tutor
Classroom Policy: No
food, drinks or tobacco products are allowed in the classroom or
lab. All cellular telephones and pagers must be turned off before
entering classroom and may not be used while in the room.
Civility Statement:
Members of the Blinn College
community, which includes faculty, staff and students, are expected to act
honestly and responsibly in all their actions and words. Therefore, all members should commit
themselves to behave in a manner that recognizes personal respect and
demonstrates concern for the personal dignity, rights, and freedoms of every
member of the College community, including respect for College property and the
physical and intellectual property of others. If a student is asked to leave the classroom because of
uncivil behavior, the student may not return to that class until he or she
arranges a conference with the instructor; it is the student’s responsibility
to arrange for this conference.
Dishonesty Policy:
Students caught cheating on
any assignment, quiz or exam in this course will be assessed a penalty that
will range in severity from an F (or zero) on that particular activity involved
to an F for the course. Any
student assigned an F for cheating has one week from the time that the
assignment, quiz or exam is returned to the class to dispute the grade. After one week, it will be assumed that
the student has accepted the grade, and no changes will be made in the
grade. Grades received as a penalty
for cheating will not be dropped or replaced.
For the purpose of this course, cheating will
be defined as (but not limited to) access or use of unauthorized material
during exams and quizzes, collaboration between students during exams, quizzes,
or assignments for which group work is not allowed, frequent perusal of another
student’s work during exams and quizzes, copying other student’s work or
allowing other students to copy your work on any assignment, quiz or exam, and
having unauthorized programs or other information stored on calculators when
these calculators are accessible during an exam or quiz. Students who cheat and students who
facilitate cheating when they allow other students to have access to their own
work when that is not allowed will be subject to the same penalties.
Tentative Schedule
|
|
Date |
Sections Covered |
|
Major
I |
February
5 |
2.1,
2.2, 2.4, 4.1, 4.2 |
|
Major
II |
February
26 |
4.4,
4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8 |
|
Major
III |
March
25 |
5.1,
5.2, 5.5 |
|
Major
IV |
April
20 |
6.1,
6.2, 6.3, 6.5, 6.6 |
|
Final
Exam |
1314-52
– May 11 – 7:45-9:45 1314-54
– May 6 – 10:15-12:15 1314-58
– May 6 – 12:45-2:45 |
Comprehensive
|
|
Day |
Date Assigned |
Section(s) |
Page |
Problems
|
|
1 |
1/20 |
Pretest
& Review |
|
|
|
2 |
1/22 |
2.1-The
Coordinate Plane 2.2-Graphs
of Equations |
80 92 |
3,
27, 29, 31, 33 21,
27, 30, 31, 35 |
|
3 |
1/27 |
2.2-Graphs
of Equations 2.4-Lines |
92 111 |
51,
53, 55, 61, 63, 65 17,
19, 21, 23, 27, 29, 31, 34 |
|
4 |
1/29 |
4.1-What
is a Function? 4.2-Graphs
of a Function |
217 228 |
15,
23, 29, 30, 33, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 45, 46, 49 13,
15, 23, 27, 31, 35, 39, 61, 67, 71 |
|
5 |
2/3 |
4.4-Average
Rate or Change:
|
245 |
3,
7, 8, 11, 23, 25, 31 |
|
6 |
2/5 |
Major
Exam I |
|
2.1,
2.2, 2.4, 4.1, 4.2 |
|
7 |
2/10 |
4.5-Transformations
of Functions |
256 |
17,
19, 21, 24, 31, 32, 40, 41 |
|
8 |
2/12 |
4.6-Extreme
Values of Functions |
266 |
15,
17, 21, 25, 27, 40, 41, 42 |
|
9 |
2/17 |
4.7-Combining
Functions |
275 |
2,
5, 7-10 all, 31, 37, 40 |
|
10 |
2/19 |
4.8-One-to-One
Functions and |
287 |
7,
9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 29, 31, 35, 36, 37, 40, 41 |
|
11 |
2/24 |
Review
Chapter 4 |
|
|
|
12 |
2/26 |
Major
Exam II |
|
4.4,
4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 4.8 |
|
13 |
3/2 |
5.1-Polynomial
Functions and |
323 |
15,
19, 23, 27, 29, 32 |
|
14 |
3/4 |
5.2-Dividing
Polynomials |
332 |
3,
6, 15, 21, 23, 27, 31, 35, 39, 43, 45, 46 |
|
15 |
3/9 |
5.5-Rational
Functions |
366 |
19,
23, 27, 31, 35, 39, 43, 47, 49, 51(also find the intercepts) |
|
16 |
3/11 |
5.5-Rational
Functions |
366 |
Graph
above listed problems |
|
17 |
3/25 |
Review
Chapter 5 6.1-Exponential
Functions 6.2-The
Natural Exponential Function |
384 394 |
23,
25, 27, 29, 33 3,
5, 7, 9, 15, 17, 19 omit c, 25, 27 |
|
18 |
3/25 |
Major
Exam III |
|
5.1,
5.2, 5.5 |
|
19 |
3/30 |
6.3-Logarithmic
Functions |
405 |
3,
5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 25, 27, 45, 47, 48, 49, 51, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60 |
|
20 |
4/1 |
6.4-Laws
of Logarithms |
411 |
5,
9, 13, 17, 25, 29, 35, 37, 39, 41, 45, 49 |
|
21 |
4/6 |
6.5-Exponential
& Logarithmic
|
418 |
1,
5, 9, 15, 17, 21, 25, 29, 31 |
|
22 |
4/8 |
6.5-Exponential
& Logarithmic
|
418 |
33-47
odd |
|
23 |
4/13 |
6.6-Applications
of Exponential/
|
430 |
1,
3, 5, 9, 11, 15, 21, 23 |
|
24 |
4/15 |
7.2-Pairs
of Lines 7.1-Systems
of Linear Equations |
461 454 |
1,
3, 5 1,
3, 7, 11, 17 |
|
25 |
4/20 |
Major
Exam IV |
|
6.1,
6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 |
|
26 |
4/22 |
7.4-The
Algebra of Matrices |
484 |
3,
7, 9, 11, 13, 19 |
|
27 |
4/27 |
7.3-Systems
of Linear Equations |
475 |
11,
13, 15, 21, 23 |
|
28 |
4/27 |
7.3-Systems
of Linear Equations |
475 |
|
|
29 |
5/4 |
Review
for Final |
|
|
|
|
|
Final
Exam |
|
Comprehensive
(including 7.1-7.4) |