MGF 1107-­Practical Finite Math Student Syllabus -­ Fall Semester 2012 Department of Mathematics Sections 1-­15 Lectures MWF at 12:20 in 101 HCB Tuesday labs in HTL or MCH Ms. Annette Blackwelder [email protected] http://www.math.fsu.edu/~blackw Course materials are posted on our course BlackBoard site. Office Hours Group Help Sessions: Location MCH, Room TBA, MWF 1:30-­2:30 Office Hours held in my office: 115-­G MCH TW 2:30-­4:30 For Tuesday hours, lab class must have met. Please remember to refer to this syllabus before emailing the instructor. Thanks!  COURSE OBJECTIVES: This course is especially intended for students who will major in areas that do not require further mathematics. We hope that this class will give you an appreciation of mathematics in our world as well as teach you some basic mathematical skills. ELIGIBILITY: The suggested prerequisite is two years of high school algebra. If you were required to take MAT 1033 in Fall 1999 or later, you must have passed it with a C-­‐ or better. You may take MGF 1107 prior to taking MGF 1106 -­‐ they are not a course sequence. You may also take MGF 1107 prior to MAC 1105. MATERIALS NEEDED FOR CLASS:  Textbook (see details below)  CourseModo access needed in order to earn Lecture Class Participation Points (see details below)  Calculator (see details below)  Lecture outlines (see Course Library on Bb) REQUIRED TEXT: A Mathematical View of Our World, Parks & Musser – custom version for FSU students (2010) – hard copies available at campus area bookstores and internet version available online at: http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/en/US/storefront/US?cmd=catProductDetail&ISBN=9781111517717 CALCULATORS: The student will be expected to have, and know how to use, a calculator with adequate functions for class work, homework, and tests. Almost any scientific, business, or graphing calculator will be permitted. A scientific calculator with probability functions (permutations, combinations, factorial) is inexpensive (~$25) and very good for this class as well as MGF1106. During all tests and quizzes, calculators must be out of cases. Calculator manuals may not be used during tests. YOU MAY NOT USE A CELL PHONE, BLACKBERRY, or any SIMILAR DEVICE CALCULATOR. COMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION: This is a CAI (computer-­‐assisted instruction) course. All of your tests and quizzes will be taken over the Internet, using the eGrade software, either from a computer in your Tuesday lab room or from some other site (in the case of required Homework Quizzes). If you do not have Internet access at home, then you must find time in your schedule to work on campus. (Grade concerns related to the eGrade testing software will be referred to and resolved by appropriate authorities within the Department of Mathematics.) The link to russell eGrade will be posted on our Bb class, but you should bookmark this link, in case Bb were to be unavailable. http://russell.math.fsu.edu:8107 Please Note: The eGrade system gets sluggish when homework quiz deadlines approach. If you wait until the last minute to complete an assignment, nothing can be done if the system is slow so that you do not get the assignment in on time. Please don’t wait until the last minute to submit a Homework Quiz. There are no make-­up quizzes (see below). TEST DATES: FSU ID IS REQUIRED FOR ALL TESTS (also bring #2 pencils & calculator) Test 1: Tuesday, Oct 2, in lab Optional ReTest Tuesday, Oct 9, in lab Test 2: Tuesday, Nov 6, in lab Optional ReTest Tuesday, Nov 13, in lab Test 3: Tuesday, Dec 4, in lab No ReTest CUMULATIVE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT DUE by noon, Thursday NOTE: of finals week (Dec. 13). See info on next page. There is NO FINAL EXAM. TEST GRADING POLICY and TEST DATES: All tests will be taken during the lab class in which you are enrolled. Lab classes will not be rescheduled – not even on a one-­‐time basis. On test days, there is no practice time in lab; the test must be started at the beginning of class. Any excused absence must be both valid and verifiable. Documentation must be provided to the Lecturer within one week of your return to classes. Family emergencies, even though they may be valid, may be difficulty to verify and may not be excused. Generally, transportation problems, visiting sick friends or relatives, family reunions, and graduations are not valid excuses for missing tests. Foul weather is only an acceptable excuse when the University cancels classes. Completed Tests are available for review only in your lab classroom at the time the test is completed and graded. Always write down your answers, orderly, on your scrap paper. This will assist you in reviewing your quiz or test, before or after it has been graded. You may not begin a test and then decide not to take it. Once a test is started, then it must be completed (graded). You will be allowed to take a retest, for Unit Tests 1 and 2, during a subsequent lab class. There is no retest for Test 3. The test is required on the Test Date. If you miss the test for an invalid or unverifiable reason, then your retest grade will be penalized 15%. If you take the test and retest, and your retest grade is higher than your test grade, your grades will be averaged. If you take the test and retest, and your retest grade is lower than your test, your grades will not be averaged; your grade will be the test grade. (That is, you cannot hurt your grade by retesting, but the grades will be averaged if the retest is higher.) You will not be guaranteed a retest. That is, if you have any absence, excused or not excused, from the test or retest day, then you will simply have lost that opportunity to test (or retest). Make-­up testing times will not be scheduled. Situations involving an excused absence for both the test and retest will be handled on a case by case basis. If you have invalid or unverifiable absences from both the test and retest, your grade will be a zero. Acceptable medical excuses must state explicitly that the holder is excused from class. If a student has to miss more than two tests then that student needs to withdraw from the course. If you are ill, you should see a doctor and obtain an excuse that validates your need to be on bed rest. Keep the note for your records just in case you have to miss another test. Similar advice applies for any other valid absence. Update October, 2012: Because we weren’t able to use Lecture Class Participation Points as expected (with CourseModo), we will drop the lowest lab quiz grade and we will drop the two lowest homework quiz grades. QUIZZES: Quizzes will be given in lab class and there will also be required, outside-­‐of-­‐class homework quizzes. The average of your lab quiz grades will count 10% of your course grade; the average of your homework quiz grades will count 5% of your course grade. No quiz grades will be dropped. For excused lab quiz absences, the missed quiz will not count as part of your lab quiz average; that is, the denominator of your quiz average will be adjusted. Lab Quizzes: Expect to be given a quiz each Tuesday in your lab class (except on days when you will take a test instead). There are no make-­ups for quizzes. You should never purposely skip a quiz since you may later have to miss for a valid reason. NOTE: Lecture Class Participation points count towards your quiz average. There will be more than enough to make up for a missed quiz. Required outside of class Homework Quizzes will be given via the Internet through a program called eGrade. The link is posted on Blackboard (and is given above). Make sure you bookmark the russell eGrade link, in case Bb is down. You are allowed three graded attempts on these and the highest of your three attempts is the one that counts. There are absolutely no make-­‐ups for homework quizzes. Most of your weekly graded Homework Quizzes will be available on Wednesdays after lecture class and will be due on the following Monday at 8 a.m. Don’t wait until the quiz is nearly due before you take it. When the quiz becomes available, the material has been covered. Get started working on the quiz so that you can get help, if needed. LECTURE CLASS PARTICIPATION POINTS: Our lecture class is one of several classes at FSU that will be testing a new classroom response system. It is called CourseModo. No special hardware is needed. You may use a basic cell phone, a smart phone, a tablet, or laptop. You will need to register at http://live.coursemodo.com The fee is $20 per semester (this covers any courses you are enrolled in this Fall at FSU that are using CourseModo), or $38 for your college career at FSU. Please wait until drop/add has ended before paying your fee. The first 2 weeks are free. If you are using a basic cell phone, then you will send your responses via text messaging; you will not be charged for the texts – that is included in your CM fee. LECTURE OUTLINES, TEXT HOMEWORK, and EXERCISE GENERATORS: Lecture Outlines will be posted on our Bb class and are required in lecture class. Text Homework: The list of suggested text homework is available through our Bb class. No grade is recorded for these, but they are essential for success in this class. http://www.math.fsu.edu/~blackw/mgf1107ExGen/ Exercise Generators for many course topics may be accessed through our Bb class. No grade is recorded for these. Not all test/quiz topics are covered by the exercise generators or by online homework quizzes. It is essential to work the suggested text homework and to study the examples done in lecture class. UNIVERSITY ATTENDANCE POLICY: Excused absences include documented illness, deaths in the family and other documented crises, call to active military duty or jury duty, religious holy days, and official University activities. These absences will be accommodated in a way that does not arbitrarily penalize students who have a valid excuse. Consideration will also be given to students whose dependent children experience serious illness. CUMULATIVE HOMEWORK ASSIGNMENT DUE THURSDAY, Dec. 13, at NOON. This is an outside of class eGrade assignment divided into 3 parts that replaces the need for a comprehensive final. The cumulative HW is the same as your regular HW in that:  The questions are a subset of the ones you have encountered throughout the semester on eGrade. (Part 1 is 10 problems. Part 2 is 10 problems. Part 3 is optional, a bonus, and 12 problems).  Your best attempt is the one that counts. The cumulative HW is different from your regular HW in that:  You are allowed up to 5 attempts each on parts 1 and 2.  You cannot move on from part 1 to part 2 until you have achieved 70% mastery OR you have used all 5 attempts.  You cannot move on from part 2 to part 3 (a bonus) until you have achieved at least 70% mastery OR you have used all 5 attempts.  You are allowed up to 2 attempts on part 3.  You cannot earn an A in the course unless you achieve at least 70% mastery on both parts 1 and 2. The grade is computed like this: Average parts 1 and 2 (100 point scale). For each question you get right on part 3, add a point to that average. The result counts 5% of your semester grade. GRADING: Semester average = 0.8 × average of the three unit tests + 0.1 × lab quiz average + 0.05 × homework quiz average + 0.05 × cumulative homework assignment (this last assignment is mandatory – details are on the previous page) A = above 91.49 (see NOTE below) B+ = 87.50-­‐89.49 C+ = 76.50-­‐79.49 D = 59.50-­‐65.49 A-­‐ = 89.50-­‐91.49 (see NOTE below) B = 81.50-­‐87.49 C = 69.50-­‐76.49 D-­‐ = 55.50-­‐59.49 B-­‐ = 79.50-­‐81.49 C-­‐ = 65.50-­‐69.49 F = below 55.50 NOTE: The final homework assignment is mandatory. You will NOT receive an “A” in the course without completing it with at least 70% mastery. In other words, if your semester average (see formula above) is 91.49 or above but you do not complete the final homework (parts 1 and 2) at the 70% mastery level then your letter grade will be an “A-­‐“. If your semester average is between 89.5 and 91.49 then you will receive a “B+”. WEB-­BASED GRADE PAGES: Course grades will not be posted on Bb. Instead, Internet based grade pages will be created for each student. Grade pages will be updated on about a weekly basis throughout the semester. You must know your University assigned FSU Security Number (FSUSN). AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT: Students with disabilities needing academic accommodation should: (1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center; and (2) bring a letter to the instructor indicating the need for accommodation and what type. This should be done during the first week of class. This syllabus and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request. For more information about services available to FSU students with disabilities, contact the: Student Disability Resource Center (850) 644-­‐9566 (voice) 874 Traditions Way (850) 644-­‐8504 (TDD) 108 Student Services Building [email protected] Florida State University http://www.disabilitycenter.fsu.edu/ Tallahassee, FL 32306-­‐4167 ACADEMIC HONOR POLICY: The Florida State University Academic Honor Policy outlines the University’s expectations for the integrity of students’ academic work, the procedures for resolving alleged violations of those expectations, and the rights and responsibilities of students and faculty members throughout the process. Students are responsible for reading the Academic Honor Policy and for living up to their pledge to “. . . be honest and truthful and . . . [to] strive for personal and institutional integrity at Florida State University.” (Florida State University Academic Honor Policy, found at http://dof.fsu.edu/honorpolicy.htm.) EMAIL: Please keep email correspondence short and to the point. Always include your name and class meeting time in email correspondence. Please remember to refer to this syllabus before emailing the instructor. Thanks. MATH TUTORING is available for this course via ACE Tutoring at the Learning Studio in the William Johnston Building. Sun 5-­10 p.m., Mon-­Thr 10 a.m. – 10 p.m., Fri 10 a.m – 5 p.m. Appointments may be made, and drop-­‐ins are welcome for one-­‐on-­‐one and one-­‐two tutoring. Please contact the ACE Learning Studio at [email protected], 850-­‐645-­‐9151, or find more information at http://ace.fsu.edu/tutoring. SYLLABUS CHANGE POLICY "Except for changes that substantially affect implementation of the evaluation (grading) statement, this syllabus is a guide for the course and is subject to change with advance notice.”