Math 096 Syllabus – 8 W- Spring 2017
1st 8 weeks course
INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION
Name
Biography
Home Page
Dr. Froozan P Afiat
BA in Interior Architect, BS in Math Education, MS in Textile Science and Polymer,
and Ph.D. in Math Education from University of Nebraska at Lincoln.
http://sites.csn.edu/math/fafiat/
Instructor
To stay in touch with me, you should always email me on my CSN email
Contact
([email protected]). Since I teach many different courses, you have to
& Way of
mention your course name always for clarity and faster response. Office hours are
Communicationalso held on ALEKS.
Phone Number (702) 651-3085: However, DO NOT use the phone number to contact me about
course-related issues. It might be days before I check my phone messages. For
quick response use the course e-mail.
Office
CSN Henderson Campus, Building B, room 130 H
Office Hours
Via CSN email or by appointment if necessary in my Henderson office.
COURSE INFORMATON
Title/Credit
Dates
Description
Prerequisite
Method of
Instruction
Intermediate Algebra—Math 96; 3 Credits.
Course starts promptly on the first day of instruction and Final will be on the last
two days of the 8 weeks session.
An 8 weeks course of MATH 096. Topics include wsolving linear equations, w
polynomials, wquadratic equations in one variable, and w introduction to graphing.
MATH 096 with a grade of C or better (C− is unsatisfactory). Also, a satisfactory
ACT/SAT/Placement Test score is accepted. In addition, my recommendation is to
have at least B in previous math courses with a good interest in mathematics.
Students read and study the materials in the textbook (hard copy or online), do the
assigned homework online using Aleks, and take the tests online. The Final exam
is an online exam but must be taken at one of 3 Testing Centers on CSN
Campuses. Note: Technical problems and any problems (beyond your control
or not) will not be an acceptable excuse for missing deadlines or neglecting
to complete these homework assignments, quizzes, tests and exam.
ALEKS ACCESS
CSN/Aleks
AleksLoginInstructions
Access
1.) PurchaseAleksAccessCodefromthebookstoreorat
http://www.efollett.com/.
You must purchase an ALEKS 360 student access code that accompanies our
course textbook Beginning and Intermediate Algebra, 4th edition, by Miller,
O’Neill, and Hyde. The ISBN for the ALEKS 360 code is 0078120608, and this
is for 11 weeks of access to ALEKS. The e-book is included as part of the
required ALEKS access, so a hard copy of the book is for personal preference
only.
2.) GotoyourCanvassiteandreadtheannouncement.Theannouncement
providesyouwiththeCoursecodeandfurtherguidance.
Do understand that Canvas and Aleks are separate. That is, registering/enrolling in
this course on Aleks does not register or enroll you in this course with CSN. You
need to be officially enrolled in this course with CSN to receive a grade from CSN
for this course. You will receive no grade for the course no matter how well you do
in the course on Aleks unless you are enrolled in this course officially with CSN
and receive access into Canvas.
3.) Youshouldstartworkingonassignmentsevenifyoudon’thavetheaccess
codeoryouarewaitingyourthefinancialaidgoesthrough.UsethecodeIprovided
underfinancialaid’sannouncementincanvas.Thiscodewillgiveyoutwoweeks
graceperiod.
Hardware &
Students are required to have a computer with the necessary hardware and
Software
software to access and use internet, Canvas and ALEKS. If a student does not
Requirement
have such a computer, the student must use a computer at any of CSN's computer
labs. To use a lab, students must provide identification and proof of enrollment in a
course at CSN. It is a student’s responsibility to access this course on Canvas and
ALEKS. You are also required to do all of the homework and take tests online, but
the final will be at a CSN Testing Center.
Note: Various features in this course make use of pop-up windows. Thus, to be
able to participate in this course, you should disable any "Pop-Up Blocker"
software installed on your computer.
CSN Computer Most of you will probably do your homework or take un-proctored tests at home or
Labs
at work. Technical problems will NOT serve as a valid excuse for missing
deadlines or incompletion of any homework/test. If you are having problems
with your computer or do not have the required software, use computers in the oncampus Computer Labs. Do not wait till the last day to do/take a homework
assignment/test/exam. Visit http://www.csn.edu/pages/444.asp for more
information on the labs.
TEXTBOOK
Required
Textbook and
Purchase
information
YoumustpurchaseanALEKS360studentaccesscodethataccompaniesour
coursetextbookBeginningandIntermediateAlgebra,4thedition,byMiller,O’Neill,
andHyde.TheISBNfortheALEKS360codeis0078120608,andthisisfor11
weeksofaccesstoALEKS.Thee-bookisincludedaspartoftherequiredALEKS
access,sohardcopyofthebookisbypersonalpreferenceonly.It is not required to
have the hard copy of textbook.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
Goals
Upon completion of this course, students should be able to:
a. Work with functions and function notation
b. Graph functions
c. Factor polynomials
d. Work with rational expressions and solve rational expression equations
e. Perform arithmetic on irrational numbers and solve radical equations
f. Solve quadratic equations
g. Apply and extend all concepts
POLICIES
Calculators
A calculator is allowed in this course, but you are required to learn how to use it
yourself. You are not allowed to use any calculator that functions as a cell phone,
camera, dictionary, translator or anything other than a calculator for proctored
exams.
ADA Notice
Any student who qualifies for "reasonable accommodations" in accordance with
the Americans with Disabilities Act must notify the instructor in writing of such by
the end of the first week of the semester/session. If you have a documented
disability that may require assistance, you will need to contact the Disability
Resource Center located in the Student Service Center on each campus. Their
phone numbers are (702) 651-4700 at Cheyenne, (702) 651-3086 at Henderson,
and (702) 651-5089 at West Charleston.
Dishonesty
Academic dishonesty of any kind will not be tolerated. It is a serious offence. Any
incident of academic dishonesty will be reported to the College, and the most
serious course of action will be recommended.
Missed Tests & There is no acceptable excuse for missing or failing to complete any
Homework
homework/test/exams before their deadline. This includes: technical problems (or
other computer problems); lack of child care; illness; a death in the family; traffic
court; vacations; or any other legitimate (or imaginary) problems. The homework,
tests and exams are available for an extended period, so students can make
Withdrawals
No Exception
appropriate arrangements to complete the required work. Thus, any missed
homework, tests or exams will be scored as a zero, and no deadline extension, no
retake, and no make-up work of any kind will be offered. Stay ahead of the
deadline schedule. Do not wait till the last day to do/take the homework/test/exam.
Remember that this is a short 8-week course.
If you wish to withdraw from this course, it is your responsibility to officially drop the
course on or before the final withdrawal date listed in the college catalog. By the
new CSN rule, no W is granted at all.
All the policies, rules given in this syllabus and elsewhere apply to every student in
this course without any exception. No special arrangement is made even for
students who register in this course late. There will be no exception. Every student
is treated equally in this course, no discrimination and no special treatment; your
backgrounds, situations, circumstances and such do not make any difference. You
will be evaluated by nothing but your performances on the tests and exams as
described in this syllabus.
GRADING
ALEKS
OBJECTIVES
Midterm
Final Exam
Your homework will be done online, and ALEKS calls this “objectives”. About each
week there will be an ALEKS objective due. Your first objective is due on 11/3.
This objective is made up of multiple book sections, so you will want to start
working immediately once the course begins. NO MAKEUPS ON OBJECTIVES
AFTER THE DUE DATE.
These six total ALEKS objectives makeup 25% of your overall grade.
There will be a closed book, closed-note midterm. The midterm will be given
online during the designated date over Ch. 6 & 7. If the midterm is not taken by the
specified deadline then it will be scored as a zero. Absolutely no make-up exam
will be offered for any reason.
The midterm makes up 30% of your overall grade.
• The Final exam will be given on the last two days of course in the testing
center. The final exam is comprehensive and covers all the topics in the
course.
• The Final is proctored, closed-booked exams (nothing else, such as
answers on scratch sheets, counts for the exam). An exam must be taken
without any break; if a break is taken, the exam is terminated at that point.
Also, you cannot look up anything else on the computer during the exam or
the exam is terminated, meaning, you cannot open any other pages while
taking the test.
• Testing Centers are not open 24/7; it is students' responsibility to find out
the business hours and locations and take the exams before their
deadlines. Visit the website, http://www.csn.edu/pages/586.asp, for hours and other
information.
• For Final, students are required to produce their photo ID's (without it, no
student can take the exams); it is students' responsibility to produce their
photo ID's.
• Final must be completed within the posted time limit. Only a calculator is
allowed for the exams while scratch paper will be provided at the Testing
Centers (students are not allowed to use their own scratch paper). Also,
note that nothing on scratch paper will count for the exam grades; only the
answers on the exams count. More information on exams will be provided
as their deadlines approach.
• Absolutely no make-up exam, no deadline extension, and no exam
retake will be allowed for any reason (even beyond your control or not your
fault), no exception. If a student cannot take any exam at one of these
testing centers, it is highly recommended not to take this course. If a
student is to take this course and cannot take the Final exam at one of
these testing centers, the student is required to contact the instructor to
make different arrangements in the first week of the semester. For this, you
need a legitimate reason and must substantiate it. The instructor has the
right to refuse making any arrangement for any reason.
Computer
Answers for questions will be automatically graded by the computer, which,
Grading
unfortunately, sometimes fails to recognize alternate forms of correct answers. If
you believe an answer was incorrectly marked wrong, it is your responsibility to
contact the instructor for a possible adjustment to your score within one week of
the deadline. By the way, the correct notations are part of this course. You will lose
points for incorrect or lack of use of necessary notations. Also, you will lose points
if you fail to follow instructions.
Exam for
If you do not live locally or will not be in Las Vegas during the week of the final
students who exam, then you are responsible to find a proctor in another college or university.
don’t live
You have to inform your instructor of this alternative testing arrangement (The city
locally and they and state you will be at, school name, proctor’s name and phone number, and
are out of state. his/her professional email address) as soon as possible, and also send a reminder
email to the instructor two days before final exam.
If the exam is not taken by the specified deadline, then it will be scored as a zero.
Absolutely no make-up exam will be offered for any reason.
Extra Credit & Absolutely no extra credit will be offered in this course. Please do not even ask for
Course Grade it.
Calculation
OBJECTIVES (Homework) = 25%, Completing Pie Chart = 0.05%, Midterm= 30%;
and Final Exam = 40%.
GRADING FORMULA:
0.05% (Pie Chart) 0.25 * ALEKS Objectives+ 0.30* Midterm+ 0.40* Final Exam
Grade Scale
95 – 100 A
85 – 89 B+
75 – 79 C+
65 – 69 D+
<60F
90 – 94
80 – 84
70 – 74
60 – 64
AB
C
D
TIPS FOR SUCCESS
How To Study
Do Not
Procrastinate
If You Need
Help
Rework
Examples
You should read the textbook repeatedly until you understand everything and
attempt the exercises in the textbook. You should do each homework assignment
till you get perfect on it. For each hour of credit hour, and being a short course, you
should spend an additional four hours studying each week. Since this is a 3-credit
hour course, you should be spending at least 12 hours per week studying the
materials for this course.
Study to understand, not to memorize, the materials in this course. Memorization
(as opposed to understanding) is the worst thing that anyone can do in a
mathematics course and in life as well.
Do not wait until the last minute to do homework or take a test/exam. You are
strongly advised to complete each test/exam at least a day or two before the
deadline. That way, if you experience a technical or any kind of problem, there
would be enough time to resolve the problem before the actual deadline.
Remember, no make-up work will be offered, for any reason. Generally, you will be
better off if you stay ahead of the schedule. Note that this is a fast course, and the
deadlines keep on coming fast. Again, do not wait till the last day of the deadline.
There is no accommodation made for problems that happen on the last day of any
deadline.
If you find yourself falling behind or become even the slightest bit confused, seek
help immediately! CSN provides free tutoring for all enrolled math students. There
is a free walk-in tutorial lab on all three CSN campuses that is staffed with tutors
and math instructors. In addition a student can sign up for one-on-one tutoring
sessions, and each credit of instruction qualifies a student up to 4 hours of free
tutoring. Visit https://www.csn.edu/centers-academic-success for more information.
Pay close attention to the examples found in the textbook. After reading through
them, write down the problem and try to work it without looking at the textbook or
anything else.
When doing homework problems, try to identify the process and point of doing the
problem. If all you do is crunch out numeric answers, you will not get very much
from them. Many homework exercises are intended to enforce the understanding
of concepts. If you can see the intended connections, you may find that you need
only work a few problems before you understand them.
Instructions & Many questions come with instructions, and you are required to follow the
Notations
instructions. Answers that do not follow instructions will not receive any points even
if otherwise correct. Also, you are required to give your answers in the simplest
form unless otherwise instructed. Notations, such as ordered pairs, are a very
important part of mathematics. They are not just a symbol. They are mathematics.
Please pay close attention to notations in this course. You are required to learn,
understand and use notations correctly. You will receive no point for your answers
with incorrect notations or lack of notations in your answers.
Check Answers Use the book wisely. After completing an exercise, compare your result with the
correct answer. If the results are different, try to solve the exercise again. If you
believe your answer is correct, feel free to ask your instructor, a tutor, a classmate
or a friend. Also, check all your answers thoroughly before you finish a homework
assignment or exam. It is your responsibility to give correct answers as instructed
with appropriate notations.
Affirmations
Stop saying, "I am not good at math." The more you say it, the more likely you will
fail. Instead, start telling yourself, "I can do this." Negative thinking never helps,
while positive thinking will give you confidence -- and that is helpful.
Study Together Studying with other students can be very beneficial. Often, another student can
relate to a simple problem and offer advice. If you can clearly explain to another
student how to work a problem, your own understanding will be greatly reinforced.
Also, if you cannot explain how to correctly work a problem, you may find you may
need to work a little harder on some topics. You can communicate and study with
other students. However, discussions about specific questions in tests/exams
before their deadlines are prohibited. By the way, all correspondence and activities
on Canvas are recorded and monitored. Also, check your e-mail and
Announcements on Canvas regularly for messages from your instructor.
Mistakes Are
Do not be afraid to make mistakes. Everyone, including your instructor, makes
OK, But You
careless or other kinds of mistakes from time to time. Mistakes are part of the
Need to Catch natural learning process. Do not get discouraged by them; profit from them. Always
Them and Learn take the time to review your work, graded homework assignments and graded
From Them
tests/exams. The best way to start reducing the number of careless mistakes you
make is to identify the kind of mistakes you are prone to make.
That way, you know what to watch out for when working future problems. Always,
check your answers to catch your mistakes and incorrect answers in every
homework/test/exam before you submit it. Checking your answers improves your
grades.
Connections
Important Dates as Listed in the College Class Schedule. Visit:
http://archive.csn.edu/uploadedfiles/Admissions/CSN%20Calendar%20Spring%202017.pdf
ImportantDatesforyourassignmentsinthiscourse
Course Name:
Math 96 – Spring 2017 – 1st 8 Weeks Afiat – 1009
Course Code:
ALEKS Course:
Beginning and Intermediate Algebra
Combined
Instructor:
Prof. Afiat
Course Dates:
Begin: 1/17/2017
Course
Content:
414 Topics (264 goal+150 prerequisite)
End: 3/10/2017
MARDY-4RMKA
Miller/O'Neill/Hyde: Beginning and Intermediate Algebra, 4th Ed.
(McGraw-Hill) - ALEKS 360
Textbook:
Prerequisite Topics (150 topics)
1/17/2017 - 11/25/2017
1/26/2017 - 2/07/2017
2. Ch.7-Rational Expressions and Equations (92 topics)
2/08/2017 - 2/21/2017
3. Ch.10-Radicals and Complex Numbers (99 topics)
2/22/2017 - 2/27/2017
4. Ch.11-Quadratic Equations and Functions (10 topics)
2/28/2017 - 3/08/2017
Midterm
Final 1. Ch.6-Factoring Polynomials (40 topics)
5. Ch.8-Relations and Functions (28 topics)
2/20&2/21
3/08&3/09