MATH 1650.621– TAMS Precalculus
Fall 2013
Instructor: Dr. Kiko Kawamura
Email:
Website: www.math.unt.edu/kiko-kawamura
Office/Office Hrs: GAB 433, Monday-Friday: 11am-noon, Friday: 9-10am or appointment
Course Meets: BLB 005, Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 10-10:50am
SAGE 330, Tuesday and Thursday, 10-10:50am
Textbook: J. Stewart, L. Redlin, and S. Watson, Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus 6th Ed.
Course Description: 5 hours.
This course is to prepare students for calculus. It is designed around the notion of functions and their graphs, and includes polynomial and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, and trigonometric functions. In addition, students will learn a variety of ways to represent functions. In addition to using functions in the standard Cartesian coordinate system, students learn about polar coordinates and parametric equations. Many real-world problems can be solved using what we learn in the course, and each exam will include such problems. Applications are made to problems in physics, engineering, economics, geometry and finance.
Grading Scheme:
3 Exams – 60% (each 20 %)
Homework – 20%
Comprehensive final exam - 20%
Grades: A 90%-100%, B 80% - 89%, C 70% - 79%, D 60% - 69%, F below 60%
Class Attendance: Required. More than five unexcused absences may lower your grade.
Code of Conduct: Students are expected to be respectful of others at all times. This includes keeping talk and other noise to a minimum while a lecture is in progress or an exam is being taken. Any student being disruptive may be dismissed from the class meeting. Cheating will NOT be tolerated and anyone found guilty of cheating may receive and F for the course.
Exams: The following schedule is tentative and is subject to capricious changes in case of extracurricular events deemed sufficiently important to the upper administration.
Three Exams: Exam 1: September 19 (Thursday: 9:30am-10:50am)
Exam2: October 17 (Thursday: 9:30am-10:50am)
Exam3: November 14 (Thursday: 9:30am-10:50am)
Comprehensive Final Exam: Thursday, December 12 , 8am-10am!
Calculators: Calculators are not allowed during exams. They are allowed for homework, though. TI 83, TI 83 Plus, TI 84, TI 84 Plus or equivalent, their use will be supported in class. Examples of calculators not allowed: TI-Nspires, TI 89’s, TI 92’2 or any other utility with alphanumeric/CAS capabilities ARE NOT permitted.
Homework Policy:
· Homework will be assigned every class meeting and is due at the beginning of the next class period.
· When computing the final grade, I will drop the five lowest homework grades before computing the average. I have this policy in case you get sick, have a family emergency, etc., during the semester. You will still be responsible for the material in such assignments during the examinations. Because of this policy, I will NOT give extensions on homework assignments, nor will I accept late assignments for any reason whatsoever.
Collaboration: You may work on the problem sets together with your friends, but the best way to prepare for the exams is to begin by trying the homework on your own.
Tutoring: The Math tutor lab is located at GAB 440. For the details, see http://math.unt.edu/mathlab. TAMS seniors also offer tutoring at the ”Mathlab in McConnel”, Sunday-Thursday 7-9. Talk to the academic counselor if you need further help.
Make-up Policy: NO MAKE-UP EXAMS WILL BE GIVEN. An exam may be taken prior to the scheduled date. I request a week’s notice for this accommodation via email. In the event of a schedule conflict with a university function, dental/physician’s appointment, wedding, formal, etc., you must take the exam early. If you do not take a scheduled exam, a zero will be recorded for that exam and a notice may be sent through the registrar’s office.
There are three in-class exams. If your final exam score is higher than one of your in-class exam scores, then that in-class exam score will be replaced with final exam score. If you miss an in-class test, a zero will be recorded for that test score and your final exam score will replace that one zero. If you receive a zero for cheating on a test, the final exam score will NOT replace that zero. The final exam score can count as 20% of the course grade or 40% of the course grade. Again, NO MAKE-UP TESTS WILL BE GIVEN FOR ANY REASON EVER.
START WORKING NOW: The best way to ensure you pass this course is to work consistently throughout the semester. In mathematics courses topics always build one upon the other making it very difficult to catch up later if you fall behind. If you need to pass this course because it is your last semester, your financial aid depends on it, your scholarship depends on it, or your parent/guardian has threatened to harm you in some manner then do yourself a favor and start studying right away. I will not entertain any pleas for extra credit or offers to do additional work at the end of the semester.
Disability Accommodations: The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at http://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.
The Student Evaluation of Teaching Effectiveness (SETE) is requirement for all organized classes at UNT. This short survey will be made available to you at the end of the semester, providing you a chance to comment on how this class is taught. I am interested in feedback from students as I work to continually improve my teaching. I consider the SETE o be an important part of your participation in this class.
Summary of Key Dates for 2013 Fall:
August 28, Wednesday
Classes begin.
September 5, Thursday
Last day to add or swap a class for 2013 Fall. Cannot swap up to higher level class, only down.
September 11, Wednesday
Last day to drop a course and receive some refund; Drops after this date require instructor’s written consent
October 8, Thursday
Last day to drop a course or withdraw from the university with a grade of “W” for courses that a student is not passing; after this date a grade of “WF” may be recorded.
October 9, Wednesday
Beginning this date instructors may drop students with a grade of “WF” for non-attendance.
October 19, Saturday
Mid semester
November 6, Wednesday
Last day to drop course with consent of instructor, grades of W or WF may be assigned.
November 6, Wednesday
Beginning this date a student may request a grade of “I”, incomplete, a non-punitive grade given only if a student (1) is passing; (2) has justifiable reason why the work cannot be completed on schedule; and (3) arranges with instructor to complete the work within the following academic semester.
November 22, Wednesday
Last day for an instructor to drop a student with a grade of “WF” for non-attendance
November 28, Thursday – December 1, Sunday
Thanksgiving – University closed
December 6, Friday
Reading Day. No Classes
December 7, Saturday – December 13, Friday
Final examinations week
Course Outline:
Meeting 1, 2, 3- mathematical induction
Meeting 4 - induction problems with inequalities
Meeting 5 - polynomials
Meeting 6 - zeros of polynomials
Meeting 7 - synthetic division and long division of polynomials
Meeting 8 - graphs of polynomials
Meeting 9 - rational functions
Meeting 10, 11 - graphs of rational functions and their asymptotes
Meeting 12 - exponential functions
Meeting 13 - logarithmic functions
Meeting 14 - more exponentials and logarithms
Meeting 15 - graphs of exponentials and logarithms
Meeting 16 - solving exponential and logarithmic equations
Meeting 17 - definition of trigonometric functions
Meeting 18 - extension of trig functions to all angles
Meeting 19 - table of well-known values of trig functions
Meeting 20 - graphs of trig functions
Meeting 21, 22, 23 - more on graphs of trig functions
Meeting 24, 25, 26 - inverse trig functions
Meeting 27 - law of sines
Meeting 28 - law of cosines
Meeting 29 - solving triangles
Meeting 30, 31, 32 - trig identities
Meeting 33 - addition and subtraction formulas
Meeting 34 - double angle and half angle formulas
Meeting 35, 36 - trigonometric equations
Meeting 37 - polar coordinates
Meeting 38 - graphs of polar equations
Meeting 39 - polar form of complex numbers
Meeting 40 - arithmetic sequences
Meeting 41, 42 - geometric sequences
Meeting 43 - mathematics of Finance
Meeting 44 - binomial theorem
Meeting 45 - vectors
Meeting 46 - dot product of vectors
Meeting 47 - length of vectors
Meeting 48 - angles between vectors
Meeting 49 - cross product of vectors
Meeting 50 - equations lines in three dimensions
Meeting 51 - equations of planes
Course Calendar Fall 2013 (Tentative)
MONDAY / TUESDAY / WEDNESDAY / THURSDAY / FRIDAY8/26 / 8/27 / 8/28
First day of class / 8/29
Meeting 1 / 8/30
Meeting 2
9/2 / 9/3
Meeting 3 / 9/4
Meeting 4 / 9/5
Meeting 5 / 9/6
Meeting 6
9/9
Meeting 7 / 9/10
Meeting 8 / 9/11
Meeting 9 / 9/12
Meeting 10 / 9/13
Meeting 11
9/16
Meeting 12 / 9/17
Review / 9/18
Review / 9/19
Exam 1 / 9/20
Meeting 13
9/23
Meeting 14 / 9/24
Meeting 15 / 9/25
Meeting 16 / 9/26
Meeting 17 / 9/27
Meeting 18
9/30
Meeting 19 / 10/1
Meeting 20 / 10/2
Meeting 21 / 10/3
Meeting 22 / 10/4
Meeting 23
10/7
Meeting 24 / 10/8
Meeting 25 / 10/9
Meeting 26 / 10/10
Meeting 27 / 10/11
Meeting 28
10/14
Meeting 29 / 10/15
Review / 10/16
Review / 10/17
Exam 2 / 10/18
Meeting 30
10/21
Meeting 31 / 10/22
Meeting 32 / 10/23
Meeting 33 / 10/24
Meeting 34 / 10/25
Meeting 35
10/28
Meeting 36 / 10/29
Meeting 37 / 10/30
Meeting 38 / 10/31
Meeting 39 / 11/1
Meeting 40
11/4
Meeting 41 / 11/5
Meeting 42 / 11/6
Meeting 43 / 11/7
Meeting 44 / 11/8
Meeting 45
11/11
Meeting 46 / 11/12
Review / 11/13
Review / 11/14
Exam 3 / 11/15
Meeting 47
11/18
Meeting 48 / 11/19
Meeting 49 / 11/20
Meeting 50 / 11/21
Meeting 51 / 11/22
Review
11/25
Review / 11/26
Review / 11/27
Review / 11/28
Thanksgiving / 11/29
No class
12/2
Review / 12/3
Review / 12/4
Review / 12/5 / 12/6
12/9 / 12/10 / 12/11 / 12/12
FINAL EXAMS
8:00-10:00am / 12/13
I reserve the right to change this schedule as necessary throughout the semester. You are responsible for being aware of any changes I announce in class.