MATH 1301 (COLLEGE ALGEBRA) SYLLABUS - SPRING 2010

Instructor: Dr. Linda Becerra Office: S707 E-mail: BecerraL@uhd.edu

Office phone: 713-221-8643 Web Page: http://cms.uhd.edu/Faculty/BecerraL/

Office hours: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. MW, 2:30 p.m. – 4 p.m. TR

Course prerequisite: Math 1300 (Intermediate Algebra) with a “C” or better, or placement by exam taken at UHD.

Textbook: Essentials of College Algebra with Modeling and Visualization, 3rd Edition, by G. Rockswold, Addison Wesley, 2008;

an electronic copy of the textbook is available in MyMathLab (MML).

Course grade: There are 600 total points in the course: three tests (100 points each); a comprehensive department final

exam (200 points); MyMathLab Assignments (100 points). Course letter grades correspond to the total points earned in the course

as follows: “A” (540-600 pts; 90%-100%), “B” (480-539 pts; 80%-89%), “C” (420-479 pts; 70%-79%),

“D” (360-419 pts; 60%-69%) or “F” (0-359 pts; 0%-59%).

Special grading policies: (1) If you score 100% on the Algebra Review in MML, you will earn 5 Bonus Points on Test 1, or if

you score 90% - 99%, you will earn 4 Bonus Points on Test 1, or if you score 80% - 89%, you will earn 3 Bonus Points on Test 1.
There are 3 attempts per exercise and the due date is Wednesday, February 10.

(2) If you have 4 or fewer absences beginning with the official day of record February 1 (3 tardies = 1 absence), and have an 80% or

better average in MyMathLab, then your final exam will replace your lowest test grade, if it is higher.

(3) There will be regular graded Class Activities during the semester. These will count as extra credit (up to 6 points will be added to your total points in the course).

Class Activity # 1: Turn in your “first day of class” information card.

Class Activity # 2: Register in MyMathLab by January 24.

(4) You will receive a grade of “F” for the course if you score below 50% on the final exam, regardless of your course average. This is a CMS department requirement.

Graded MyMathLab Assignments: Throughout the semester, there will be assignments (homework and quizzes) in the course that you must complete online in MyMathLab (MML). (1) Each MML assignment will have a due date by which it must be completed. Please do not put off working on the MML assignments - especially do not wait until the night before a test to complete these! Instead, you should keep current on these and work on them on a regular schedule. (2) In each MML HW assignment, you can continue trying each exercise over and over. This means you can continue to improve your grade on these, up to 100%, and this should be your goal! You may also re-submit MML Quizzes to continue to improve your grade. (3) All MyMathLab assignments together will count 100 points towards your course grade. You cannot succeed in this course if you do not do the MML work. If you have any questions, problems, or difficulties regarding MyMathLab, please contact me immediately so we can resolve them quickly.

Suggested HW Exercises: There will also be suggested exercises from the textbook for you to do. The suggested exercises are not to be turned in to be graded, but they give you additional practice and help prepare you for the tests.

MyMathLab: (1) You must have an Access Code in order to use MML. If you are enrolled in Math 1301 for the first time, you may buy a code from the UHD Bookstore (bundled with the text or sold separately) or you may buy it online at www.coursecompass.com. If you are repeating Math 1301 and used MML in the course, then you do not need to purchase a new code - your account will still be active, but must enroll in a new section. See our class web page for details.

(2) You must register in MML at www.coursecompass.com and you will need: (a) an Access Code, (b) a valid Email address – please use one that you check regularly, (c) the zip code for UHD is 77002, (d) the course ID which is given here.

CRN 20489; 10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m. MW; MML Course ID is becerra91676

CRN 20612; 8:30 a.m. – 9:45 a.m. TR; MML Course ID is becerra77757

(3) You can use MML on any computer that has Internet access. When you are on campus, you can log in to MML from a UHD computer in the Math Lab (N925), the Academic Computing Labs (S800, C300, B200), and the SI Lab (S405).

(4) If you cannot log in to MML at the site www.coursecompass.com, then you can also log in at the alternate site www.mathxl.com/login_mml.htm to work on your MML assignments or call MML Student Support 1-800-677-6337.

University Policies: All students are subject to UHD’s Academic Honesty Code and to all other university-wide policies and procedures as they are set forth in the University Catalog (http://global.dt.uh.edu:8080/catalog/) and Student Handbook (http://www.uhd.edu/campus/handbook.htm). Please ask if you have any questions on the honesty code. A grade of 0 will be given on any coursework where cheating occurs; more severe penalties may result depending on the violation.

Statement on reasonable accommodations: UHD adheres to all applicable federal, state, and local laws, regulations, and

guidelines for providing reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Students with disabilities should register in

the Office of Disabled Student Services (S-409) and contact me in a timely manner to arrange for appropriate accommodations.

Class attendance/Make-ups: Please plan to attend every class meeting - you will find it difficult to successfully complete the

course if you don't. Please be on time and plan to stay for the entire class, and let me know in advance when you cannot do this.

If you miss roll, let me know right after class so you will be marked present on that day.

Missed a class? Whenever you miss class, you should first check the Class Journal on our class web page (http://cms.uhd.edu/Faculty/BecerraL/) to see what material was covered and if there are any assignments.

Please check the class web page regularly to keep up with assignments and for other course information. Missed classes, even for

valid reasons, do not entitle you to turn in work late unless prior arrangements are made. Any missed grades will be recorded as zero.

Make-up tests are not given in this course. The final exam grade can be used to replace one missed test.

Cell Phones, etc.: Please turn off your cell phones, iPods, etc., and do not have them visible during class. Also, please remove all electronic earpieces during class and do not work on MML assignments on a personal laptop during class.

Important dates: Classes begin, Jan. 19; Official Day of Record, February 1; Spring Break, March 15 - 20, no classes;

Last Withdraw Date, April 1, if you stop attending class and do not withdraw from the course, you will receive a course grade

of “F”; Last Class Day, May 3; Final Exams, May 6 - 15.

What you will need for the course: (1) You should bring paper and a pencil to each class meeting so you can participate by

working on problems and taking notes. I recommend that you have a class notebook to help organize your notes and problems

to study for tests. (2) You should have a scientific calculator (with exponent key, log key and ln key) - you will be allowed to use

it on tests and the final exam. Students with graphing calculators are not required to purchase a scientific calculator. However, you

should not use the advanced features of a graphing calculator on any test or on the final exam. Please bring your calculator to each

class meeting to help solve problems, as needed. (3) Cell phone calculators are not allowed on any test or on the final exam.

Resource materials/Course success:

Where can you get help? You can get help with the course from me in my office (S707); from our student SI leader (Supplemental

Instruction) who will have regular tutoring hours in S405; and in the Math Lab (N925). Labs (S405, N925) are great places to study and work on problems, and receive immediate help when necessary - you can set up group study sessions with classmates there too.

Troubles with HW? (i) HW is the most important part of the course. You should try to set up a regular schedule to do HW and stick to it. (ii) Your questions are always welcome in class, but there may not be enough time to answer all of them. Outside of class, you can also get help with the course from me during my office hours, or from our SI leader in S405, or in the Math Lab (N925).

(iii) Even if you understand the class lecture, this is only one part of the learning process. Learning involves effort, frustration, and struggle. Remember there are no shortcuts to learning; you must build your own understanding through patience and practice by wrestling with complex ideas by yourself. It takes time to see different sides of new ideas and to develop mental links that will help you apply these ideas in problem solving. As your teacher, I will try to help you with this process, but no one can do it for you. This is what HW is for, to give you a chance to practice on your own and develop your own understanding, and why it is so important! So don’t be worried when you struggle with HW, just accept this as part of the learning process. Usually, students who attend and participate in class and who diligently work on their HW are sufficiently prepared for tests - there is no reason to think you are any different. As your teacher, my most important responsibility is to help you learn, but how much you learn is really up to you. You must set aside time for this course, be willing to work on assignments both in and out of class, and make a genuine effort. Your choice of actions will determine your success in this course.

Learning Objectives: A student should be able to (1) write complex numbers in standard form and perform arithmetic operations

with them; (2) solve quadratic equations by the methods of factoring, extraction of roots, and the Quadratic Formula; (3) use function notation, inverse function notation, and interpret their meaning in context; (4) recognize the equation of a line and determine the equation

of a line when given two points on the line, or, one point on the line and the slope of the line; (5) state the definition of a function,

determine the domain and range of a function, evaluate expressions with functional notation, simplify expressions involving the algebra

of functions, and given a function find its inverse, if it exists; (6) solve problems involving direct and inverse variation; (7) graph linear

and quadratic functions by hand; (8) recognize the important features of graphs of polynomial functions and piecewise-defined functions;

(9) find the vertex and intercepts of a parabola; (10) state the fundamental properties of polynomial functions; (11) solve quadratic inequalities, state the solution in interval notation and graph it; (12) state the inverse relationship between exponential and logarithmic functions, graph both, use properties of logarithms to rewrite expressions, and solve exponential/logarithmic equations; (13) solve

absolute value equations/inequalities; (14) solve systems of equations in three variables by algebraic techniques; (15) state and use the relationship between the slopes of parallel and perpendicular lines; (16) interpret the meaning of the slope of a line in context.

Test schedule (Test dates and sections covered will be confirmed at least one week in advance and be available on our class web page.)

Test questions will be similar to exercises in MyMathLab, exercises in the text, and problems discussed in class.

Test 1 Week of February 15; Test 2 Week of March 22; Test 3 Week of April 19.

Final exam: CRN 20489; Monday, May 10; 10 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.

CRN 20612; Thursday, May 6; 8:30 a.m. – 11 a.m.