Great Basin College Spring Semester 2006
Math 096Intermediate Algebra3 credits
11:00am - 12:15pmTTh
Room: HSCI 107
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is equivalent to the second year of high school algebra. Topics include linear, quadratic, polynomial, and rational equations; linear and absolute value inequalities; exponents and radicals; relations, functions, and their graphs; systems of equations. Prerequisite: MATH 095, placement, or instructor approval.
The class format will be lecture-based. Part of each class will be devoted to answering questions and working problems. This class also contains a software component. Students will be expected to do some homework on the computer.
OBJECTIVES
Upon successful completion of this course you will be able to:
1. Solve linear equations and inequalities.
2. Graph linear equations and inequalities, relations, and functions.
3. Solve systems of linear equations and inequalities.
4. Perform operations with polynomials including addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, and factoring.
5. Simplify expressions with radicals and rational exponents.
6. Solve quadratic equations and inequalities.
7. Solve a variety of applied problems involving linear, quadratic, rational, and polynomial expressions.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor:Lynne Owens
Office:MCML 136
Office hours:MW
Phone:(775) 753-2152
Fax:(775)738-8771
E-mail:
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Textbook: Intermediate Algebra, 5th ed, by D. Franklin Wright
Scientific calculator
Large-size bluebook
Floppy disk
Internet access
CLASSROOM ETTIQUETTE
Be on time.
Refrain from using your cell phone during class or when visiting my office.
Do not bring children to class.
Be prepared when you come to my office—have your questions ready, bring your calculator if appropriate, etc.
Do not do homework or coursework from other courses during class.
Do not talk to your neighbors during lectures.
Do not sleep in class.
Be prepared to participate; bring your calculator and textbook to class.
GRADING
Your grade will be based on50 homework assignments (1 pretest worth 10 points, 44 computer assignments worth 5 points each, 5 in-class assignments worth 10 points each), 5 exams (100 points each), and a comprehensive final (200 points). There are a total of 980 points possible. The homework you turn in and your exams will be graded on both content and form. Note that there are actually six in-class homework assignments, but your lowest homework score will be dropped. In addition, there are actually six exams, but your lowest exam score will be dropped.
Late penalties:
Computer assignments
For the computer assignments, late assignments will be penalized 20% if they
are 1 day late and 30% if they are two days late. No credit will be given for assignments 3 or or more days late.
In-class assignments
Your in-class homework assignments will not be accepted late.
Exams
The first exam that you miss, will be the exam score that you drop. Thereafter, you will be penalized 5 points for every day your exam is late. You have 5 business days to make up an exam. Make-up exams will be given in GTA 119.
Grading errors/problems
If you believe I have made a grading error or if you wish to contest a grade, you have until the following class after the homework/exam was returned to address this issue. There is a certain timeliness to grading; in order for me to fairly reassess your work, I need to see it as soon as possible after I have issued a given homework/exam score.
If you have difficulty certifying your homework, but have proof that you did indeed do your homework on time, you have until the following class day after the homework was due to bring proof (i.e., the certificate) . Do not wait until the end of the semester to present me with a pile of certificates.
.
Grades are distributed as follows.
94 –100%A77 – 79%C+60 – 63%D-
90 – 93%A-74 – 76%CBelow 60F
87 – 89%B+70 – 73%C-
84 – 86%B67 – 69%D+
80 – 83%B-64 – 66%D
Consult the Great BasinCollege catalogue for information on "W" and "I" grades.
MISSING CLASS
Please note that the syllabus is just a guide. Although every effort will be made to follow the syllabus, you may find that we get a day or two ahead or behind. This in turn may affect the date for a given exam or a homework due date. If you should miss class, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered and if a test/homework date was changed. Not knowing about an exam will not be a valid reason for rescheduling an exam.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
Date / Sections/TopicsTues. Jan. 24 / 1.3 – 1.4 Lin Eq & Abs Value Eq; Formulas
Review 1.1 and 1.2 on your own
Thurs. Jan. 26 / 1.5 – 1.6 Apps; Lin Ineq, Abs Val Ineq
Tues. Jan. 31 / 1.7 – 1.8 Exponents; Scientific Notations
Thurs. Feb. 2 / 2.1 – 2.2 Cartesian Coord Sys; Slope-Int Form
Ch 1 hwk due: 1.3 #54,76; 1.4 #50; 1.5 # 8,22,36; 1.6 #44,68; 1.7#56; 1.8 #52
Tues. Feb. 7 / 2.3 – 2.4 Point-Slope Form;Intro to Func
Thurs. Feb. 9 / Ch 1 Exam
Tues. Feb. 14 / 2.5 – 3.1 Graphing Lin Ineq; Sys of Lin Eq in Two Var
Thurs. Feb. 16 / 3.2 – 3.3 Apps of Sys of Eq; Sys of Lin Eq in Three Var
Ch 2 hmwk due: 2.1#8,40; 2.2#40,46; 2.3 #26,36, 2.4#6,32; 2.5#24,28
Tues. Feb. 21 / 3.4 – 3.5 Matrices and Gaussian Elim; Determinants
Thurs. Feb. 23 / Ch 2 Exam
Tues. Feb. 28 / 3.6 – 3.7 Cramer’s Rule; Graphin Sys of Lin Inq
Thurs. Mar. 2 / 4.1 – 4.2 Add/Sub of Polynomials; Mult of Poly
Ch 3 hmwk due: 3.1#14; 3.2#10,14,30; 3.3#16,33;
3.4#18; 3.5#20; 3.6#34; 3.7#22
Tues. Mar. 7 / 4.3 – 4.4 Division and Synthetic Div. of Poly; Factoring
Thurs. Mar. 9 / Ch 3 Exam
Tues. Mar. 14 / 4.5 – 4.6 Special Factoring Tech; Poly Eq and Apps
Thurs. Mar. 16 / 5.1 – 5.2 Mult/Div of Rat’l Exp; Add/Sub of Rat’l Exp
Ch 4 hmwk due: 4.1#32; 4.2#36,54; 4.3#10,58; 4.4#24,58; 4.5#30; 4.6#34,62
Tues. Mar. 21 / 5.2 – 5.3 Add/Sub of Rat’l Exp cont; Complex Fractions
Thurs. Mar. 23 / Ch 4 Exam
Mar. 27 – Apr. 1 / SPRING RECESS
Tues. Apr. 4 / 5.4 – 5.5 Eq and Ineq w/ Rat’ Exp; Applications
Thurs. Apr. 6 / 5.6 – 6.1 More Apps; Roots and Radicals
Tues. Apr. 11 / 6.2 – 6.3 Rational Exponents; Arithmetic w/ Radicals
Ch 5 hmwk due: 5.1#46,72; 5.2#38; 5.3#16,34; 5.4#26,48; 5.5#4,24; 5.6#28
Thurs. Apr. 13 / 6.4 – 6.5 Functions w/ Radicals; Intro to Complex Numbers
Tues. Apr. 18 / Ch 5 Exam
Thurs. Apr. 20 / 6.6 – 7.1 Mult/Div w/ Comp Numbers; Quadratic Eq
Fri. Apr. 21 / Official Course Drop Deadline
Tues. Apr. 25 / 7.2 – 7.3 Quad Formula; Apps
Ch 6 hmwk due: 6.1#58; 6.2#44,76; 6.3#20,48; 6.4#8; 6.5#42,58; 6.6#30,50
Thurs. Apr. 27 / 7.4 – 7.5 Eq w/ Radicals; Equations in Quad Form
Tues. May 2 / 8.3 Function Notation
Thurs. May 4 / Ch 6 Exam
Tues. May 9 / 9.1 Algebra of Functions
Ch 7 suggested problems: odds in all sections
Thurs. May 11 / 9.2Composition of Functions and Inverse Functions
Ch 8,9 suggested problems: odds in specified sections
Tues. May 16 / Comprehensive Final Exam 11a – 1p
COMPUTER ASSIGNMENTS DUE DATES
Section / Due Datepretest / Thurs. January 27, 2005
1.4, 1.6 / Mon. Jan. 30
1.7, 1.8 / Mon. February 6
2.2, 2.3 / Mon. Feb. 13
2.5, 3.1 / Tues. Feb. 21
3.4, 3.5 / Mon. Feb. 27
3.6, 3.7 / Mon. March 6
4.2, 4.4 / Mon. Mar. 13
4.5, 4.6 / Mon. Mar. 20
5.2, 5.3 / Sat. Mar. 25
5.4, 5.5 / Sat. Apr. 10
6.2, 6.3 / Sat. Apr. 17
6.4, 6.5 / Sat. Apr. 24
6.6, 7.3 / Mon. May 1
7.4, 7.5 / Mon. May 8
8.3, 9.1, 9.2 / Sat. May 13
COMPUTER HOMEWORK
This class contains a computer component, so some of your work is done on the computer. The software you need to run the program is included with your book, so you may study and do your homework assignments from home. All of the computers in the math lab and the computers in pod E of the High Tech Center also have the software installed so you may come to campus to do work as well.
Good news about the computer homework: In this class, we are using the idea of mastery level learning. This means, that you will not be able to certify (i.e., upload your work to my gradebook) your homework until you reach a certain level of achievement (around 80%). The computer will generate different homework assignments for you until you are able to achieve this mastery level. If you have to keep retrying the homework, there is no penalty. The good news for you is that if you get your homework certified on time, you are guaranteed a score of 100% on allyour computer-based homework.
ONE LAST THING
Many people often think that there are those people who can do math and those who can’t. The truth is that learning math is much more about using intelligent behavior rather than having an innate mathematical ability. Intelligent behaviors include keeping up with the class, getting help the second you feel a concept is not clear, practicing lots of problems, and doing some math everyday. With this class you have software that can provide you with tons of practice problems. Use it. The software will also enable you to create practice tests. Do so. Try studying with other people. That’s a great way to learn math. Learning math is not a passive activity. When you read your book, work through the examples yourself and fill in any missing steps. By practicing intelligent behaviors, most people can gain some facility with math. Finally, do not procrastinate. It’s a fact of life that computers sometimes misbehave or that the internet will go down. Protect yourself by giving yourself plenty of time to complete homework assignments.
AVAILABLE RESOURCES
There are outside resources which you may find helpful. The math lab, located in the AcademicSuccessCenter in MCML 103, has an army of tutors waiting to assist you.
If you have any technical difficulties with the software, contact
or call Hawkes Learning at 843-571-2825
GETTING STARTED
Purchase the software required by your instructor. Please note that once you open the package, the materials are NOT refundable.
TO INSTALL THE SOFTWARE AT HOME:
- Place CD #1 in the CD-ROM drive. (CD#1 is the only CD needed for the installation.)
- Double-click on the My Computer icon.
- Double-click on the CD-ROM drive (has a picture of a CD-ROM disk).
- Double-click on Setup.exe.
- Follow the on-screen instructions.
- You will be prompted for a Course ID.
-If you have internet access, select “Yes, the Course ID is:” and enter GBCIMA in the box provided.
-If you do not have internet access, select the option that says “No, I will not be accessing an online progress report from this computer.”
TO GET YOUR ACCESS CODE:
1. If you have internet access, double-click on the purple diamond icon on the Desktop (or go
to Start, Programs, Hawkes Learning Systems). When prompted to enter an access code,
click on the link that says I need an access code…to be directed to our website.
a. Fill out the form (including your 15-digit license number from the yellow sticker on the CD sleeve). Click on the submit button and your personalized access code will appear on the screen.
b. You will also receive an e-mail with the access code in the body of the text and as an attachment called “access.cod” which you should save to a floppy disk.
2. If you do not have internet access, you will need to go to a computer with internet access and go to
Click on get your access code and follow steps a. and b. above.
TO ENTER THE SOFTWARE AND SAVE YOUR ACCESS CODE:
- Double-click on the purple diamond icon on your Desktop (or go to Start, Programs, Hawkes Learning Systems).
- Enter your access code when prompted. You may type it, paste it, or load it from a disk (if you saved it from e-mail) by clicking the “F1-Load From Disk” option and browsing to the path where you saved it. If you type or paste your access code, you will be prompted to save it. Save your access code to a floppy disk or another option to avoid typing it each time.
TO ENROLL IN YOUR INSTRUCTOR’S GRADEBOOK:
- If you have internet access and have entered your Course ID (which isGBCIMA), you will automatically be asked to enroll in your instructor’s gradebook the first time that you log in to the software. Choose your instructor’s name and the correct section from the pull-down menus.
- If you do not have internet access on the computer where the software is installed, you will need to enroll in your instructor’s gradebook by going to After entering your Access Code, you will be prompted to choose your instructor’s name and the correct section from the pull-down menus.
TO CERTIFY (DO YOUR ASSIGNMENT IN THE SOFTWARE):
- The Certify option is where you will complete your assignment.
- After certifying, you will be given a certification code (this verifies that you completed your assignment). It is recommended that you print and/or save your certification code.
- a. If you have internet access, you should receive a message that says your certificate has been submitted in your instructor’s gradebook. You are now done with that assignment! If you do not receive this message, follow the directions under “b.”.
b. If you do not have internet access,you will need to manually submit your certification code on the internet to get credit for your assignment in your instructor’s gradebook. To do this,
- go to log in using your access code and click the Submit Certificate(s)link
- if you saved your certification code to a file, load the code and click Submit Certificate. If you have a paper copy of your certificate, click the Type or Paste Code tab, select the lesson you have certified in, and click Submit Certificate. You need to perform these steps after you Certify to get credit for each of your assignments.
* Be sure you submit your Certification Code ON or BEFORE the due date to get credit for the assignment.