Math 95 Elementary Algebra
GREAT BASIN COLLEGE FALL SEMESTER 2016
Math 95 Elementary Algebra Online Section 1001 3 credits
MyMathLab Course ID: owens72225
CATALOG DESCRIPTION
A first course in algebra for students who plan to continue in the math sequence. Topics include operations on real numbers, simplifying expressions, solving linear and quadratic equations, polynomials, factoring, radicals, and the concept of graphing. Prerequisite: Must have completed MATH 91 or earned a satisfactory score for placement into MATH 95 or MATH 97
COURSE DESCRIPTION
This is an 8-week course. We will cover chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and parts of chapters 10 and 11 in the Beginning and Intermediate Algebra text by Elayn Martin-Gay, completing 5 - 6 sections a week. Every week, students will view recorded lectures and complete homework assignments. All homework and exams are completed online through the homework management system MyMathLab. You may work ahead in this course since all of the homework and exams are posted the first day of class.
LEARNING OUTCOMES & MEASURES
Upon completion of the course, you should be able to do the following.
Learning Outcome / MeasureIdentify, set up, and solve a variety of applied problems using algebraic techniques / Chapter 2 Exam, Chapters 3, 4, & 10 Exam
Add, subtract, multiply, divide, and factor polynomials / Ch. 5, 6 & 11 Exams
Graph and solve linear equations and inequalities / Ch. 2 Exam, Ch. 3,4, & 10 Exam
Graph and solve quadratic equations by various methods, including by the quadratic formula. / Ch. 6 & 11 Exam
Mastery of topics will vary from student to student, but for most students, doing the homework, watching the lectures, and reading the textbook are all critical for mastery. Do not expect to gain mastery through telepathy or osmosis. If you do nothing, expect nothing. If you do the work, expect some gain in mastery.
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Instructor: Lynne Owens Address: Great Basin College
Office: MCML 136 1500 College Parkway
Phone: 775-753-2152 Elko, NV 89801
Fax: 775-738-8771
E-mail: WebCampus email is my much preferred method of contact.
Office Hours: M, W 9:30 am – 11:00 am, 4 pm – 5 pm or by appointment.
I will respond to emails/calls M – F, 8am – 5pm. I am unavailable evenings, weekends, and holidays.
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Regular and dependable computer and internet access
MyMathLab Homework Management System (comes with a free eText): ISBN: 032119991x
Scientific calculator (Scientific calculators may be used on your exam; graphing calculators may not)
OPTIONAL MATERIALS
Some students prefer having a textbook in addition to the eText:
Hardback book bundled with the access code ISBN: 0321729366
3-hole punch textbook with the access code has ISBN: 0321729358 (Text cannot be returned.)
You can also buy the book separately (much more expensive):
Hard back book alone ISBN 0321785126
3-hole punch textbook alone ISBN 032178586X (Text cannot be returned.)
COMPUTER REQUIREMENTS
This course is online and therefore requires that you have access to a computer that can access the internet as well as the following software packages. (For technology tips on using MyMathLab go to the last two pages of this syllabus.)
· A web browser (An up-to-date version of Google Chrome, Safari, or Mozilla Firefox)
· Adobe Acrobat Reader (free)
· Adobe Flash Player (free)
· Microsoft Word
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Since we do not have a regular meeting time, I have recorded the lectures for this course and have embedded them in your homework. It is assumed that every week you are watching the lectures and reading the textbook sections that correspond to your homework assignments. The book, homework, and lectures are all located in MyMathLab, not WebCampus.
COMMUNICATION
The overwhelming majority of our communication will be through WebCampus email. Here are some tips for effective communication.
· Be civil and respectful in your conversations with fellow students and me.
· Check WebCampus for announcements and emails regularly.
· If you need assistance with a topic, please be specific as you can by providing me with the particular problem you are trying to solve. It is much more effective and efficient to tell me “I am having trouble factoring x2- x – 6,” rather than the more general statement of “I am having trouble factoring.” MyMathLab has an “Ask your instructor” button in all of the homework sets. If you click on that, MML sends me both the problem and your question.
· If you’re having trouble with a due date it is always best to contact me BEFORE an assignment is due rather than after.
CALCULATOR USE
You may use scientific calculators, but not graphing calculators on your exams.
GRADING
Your grade is based on 37 homework assignments, 3 exams, a comprehensive final, and 1 quiz. Your three lowest homework scores will be dropped. If you should fail to turn in any homework assignments, these will be the assignments that get dropped. The quizzes are weighted 2%, the homework 33% and the exams 65%. To find your grade at any given time, you will take 2% of the average of the quiz grade, 33% of the average of the homework score, 65% of the average of your exam scores, and sum those values together. Here is the formula.
Grade = 0.02(average of quiz score) + 0.33 (average of homework scores) + 0.65(average of exam scores).
Recall that the average is found by adding the scores and dividing by the number of scores. Please note: Your grades will appear in MyMathLab not WebCampus. If you have a question about any grade, you have 48 hours after the due date of the particular assignment/test to contact me in writing about your grade issue.
Grade Distribution
90% - 100% A
80% - 89% B
70% - 79% C
60% - 69% D
Below 60% F
HOMEWORK
All homework is done in the website MyMathLab. You will need to purchase access to this site. Go to http://www.pearsonmylabandmastering.com and under “Student” click on “Get Registered”. You will need three pieces of information: an email address, the course ID, and either the access code or a credit card to purchase the access code. Click on “OK! Register now.” At this point you will need to input the course ID which is owens72223. If you have used MyMathLab before, you already have an account so enter your username and password. If you have not used MyMathlab before, click on “Create” under “Create a Pearson Account”. If you have already purchased an access code, click on “access code” and enter your code. If you need to purchase the access code, click on that option and pay for the code. For those of you awaiting financial aid, MyMathLab grants a 14-day temporary pass. Use this so you can still do your homework while awaiting funds.
Submitting homework is easy. Simply click on the "Assignments" tab in MyMathLab find the appropriate section and do the homework. MyMathLab automatically saves your work and enables me to view it. Exams are also done in MyMathLab. However, for the exams, students will work out the problems on paper in addition to submitting answers to MyMathLab. The test papers will be uploaded in WebCampus for grading.
Your homework is due every Friday by 11:59pm; the chapter reviews are due on Tuesdays. Late homework is not accepted. Remember that you get to drop 3 homework assignments (not the chapter reviews). Any assignments that you fail to turn in or attempt to turn in late will be the assignments you drop. After your 3 dropped assignments, you will earn a score of zero on any further missed assignments.
Reviewing past work
If you would like to review past work for studying purposes, click on the “Gradebook” tab in MyMathLab. You will see three time options for viewing old assignments/tests: “Past 2 weeks”, “Past month”, and “Entire course to date”. Just select the appropriate time frame and then click on the assignment you wish to review. Note: MyMathLab only allows you to view old homework that you have attempted. If you did not turn in an assignment, you cannot access a review of it through the “Gradebook” tab. If you wish to work through any missed sections, click on the “Study Plan” tab and locate the section you missed. The Study Plan will allow you to work problems that were similar to the problems in the assignment you missed.
QUIZZES and EXAMS
There is one quiz in this course—the syllabus quiz. It needs to be taken in WebCampus. It is the only assignment that you will do in WebCampus. It is due in WebCampus on September 2, 2016. After the due date, I will import the grade for the syllabus quiz to MyMathLab so that all your grades will be in a single place. Your quiz does not need to be proctored.
Like your homework, your exams are done online in MyMathLab. Your exams must be supervised by a proctor, and only the proctors have the passwords that will enable you to access your exams. If you will be taking your exams at a Great Basin College campus or at Nevada State High School, we already have proctors in place. If, however, you are not near a GBC campus or are not a student at NSHS, please provide me with the name and email address of someone (not a relative or friend—a librarian or a teacher is a good choice) willing to serve as a proctor. Do this soon—do not wait until your first exam is due to provide me with this information. Please be aware that other institutions may charge for proctoring your exams.
All exams have a time limit of 3 hours. It is highly unlikely that you will need 3 hours for your exam. Each exam has between 10 and 15 problems. Unlike the homework, you are allowed only 1 attempt on the exams. Late exams are not accepted. There are reviews for each of the exams. You must complete the exam reviews with a score of 70% or higher BEFORE you can take the exam. So please plan enough time to complete the reviews and the exams by the due date. Use of your book, notes, websites (other than the test site), cellphones, or any other device (outside of your testing computer) that can access the internet is not allowed while taking exams.
Because computers cannot assess partial credit, it is important that I see your work on exams. In that sense, please treat your quizzes and exams like regular pencil and paper exams and write down your work. You will turn in your work using the drop boxes in WebCampus. To turn in your work:
1. Make sure your work is legible and the problems are numbered.
2. Immediately upon completing your quiz/exam, scan your work and save it as JPG file. I will not accept PDF files. Do not change your work after you have completed the quiz/exam; if you missed problems on your quiz/exam do not go back through your test and write down the correct answers on your paper. I want to see the work you did that supports the answers you put into the computer. If your scanner only uses PDF format, you will need to convert your work to JPG format by using the following websites to convert to JPG format. http://sourceforge.net/projects/pdf-to-jpg/ or http://www.zamzar.com/url/
3. Upload your work in WebCampus.
If you fail to meet any of these conditions, I will not look at your work, which in turn means you will not be eligible to receive partial credit where deserved.
Withdrawing from Class
The last date you can withdraw from this class is September 30, 2016. If you fail to turn in your withdrawal paperwork by that time, you will receive whatever grade you have earned by the end of the semester.
Please consult the Great Basin College catalogue for information regarding incomplete or “I” grades.
MYMATHLAB vs. WEBCAMPUS
We use two management systems in this course, MyMathLab and WebCampus. This is not meant to cause confusion. Here’s the difference between the two systems. Your book, homework, lectures, and grades all live in MyMathLab. Use WebCampus to communicate with me and/or other students via the GBC Coffeehouse or through email or to submit written work to me. I will primarily communicate with you in WebCampus, so please check WebCampus regularly. If the college website is down, https://gbcnv.instructure.com/login/canvas will give you direct access to WebCampus independent of the college website.
COMPUTER HOMEWORK/EXAM DUE DATES
Week / Material / Due Date1 / Syllabus Quiz--WebCampus / Friday, September 2
1 / 1.8, 2.1 – 2.5 / Friday, September 2, 2016
2 / 2.6 – 3.2 / Fri. Sept. 9
3 / Chapter 2 Review and Exam / Tuesday, Sept. 13
3 / 3.3 – 3.6, 10.1 / Fri. Sept. 16
4 / 4.1 – 4.3, 4.5, 5.1 Omit 4.4 / Fri. Sept. 23
5 / Chapters 3, 4, and 10 Review and Exam / Tues. Sept. 27
5 / 5.2 – 5.6 / Fri. Sept. 30
6 / 5.7 – 6.5 / Fri. October 7
7 / Chapter 5 Review and Exam / Tues. Oct. 11
7 / 6.6 – 6.7, 11.2 – 11.3 / Fri. Oct. 14
8 / Final Review and Exam / Tues. Oct. 18
All homework and exams are due by 11:59pm of the given due date; however, please check with your testing center/proctor for hours of operation. ***WARNING*** The testing center in Pahrump, Nevada is open limited hours. Students testing there MUST make an appointment at that center.
Your syllabus quiz and homework (except the reviews) are due on Fridays. The chapter exam reviews and exams are due on Tuesdays.
While all effort will be maintained to adhere to the syllabus, dates may be subject to change due to unforeseeable events (acts of nature, for example). You will be notified of any changes, so please stay in touch. Check WebCampus regularly for announcements or emails.