SYLLABUS, Winter 2011
General Information
Class and Exams Schedule
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General Information
Class and Exams Schedule
Back to main page
General Information
- Textbook: Precalculus, by D. Cohen, Lee & Sklar, 6th edition. The bookstore has many copies of the book, new or used. If you cannot get the 6th edition, that's fine too, but check with your classmates for homework assignments.
- Eligibility:
- A passing grade in Math 2
- A passing score (20 or higher) on Math Placement exam
- Transfer credit
- Homework:
- Homework sheets will be handed out at regular intervals (also available on the web). These contain two parts. The first part contains one question for each basic skill you are required to have for the course. The second part is an applied math problem associated with a biological or physical application, and will require some further thinking and research. The homework sheet work is mandatory and must be handed in to the instructor on the due date; no delays accepted. Answers will be graded and handed back via your TA. Questions relating to the homework sheets can be directed to your TA during section or his/her office hours, and to the instructor during office hours.
- Note:
- Remember to print your name on your answers; papers must be stapled together, and answers must be written legibly.
- You are welcome and even encouraged to work in groups on homework problems but each student must write up and turn in his/her answers individually.
- Quizzes: There will be 9 mandatory quizzes, and 2 extra quizzes. If you miss more than 2 of the mandatory quizzes it is an automatic F for the class. The extra quizzes will only count towards your grade if they improve it. The lowest mandatory quiz grade will be dropped.
- Exams: The Mid-term and Final exams will be similar in format to the homework.
- Grading Policy:
- The concept of "curving" will not apply. Your grade reflects
your own progress, not that of the rest of the class.
- The total grade is calculated according to the following scheme
- Each grade during the class (Quiz, Homework, Midterm or Final) is out of 100
- The total grade (also out of 100) is a weighed average of all grades acquired during the quarter with
- Attendance and participation: 5% of the total grade.
- Homework: 20 % of total grade; weakest grade dropped.
- Quizzes: 10 % of total grade; weakest grade dropped. More than two missed Quizzes is an automatic F for the class.
- 1 Mid-term exam: 25 % of total grade.
- 1 Final exam: 40 % of total grade. Note that there is a minimum grade required in the Final Exam to pass the class.
- Your letter grade for the class is then chosen according to
the following table:
- A+ : 93% and above
- A : 86% to 93%
- A- : 80% to 86%
- B+ : 73% to 80%
- B : 66% to 73%
- B- : 60% to 66%
- C+ : 55% to 60%
- C : 50% to 55%
- D : any total grade below 50%, or failure to achieve minimal grade in the final
- F : failure to attend the minimal required number of quizzes, or the final, or cheating.
- Policy on cheating: Zero tolerance
- Cheating will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Any student caught cheating will be reported for academic dishonesty.
- Cheating includes, but is not limited to:
- Copying a fellow student's work during exam conditions (quiz, midterm, final)
- Using any material, during an exam, which is not allowed by the instructor (such as calculators, cheat-sheets, getting outside help, etc.)
- Using someone's clicker to pretend they attended the class, or asking a friend to do this for you.
- The penalties imposed for academic dishonesty vary depending on how serious the case is. But know that "In serious cases in which academic misconduct has been determined to occur, a notation of misconduct shall be entered for a specified period on a student's transcript, including all external copies. "
- The bottom line: don't even think about it!
- (5 min) Wake up, annoucements for the day/week
- (5 min) Clicker questions on last lecture's material, and today's lecture reading
- (30 min) First part of lecture
- (10 min) Pairwise work and clicker questions
- (5 min) Short break
- (30 min) Second part of lecture
- (10 min) Pairwise work and clicker questions
- (5 min) Recap or quiz
- Week 1:
- Jan 4 (T): 1. Opening remarks. 2. What functions are, why are they important.
- Jan 6 (Th): 1. Basic functions and their graphs (Chapter 3.2). 2. Symmetries of functions (Chapter 3.4)
- Week 2:
- Jan 11 (T): 1. How to construct a mathematical function. Notion of variable. (Chapter 4.4). Quiz 1 on expression manipulation.
- Jan 13 (Th): 1. Combination of functions (Chapter 3.5). 2. Algebra review on solving equations (Chapter 1.3).
- Week 3:
- Jan 18 (T): Inverse of functions. Graphical methods for inverse. Inverse of important functions. (Chapter 3.6).
- Jan 20 (Th): 1. Linear functions. Slope intercept. Parallel lines, perpendicular lines. (Chapter 1.6). 2. Linear interpolation/extrapolation. (Chapter 4.1). Quiz 2 on basic functions.
- Week 4:
- Jan 25 (T): 1. Quadratic functions. Expanded and factored form. Graphical considerations, (Chapter 4.2).
- Jan 27 (Th): 2. Factoring quadratics; completing the square (Chapter 2.1). Quiz 3 on solving basic equations and operations on functions (algebraic operations and combinations of functions).
- Week 5:
- Feb 1 (T): 1. The quadratic formula (Selected examples in Appendix B.4). 2. Example of applications, minimum/maximum problems. Selected examples in Chapter 4.5. Quiz 4 on the material from Algebra Review 2
- Feb 3 (Th): 1. Polynomial functions, graphical considerations, limits at infinity (Chapter 4.6.). 2. Signs tables for polynomial functions Quiz 5 on HW 3 material: inverse functions and linear functions, lines, interpolations, etc.
- Week 6:
- Feb 8 (T): Signs tables for polynomial functions (continued). Behavior near a root. Rational functions. graphical considerations, asymptotes. Quiz 6 on quadratics (HW4 material). .
- Feb 10 (Th): MIDTERM
- Week 7:
- Feb 15 (T): 1. Signs tables for rational functions. Examples of use of rational functions (Chapter 4.7.). 2. Review on exponents.
- Feb 17 (Th): 1. Power laws vs. Exponentials. The exponential function. Graph properties. (Chapter 5.1 and 5.2) Quiz 7 on manipulations of exponents (see Algebra Review 4).
- Week 8:
- Feb 22 (T): Formulas with exponentials. (Chapter 5.1 and 5.2). 2. Example of exponential growth and decay.
- Feb 24 (Th): 1. The logarithmic function, graph properties. (Chapter 5.3) 2. Formulas with logarithms.(Chapter 5.4). 2. Solving equations with logs and exponentials (Chapter 5.5). Quiz 8 on rational functions (material from HW 6 and Algebra Review 3)
- Week 9:
- Mar 1 (T): 1. Degrees vs radians (Chapter 7.1-7.2). The unit circle. 2. Right-angle triangles and the basic trigonometric functions. Graphs of sin, cos. (Chapter 6.1, Chapter 7.4).
- Mar 3 (Th): 1. The tan function, and the first trigonometric identities. (Chapter 6.2, 6.5, 7.7). 2. Notion of period and amplitude of periodic functions. (Chapter 7.5). Quiz 9 on power laws and exponentials (material from HW 7)
- Week 10:
- Mar 8 (T): 1. Additional trigonometric formulas. (Chapter 8.1-8.3). 2. Applications of periodic functions Extra Quiz 1 on logarithms (material from HW 8)
- Mar 10 (Th): 1. Solving trigonometric equations. (Chapter 8.4) and 2. Inverse trigonometric functions. (Chapter 8.5). Extra Quiz 2 on Degrees vs Radians, basic sin, cos, tan
- Weekend (Saturday or Sunday). Final Review.
- Final's Week:
- Mar 15 (T): 8:00 AM - 11:00 AM: FINAL
Tentative Schedule: (this will be updated as the course progresses)
Each lecture will typically proceed as follows. Students are requested to arrive on time for the start of the lecture, and to reconvene to class on time after the break.
The clicker questions are not graded. They are used to keep track of attendance and to encourage active participation. The student with the most correct answers each week will be rewarded with a tasty chocolate bar of his/her choice, and honored in the "Hall of Fame" .