MT124-8: College Algebra
Syllabus
Fall 2011
Contact Information for ProfessorWood
Phone:(603) 271-7756
E-mail:
Office:Little Hall, Room 203
Holidays
There will be no class on the following day: Thursday, November 24 (Thanksgiving Holiday)
Class Cancellation
If the instructor must cancel class for any reason, the instructor will attempt to notify students by e-mail and post an announcement on CourseCompass/Blackboard. In all cases, a cancellation notice will be posted outside the classroom. Class cancellations due to weather are posted on the NHTI home page ( and are available through the NHTI ALERTS System.
Office Hours
The instructor is available for extra help during the following (drop-in) hours:
- Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs 11-12:00pm
- Other meeting times must be arranged by appointment.
Course Materials
- College Algebra 4/e;Beecher, Penna & Bittinger; Pearson/Addison-Wesley, ©2012. ISBN: 9780321639394
- Student Access Kit for MyMathLab companion web site: Course ID: wood62695
- TI 83(+) or TI 84(+) graphing calculator
NOTE:Students are expected to enroll in the My Math Lab course by no later than September 7, 2011. Students are responsible for contacting My Math Lab Technical Support (1-800-677-6337) to resolve any problems with creating or logging in to their accounts.
Items Not Permitted
Use of the following items is not permitted in the classroom at any time (unless authorized by a Reasonable Accommodation Plan obtained through Disabilities Services):
- Laptop/personal computers
- Cell phones, iPods, or other personal electronic devices
Course Description
Topics will include: Linear equations and inequalities and their graphs; systems of linear equations and inequalities; quadratic (and higher degree) equations; linear, quadratic, and higher degree models and applications; rational and radical equations and functions; exponential and logarithmic functions; conic sections; sequences, series, and the binomial theorem. A TI-83(+) or TI-84(+) graphing calculator is required. Prerequisite: High school Algebra I with a grade of “C” or higher or NHTI’s MT 103 and MT 104, both with grades of “C” or higher.
Course Format
This course will consist of lectures and presentations, discussions, homework, and exams. Students are responsible for obtaining missed material (handouts, assignments, class notes) from the CourseCompass web site.
Attendance Policy and Missed Work
Any student who misses more than 4 hours of classes (for any reason) and has a grade of C– or below, or who has missed all classes for any two-week period (without contacting the instructor), will be eligible for terminated from the course with a failing grade of AF.
A student who misses class is still required to complete homework assignments with the expectation that the student will take each exam when scheduled. (See Exams for more information.) All course work must be completed by December 9, 2011.
Student E-mail
The instructor will use NHTI Student E-mail to communicate with individual students or with the class as a whole. Students are expected to regularly check their NHTI Student E-mail accounts for messages from the instructor.
Online Homework
All homework assignments for the semester are to be completed online via My Math Lab. At the start of each exam period, homework assignments for sections covered that period will be made available to students.No limits are placed on the number of attempts or time to complete problems. The assignments are to be completed by midnight on the day before the exam. On the day of the exam, past-due homework assignments receive a score of 0 to permit accurate assessment of academic standing.
NOTE: No additional assignments other than homework and exams will be offered for credit. Students may use the Study Plan and Sample Tests in CourseCompass for additional practice; these exercises are not scored but do appear in the instructor’s online gradebook (as evidence of the student’s extra effort).
Exams
Student mastery of the course material will be assessed throughfour regular exams and a comprehensive final exam.
Exam dates are of the utmost priority; students are expected to take each exam on the scheduled date.The exam schedule is shown on page 3 of this syllabus. Any change to this schedule will be communicated in a timely manner. Students are expected to consult this exam schedule to ensure attendance on exam dates. No make-up exams will be offered. A student who misses a regular exam receives a score of 0 for that exam. An extreme circumstance that results in an absence will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
NOTE: All students are REQUIRED to take the final exam, regardless of their academic standing at the end of the semester. Any student who misses the final exam – unless acceptable, documented evidence can be produced that excuses the student’s absence – receives a score of 0 for the final exam; the final exam score will not be dropped.
Grading Policy
Grades will be computed according to the following weighting scheme, and maintained on CourseCompass.
Midterm / FinalWritten exams / 80% / Written exams / 60%
Homework / 20% / Homework / 20%
Final Exam / 20%
Mid-term and final grades are determined according to the following chart.
B+ / 87-89 / C+ / 77-79 / D+ / 67-69A / 93-100 / B / 83-86 / C / 73-76 / D / 63-66 / F / < 60
A- / 90-92 / B- / 80-82 / C- / 70-72 / D- / 60-62
Academic Honesty
Honesty is expected of all students, as discussed in Academic Affairs Notices. Academic honesty is taken very seriously by the faculty and administration at NHTI. Penalties for infractions can range from a 0 score to dismissal from the college. For further clarification, see the Student Handbook.
Services
See Academic Affairs Notices for a description of services available to students through various college offices and departments.
MT124College Algebra Topics and Schedule
Wk / Date / Sec. / Topics1 / 08/30 / R.1 – R.7 / Overview of CourseCompass; Review: Basic Concepts of Algebra
9/01 / 1.1 – 1.4 / Functions and Graphs; Slope; Equations of Lines and Modeling
2 / 9/06 / 1.5 – 1.6; 2.1 / Zeros of Linear Equations; Solving Linear Inequalities;
Increasing, Decreasing, and Piecewise Functions
09/08 / 2.2 – 2.3 / Algebra and Composition of Functions
3 / 09/13 / 2.4 / Symmetry and Transformations
09/15 / 2.5 / Variation and Applications;Review for Exam 1
4 / 09/20 / Exam 1(Chapters 1 and 2)
09/22 / 3.1 – 3.2 / Complex Numbers; Quadratic Equations, Functions, Zeros, and Models
5 / 09/27 / 3.3 – 3.4 / Analyzing Graphs of Quadratic Functions; Solving Rational Equations; Rational Functions
09/29 / 3.5; 4.1 / Solving Linear Inequalities; Polynomial Functions and Modeling
6 / 10/04 / 4.2 – 4.3 / Graphing Polynomial Functions; Polynomial Division and the Remainder Theorem
10/06 / 4.4 – 4.5 / Theorems about Zeros of Polynomial Functions; Rational Functions
7 / 10/11 / Review for Exam 2
10/13 / Exam 2(Chapters 3 and 4)
8 / 10/18 / 5.1 – 5.2 / Inverse Functions; Exponential Functions and Graphs
10/20 / 5.3 – 5.4 / Logarithmic Functions and Graphs; Properties of Logarithmic Functions
9 / 10/25 / 5.5 – 5.6 / Solving Exponential and Logarithmic Equations; Applications and Models
10/27 / 6.1 – 6.2 / Systems of Equations in Two and Three Variables
10 / 11/01 / 6.3 – 6.4 / Matrices and Systems of Equations; Matrix Operations
11/03 / 6.5 – 6.6 / Inverses of Matrices; Determinants and Cramer’s Rule
11 / 11/08 / Review for Exam 3
11/10 / Exam 3(Chapters 5 and 6)
12 / 11/15 / 7.1 – 7.2 / The Parabola; The Circle and Ellipse
11/17 / 7.3 / The Hyperbola
13 / 11/22 / 8.1 – 8.2 / Sequences and Series; Arithmetic Sequences and Series
11/24 / NO CLASS – THANKSGIVING HOLIDAY
14 / 11/29 / 8.3; 8.7 / Geometric Sequences and Series; The Binomial Theorem
12/01 / Review for Exam 4
15 / 12/06 / Exam 4(Chapters 7 and 8)
12/08 / Review / Review for Final Exam
16 / FINAL EXAM (Chapters 1 – 8)
PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES
1)Graphs, Functions, and Models
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Find x- and y-intercepts of an equation in AX + BY = C form.
b)Find the slope and y-intercept of an equation in y = mx + b form.
c)Find the equation of a line using y – y1 = m(x – x1) form.
d)Find the distance between two points.
e)Find function values using a formula or graph.
f)Find the domain and range of a function.
g)Find zeroes of a linear function.
h)Solve applied problems using functions.
i)Model a set of data with a linear function.
j)Solve linear inequalities in one variable.
2)More on Functions
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Determine whether a graph is increasing or decreasing over an interval.
b)Graph functions defined piece-wise.
c)Perform algebraic operations on functions.
d)Find the difference quotient for a function.
e)Perform function composition and decomposition.
f)Determine whether a graph is symmetric with respect to axes or origin.
g)Determine whether a graph is even or odd or neither.
h)Given a graph, find its transformation under translation, reflection, stretching, or shrinking.
i)Variation (direct, inverse, combined) and applications.
3)Quadratic Functions and Equations; Inequalities
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Perform operations with complex numbers
b)Find zeros of quadratic functions.
c)Solve quadratic functions through: principle of zero products; principle of square roots; completing the square; the quadratic formula.
d)Solve applied problems using quadratic functions.
e)Find the vertex, axis of symmetry, and maximum or minimum value of a quadratic function, and use these to graph the function.
f)Solve rational and radical equations.
g)Solve absolute value equations and inequalities.
4)Polynomial Functions and Rational Functions
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Determine the behavior of a graph of a function through the leading term test.
b)Factor polynomial functions and find their zeros and multiplicities.
c)Use the intermediate value theorem to determine whether a function has a real zero between two given real numbers.
d)Perform long division with polynomials.
e)Use synthetic division to divide a polynomial by x - c.
f)Use the remainder theorem to find f(c).
g)Use the factor theorem to determine whether x – c is a factor of f(x).
h)Find a polynomial with specified zeros.
i)Given a polynomial function, find the rational and other zeros.
j)Use Descartes’ rule of signs.
k)Find the domain and asymptotes for a rational function.
l)Solve applications using polynomial and rational models.
5)Exponential Functions and Logarithmic Functions
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Determine whether a function is one-to-one, and find its inverse.
b)Graph exponential and logarithmic functions.
c)Find common and natural logarithms.
d)Change logarithmic bases.
e)Apply properties of logarithms.
f)Solve applied problems using exponential and logarithmic functions and graphs.
6)Systems of Equations and Matrices
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Solve systems of equations using: graphing, elimination, substitution, and matrices.
b)Perform operations on matrices.
c)Find the inverse of a matrix.
d)Use a matrix inverse to solve a system of equations.
e)Find the determinant of a square matrix.
f)Apply Cramer’s Rule to solve a system of equations.
g)Graph a linear inequality in two variables.
h)Solve a system of linear inequalities in two variables.
7)Conic Sections
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Find the vertex, focus, and directrix for a parabola.
b)Find the center and radius of a circle.
c)Find the center, vertices, and foci of an ellipse.
d)Find the center, vertices, foci, and asymptotes for a hyperbola.
e)Graph conic sections.
f)Solve applications involving graphs of conic sections.
8)Sequences, Series, and Combinatorics
Upon successful completion of this course the student will be able to:
a)Find the nth term of a sequence.
b)Find terms of a sequence given the nth term.
c)Convert between sigma notation and other notation for a series.
d)Construct the terms of a recursively defined sequence.
e)Find the common difference and common ratio.
f)Find the sum of the first n terms.
g)Find the sum of an infinite geometric series, if it exists.
h)Understand and evaluate combination notation.
i)Expand a power of a binomial using the binomial theorem.
j)Find the specific term of a binomial expansion.
Wood, Fall 2011Page 1 of 5