KENTUCKY STATE UNIVERSITY
Division of Mathematics and Sciences
Department of Mathematics and Physics
Course: MAT115-V1
Course Title: Online College Algebra Fall 2012 (3 credit hours)
Syllabus
This is the course syllabus for the College Algebra course MAT115, fall 2012 at Kentucky State University. This course can be used to satisfy the general education mathematics requirement for all Kentucky public universities as well as a majority of U.S. public and private colleges and universities as well. This course will also provide a solid grounding in algebra in preparation for further mathematical studies. Further information about the course is available below. Students enrolled in this course should regularly refer to the syllabus and the announcements in the course (web-based) homework system.
PROFESSOR: Karen Heavin SEMESTER: Fall 2012
OFFICE: 205A Carver Hall CLASS TIME: TBD
OFFICE PHONE: (502) 597-6068 CLASSROOM: Online Course
FAX: (502) 597-6068 OFFICE HOURS: By appointment
E-MAIL:
WEBSITE: http://sweb.uky.edu/~kheav2/ksua2a/home.htm
SUPPORT WEBSITE: http://podcasting.jessamine.kyschools.us/groups/wjhssmith/
I. MISSION STATEMENTS:
The Objectives and Learning Outcomes of this course directly support the Mission of the University, College, and Division and may be found at:
www.kysu.edu/about
www.kysu.edu/academics/collegesandschools/collegeofmathematicssciencestechnologyandhealth/
www.kysu.edu/academics/collegesandschools/collegeofmathematicssciencestechnologyandhealth/mathematicsandsciences/
www.kysu.edu/mathandphysics
II. NOTICE TO STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
Any student who requires an accommodation due to a documented disability may contact the Disability Resource Center (DRC) at (502) 597-5076, or visit Hill Student Center, Suite 220C, to arrange for reasonable accommodations. The student is required to obtain verification from the DRC and deliver the signed DRC document to the instructor specifying the accommodations. The student is encouraged to complete this process at the beginning of the semester since an approval for accommodations is not retroactive. The accommodations become effective upon receipt of the DRC approval by the faculty member from the student. Additional information concerning the DRC and accommodations can be found at http://www.kysu.edu/about/divisions/studentAffairsAndEnrollment/disabilityRecourceCenter.htm.
III. COURSE DESCRIPTION – COURSE RATIONALE:
An overview of manipulation of monomials, polynomials rational and radical expressions; solving equations and inequalities, including linear, rational, quadratic, absolute value, exponential and logarithmic; developing problem solving techniques; an introduction to functions, the algebra of functions and their graphs; study of properties and graphs of polynomial and rational functions, as well as exponential and logarithmic functions; techniques in graphing functions, including use of a graphing calculator; reading/interpreting graphs of functions and applications.
IV. COURSE OBJECTIVES:
College Algebra should teach students how to apply mathematics in different contexts, to abstract and generalize, and to analyze quantitatively and qualitatively. Students succeeding in this class should be able to
ü understand set notation and operations.
ü solve a variety of equations and inequalities, including absolute value.
ü use the rules of exponents, both integer and fractional.
ü understand the concept of a function verbally, graphically, numerically and algebraically.
ü understand the algebra of functions, composite functions and the inverse functions.
ü work with polynomials, polynomial functions, and their graphs.
ü use transformations of functions to graph new functions from old.
ü use the quadratic formula to determine real and complex zeros of a quadratic function.
ü use graphs and graphing calculators to solve equations and inequalities.
ü understand the concept of increasing and decreasing function on an interval.
ü work with rational expressions, rational functions, and their graphs.
ü determine limits at infinity and infinite limits graphically, numerically and algebraically.
ü understand the properties of the exponential and logarithmic functions, focusing on base 10 and base e.
ü solve exponential and logarithmic equations.
ü apply tools and concepts to problem solving, applications and modeling.
ü communicate the mathematical ideas orally and in writing, using proper English and mathematical terminology and symbols.
V. STUDENT LEARNING OBJECTIVES/OUTCOMES:
This course specifically introduces concepts and skills included in Kentucky State University Liberal Studies Learning Outcomes and Kentucky General Education Student Learning Outcomes that state students will be expected to demonstrate the ability:
Kentucky State University Liberal Studies Learning Outcomes:
· To communicate accurately and effectively in writing and speech. (Liberal Studies Outcome #1)
· To think critically and analytically. (Liberal Studies Outcome #2)
· To use the methods of mathematical and scientific inquiry. (Liberal Studies Outcome #4)
Kentucky General Education Student Learning Outcomes
· interpret information presented in mathematical and/or statistical forms;
· illustrate and communicate mathematical and/or statistical information symbolically, visually and/or numerically;
· determine when computations are needed and to execute the appropriate computations;
· apply an appropriate model to the problem to be solved;
· make inferences, evaluate assumptions, and assess limitations in estimation modeling and/or statistical analysis.
VI. SUGGESTED TEXTS: College Algebra Essentials, 2nd edition, by John W. Colburn.
Two textbooks will be provided as a reference for each classroom. It is not necessary that you purchase the book to take this course although students may choose to purchase the text independently. Your school will have other test books available that can be used as a reference for content in the Online College Algebra course.
Supplemental websites: http://www.geogebra.org/cms/en/download
http://www.khanacademy.org/
VII. EVALUATION PROCEDURES:
Grading Policy: The course grade is based on submission of online homework and four written exams. Weights given to each of these components are listed below. Regular attendance and participation in classroom activities are expected of all students. Each student is responsible for completing all assigned homework, taking tests as scheduled, and contacting the instructor promptly regarding any course work missed due to unavoidable absence from class. Students who do not successfully complete the homework within the first three weeks of class will be automatically dropped from the course.
- Foursemester exams: 400 points (100 points possible on each of 4 midterm written exams.*)
- Syntax HW 10 points (10 points for the first online HW assignment)
- Handwritten HW: 85- 100points (2 points for each problem completed correctly during an exam period **.)
- Instructor grade: 25 points (25 points possible awarded based on attendance and effort.)
- Final exam: 125 points (125 scaled points possible on one cumulative final exam.)
- Total: 660 points
*90% of possible points will be awarded for performance on each exam and 10% of possible points will come from points earned from performance on the WHS version a and version b homework.)
** Total points are tentative
Grading Scale: 90-100% = A; 80-89% = B; 70-79% = C;
60-69% = D; Below 60% = F
VIII. COURSE SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS, EXPECTATIONS, POLICIES:
Student responsibilities;
Study Time: Students are expected to study mathematics at least 2 hours outside of class for every hour of class meeting. Therefore, you should spend a minimum of 6 hours each week studying MAT 115. Bring all the pertinent material such as paper, pencil, calculators, etc., to the class.
Academic Honesty: Please see the section on “Academic Honesty” in the 2011-2012 KSU catalog or student handbook. Any violation of academic honesty will not be tolerated. All online HW must be done by the student. Students violating this policy must do all hw during class time and show work for all problems for the remainder of the semester.
Cell Phone Policy: Cell phones should be off or on vibrate and not used anytime during class, PDAs and beepers are to be turned off and put away during class. In particular texting, is not allowed during class. If you have a very special circumstance requiring an exception to this rule, you must let the instructor know in advance
Calculator: A scientific calculator is required, a graphing calculator is preferred.
Make-up Test Policy: A test may be made up only if the student has an acceptable excuse. These include a pre-scheduled academic activity, severe illness or a catastrophic emergency resulting in unavoidable absence.
Course Content: Selected sections from Chapters R, 1-4.
Exams: The exam dates are already set and listed below. If there is any conflict with other courses or school related duties, it is essential that the student discuss it with the instructor well in advance – at least one to two weeks. Generally, there is a common alternate exam time on the day of the common exam as well as a supplemental makeup on the next day. These are available only if you have a valid excuse or have made the necessary arrangements prior to the test. All exams will be paper and pencil test allowing for the use of a calculator.
1st Exam - During class, room TBA September 6 - 7 R – F
2nd Exam - During class, room TBA October 3-4 W – R
3rd Exam - During class, room TBA November 8-9 R – F
4th Exam - During class, room TBA December 10-11 M – T
Final Exam - During class, room TBA December 18 - 19 M – W
Homework: Be aware that problems discussed in class or presented in the on line Web Homework System (WHS) are to be treated as an integral part of the course. The textbook has theory and additional practice problems, but a majority of the training for problem solving comes from the WHS and in class teacher support. In addition to the 10 points earned as part of the test grade, the homework on the WHS forms an important component of learning, since most problems on the exams follow patterns set by the homework. To earn your credit, you need to
· Properly register. This means you connect to https://www.mathclass.org/ and register online. Your high school teacher will be able to help you with this if you have difficulties.
· You begin each week by working on a common version of your homework for practice and understanding. This version will return a response if your answer was correct and will supply the correct answer if not. The purpose of this is to help you understand the concept and problem solving strategy for the given problem. The common version also helps you to see the proper syntax to use when entering answers. You will then complete the personal version in order to earn HW credit. Be sure to submit your answers and save your work so the credit for a correct problem is not lost. All problems can be reworked and resubmitted as many times as needed, without penalty. Once a problem is answered correctly, the system locks the answer. The points earned on an individual homework are computed using the rubric below. The scheme may appear complicated, but it is designed to encourage mastery learning and give you a maximum chance of earning full credit. Do not depend on your internet connection. Keep all work for your problems in a notebook and organized. This way if the computer “burps” you will not have to recalculate all of the problems that you had not submitted yet. Save often.
· Each web based homework comes in two versions; version ‘a’ and version ‘b’. The score on “version a+b” is reported as the final score and is the score that will be part of your overall exam score. A 40% correct score on “version a” is treated as practice and worth 2 points. The score for version b (8 points total) is computed by percentage accurately completed with the following generous scale:
30% -40% = 1 point, 40%-60% = 3 points, 60%-75% = 4 points, 75%-85% = 6 points and 85% or more equals 8 points.
10 points out of 100 will be allotted for each exam from the corresponding web based homework sets. I will compute the percentage by averaging all web based homework grades (generally 3 or 4 hw sets) during one exam period. This way you won't suffer if you had one bad week of homework. If a student gets 40% and 85% on all version a and b homework sets for the test period then they would get the full 10 exam points. Warning: DO 100% of the homework! The exams follow the format of the homework very closely. If you skip problems you do not know how to do then you will not know how to work those problems on the exam. Students who work hard on the homework generally do very well in the course. Students who only do enough to get buy are not usually successful on the exams.
· There will be an additional HW set of approximately 10 - 15 handwritten problems assigned at the beginning of each exam set of homework which will be due the week of the exam. These problems are worth 2 pts each and will be scored as either correct or incorrect by the high school teachers. To receive credit, each of the problems must be completely correct and all work must be shown. Multiple attempts can be made to correctly complete the problems before the due date. There will be 4 hand graded hw sets corresponding to each of the 4 exams worth an overall total of 85-100 points.
· Help with the homework: Your high school teacher will be available to help you with any problems you find yourself struggling with. Your main tutoring will come from the WHS built in online feedback component. You are also encouraged to use any after school tutoring programs available.
· Collaboration is encouraged: We encourage you to discuss your homework with other students and tutors. Be sure, however, that you learn how to do the problems on your own. If you depend on other students or your teacher to finish the homework without understanding yourself, then you will do very poorly on the exam. Also, make sure you can eventually work the problems without the aid of the video tutorials when working version b. Students that do not wean themselves from the tutorials do poorly on the exams. This may mean working a problem more than once. DO NOT WORK HW PROBLEMS FOR POINTS BUT FOR UNDERSTANDING. Students who work for points only will not be prepared for the exams. You must learn from the hw problems to be successful on the exams. Each hw problem also references similar problems from the text book.
· Further info on using the WHS: for further technical details on using the computer systems go to https://www.mathclass.org/WebPages/Pages/21/AStudentGuideToWHS_large.htm
IX. COURSE CALENDAR/SCHEDULE: (See separate Course Schedule for a detailed description of HW and exam due dates)
Chapter R / Preliminary Information and review, Section R3 – R6 / 2 weeksChapter 1 / Linear equations and modeling (1.1), Linear inequalities in one variable (1.2), Absolute value equations and inequalities (1.3), Complex Numbers(1.4), Solving quadratic equations (1.5), Solving other types of equations (1.6) / 4 weeks
Chapter 2 / Rectangular coordinates; graphing circles and other relations (2.1), Graphs of linear equations (2.2), Linear graphs and rates of change (2.3), Functions, function notation, and the graph of a function (2.4), Analyzing the graph of a function (2.5), Toolbox functions and transformations (2.6), Piecewise-defined functions (2.7), The algebra and composition of functions (2.8)
Test 1. / 4 weeks
Chapter 3 / Quadratic functions and applications (3.1), Synthetic division; The remainder and factor theorems (3.2), Zeroes of polynomial functions (3.3), Graphing polynomial functions Graphing polynomial functions (3.4), Graphing rational functions(3.5), Polynomial and rational inequalities (3.7) / 2 weeks
Chapter 4 / One-to one and inverse functions (4.1), Exponential functions (4.2), Logarithms and logarithmic functions (4.3), Properties of Logarithms: Solving exponential / log equations (4.4), Applications and business, finance, and physical science (4.5) / 2 weeks
December 18 - 19
Important dates: