Preparatory Algebra

ATH

950-003

REPARATORY

LGEBRA

ALL

2008

YLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: John Nordstrom, Associate Instructor, Continuing Education.

TEXT: Beginning Algebra, 2

Edition, Miller, O’Neill, and Hyde, McGraw Hill, 2008.

TIME & PLACE: T,H 2:00 – 3:20 PM, Room 101, Milton Bennion Hall

CONTACT Being adjunct faculty, I don’t have a University office; not having an office, I don’t

INFORMATION: have office hours. I generally try to be available both before and after class to answer

any questions you have. I can also be reached by either of following methods (email is

preferred):

Email: john_nordstrom@comcast.net (anytime)

If you need to send me mail or contact my department, the address is:

Continuing Education

1901 E. South Campus Dr. #1185 (1185 Annex)

Salt Lake City, UT 84112-9359

Phone: 801-581-6461 Fax: 801-585-5414

PREREQUISITES: A Math ACT score of at least 14 is strongly recommended for this course. If you

scored below this you should consider enrolling in a developmental math course, such

as those offered by Salt Lake Community College. A scientific calculator is

recommended for this course, even though it will not be allowed on some of the tests.

Scientific calculators are available for under $10 that will suffice for this course.

COURSE Math 950 is the prerequisite for Math 1010. Math 950 is a beginning algebra course,

OBJECTIVES: where you will be introduced to the language and operations of algebra. By taking

Math 950 you should:

• become comfortable working with real numbers, including fractions,

• become used to idea of using variables to represent parameters and unknowns,

• learn how to solve and graph linear equations,

• be able to do basic algebraic manipulations, including factoring polynomials,

• get used to using mathematics to solve word problems.

CLASS The class schedule lists Math 950 as being a lecture course, and that is true as far as it

STRUCTURE: goes. But like any mathematics course this course will require your active participation

to be effective. You will have to do much of the heavy lifting yourself, both in and out

of class. You are expected to do the assigned homework, not for any points you might

earn, but because:

You learn math by doing math.

While you will receive zero credits for Math 950, it is the equivalent of a three credit-

hour course. A rule of thumb is that you should spend between two and three times the

number of credit hours outside of class every week studying the material. I expect you

will spend up to nine hours each week working the homework, especially if the subject

doesn’t come easily to you.

We will spend the first part of every class going over questions from the homework; if

you haven’t done the homework you won’t be able to ask questions about it. Please

don’t be afraid to ask questions, either in or out of class. If there is something you are

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MATH 950-

FALL 2008 SYLLABUS

INSTRUCTOR: John Nordstrom, Associate Instructor, Continuing Education.

TEXT: Beginning Algebra, 2nd^ Edition , Miller, O’Neill, and Hyde, McGraw Hill, 2008.

TIME & PLACE: T,H 2:00 – 3:20 PM, Room 101, Milton Bennion Hall

CONTACT Being adjunct faculty, I don’t have a University office; not having an office, I don’t INFORMATION: have office hours. I generally try to be available both before and after class to answer any questions you have. I can also be reached by either of following methods (email is preferred): Email: [email protected] (anytime)

If you need to send me mail or contact my department, the address is: Continuing Education 1901 E. South Campus Dr. #1185 (1185 Annex) Salt Lake City, UT 84112- Phone: 801-581-6461 Fax: 801-585-

PREREQUISITES: A Math ACT score of at least 14 is strongly recommended for this course. If you scored below this you should consider enrolling in a developmental math course, such as those offered by Salt Lake Community College. A scientific calculator is recommended for this course, even though it will not be allowed on some of the tests. Scientific calculators are available for under $10 that will suffice for this course.

COURSE Math 950 is the prerequisite for Math 1010. Math 950 is a beginning algebra course, OBJECTIVES: where you will be introduced to the language and operations of algebra. By taking Math 950 you should:

become comfortable working with real numbers, including fractions,
become used to idea of using variables to represent parameters and unknowns,
learn how to solve and graph linear equations,
be able to do basic algebraic manipulations, including factoring polynomials,
get used to using mathematics to solve word problems.

CLASS The class schedule lists Math 950 as being a lecture course, and that is true as far as it STRUCTURE: goes. But like any mathematics course this course will require your active participation to be effective. You will have to do much of the heavy lifting yourself, both in and out of class. You are expected to do the assigned homework, not for any points you might earn, but because: You learn math by doing math. While you will receive zero credits for Math 950, it is the equivalent of a three credit- hour course. A rule of thumb is that you should spend between two and three times the number of credit hours outside of class every week studying the material. I expect you will spend up to nine hours each week working the homework, especially if the subject doesn’t come easily to you. We will spend the first part of every class going over questions from the homework; if you haven’t done the homework you won’t be able to ask questions about it. Please don’t be afraid to ask questions, either in or out of class. If there is something you are

not understanding you can be assured there are other students who are also lost and will appreciate your question.

GRADING: Even though Math 950 is a non-credit course, you will still receive a grade for the course. This grade will appear on your transcript, but will not affect your overall GPA. You are required to receive at least a C in Math 950 to enter Math 1010. Chapter Quizzes 60 – 70% Final 30 – 40% Please note that this is the approximate weight given to each of the components you will be graded on. In particular, I usually give more weight to your final if you do particularly well on it. I plan to have quizzes following most of the chapters, the exceptions being the chapters immediately preceding the final. The final is a comprehensive exam. Almost all of the questions on the quizzes and exams are open-ended questions that will require you to show your work. Because I believe in second chances, I drop your low quiz score when computing your aggregate quiz score. My standard grading scale is the following, but I sometimes will relax this a bit. A A- B+ B B- C+ C C- D+ D D- E

95% 90-95% 87-90% 83-87% 80-83% 77-80% 73-77% 70-73% 67-70% 63-67% 60-63% <60% Note that circumstances may dictate that we deviate from either the planned number of quizzes and tests, or the grading and scoring guidelines as described. Any changes will be announced and discussed in class.

HOMEWORK: I will be assigning homework, but not grading it. By not doing the homework you are only cheating yourself. No amount of cramming before a quiz will replace the skills you will develop by doing the assigned homework. The more problems you work, the more comfortable you will become the material. The more comfortable you are with the material, the more relaxed you will be when you take a quiz or test. Remember, You learn math by doing math.

GETTING HELP: You may find that you need some extra help beyond what the class can provide. There are several tutoring services available. The math department has a free drop-in tutoring center located in the T. Benny Rushing Mathematics Center. Information about the center can be found at http://www.math.utah.edu/ugrad/tutoring.html. For more personalized attention, the ASUU Tutoring Center (www.sa.utah.edu/tutoring) provides both individual and group tutoring at reasonable rates.

RESPONSIBILITIES: All students are expected to maintain adult and professional behavior in the classroom. Please respect your classmates by not engaging in idle chatter, using your cell phone, or otherwise creating distractions. More importantly, students are prohibited by the Student Code from cheating, as well as committing acts of fraud, vandalism, or theft. Part of my responsibilities is maintaining a classroom conductive to learning and enforcing responsible classroom behavior. If I have to, I will take disciplinary actions, beginning with verbal warnings and ultimately progressing to dismissal from this class and a failing grade. Students have the right to appeal such action to the Student Behavior Committee.

Preparatory Algebra - Intermediate Algebra - Assignment | MATH 1010, Assignments of Algebra

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Partial preview of the text

Download Preparatory Algebra - Intermediate Algebra - Assignment | MATH 1010 and more Assignments Algebra in PDF only on Docsity!

MATH 950-

PREPARATORY ALGEBRA

FALL 2008 SYLLABUS