MATH 760-141 CLASS AND INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION –SPRING 1999
Textbook: Intermediate Algebra, 2nd Ed., by Mark Dugopolsk (rental)
Section #: 3 Meets at 8:50 in HE117; 8 Meets at 9:55 in HE117; (Both on M-W-F)
Prerequisite: C or better in 760-041 or the equivalent(as determined by placement exam. Students not meeting this requirement will be dropped.)
Instructor: Mrs. Ley Office: 325 Baker Hall Phone: 472-5167 E-Mail: leyj@uwwvax.uww.edu Or
leyj@mail.uww.eduOffice Hours: M-W-F 11:10 - 12:00; and 1:30 – 3:30; T-H 9:55 - 10:55; H 3:45 – 4:20 at my office.
T 3:35 – 4:15 in Up 217 and then back in my office until 5(or otherwise by appointment)
Math Dept. Office: 237 Baker Hall Phone: 472-1313 (
May leave message)
Grading Scale: 90 - 100% A 80 - 89% B 70 - 79% C 60 - 69% D 59% & below F
Semester grade: Based on 4 Unit Exams (100 pts each), *Quiz/Assignment Average (based on 100 Pts), and Final Exam (200 pts) for a total of 700 possible points
Important Dates: February 1 - last day for grade basis changes & before a W on transcripts for drops.
February 26 - last day to drop this class. Students earning a low D or F in the course at this time should consider dropping, if they cannot afford to get an F in this class. If these students apply for late drops, I will not give my recommendation.
Final Exam Times: Monday, May 10 Section 3 (8:50 Class) from 7:45 – 9:45
Wednesday, May 12 Section 8 (9:55 Class) from 10:00 - 12:00
Attendance and Quiz Policy : Regular attendance is required. Please notify me in advance of a planned absence, or if medical or other serious problems will prevent you from attending class on a regular basis. A student will not be marked absent if the absence is due to the following: 1) a sincerely held religious belief, if this instructor is notified within the first three weeks of class (see Timetable for additional info); 2) a university sponsored event, if in advance of the event the student presents an official participant's list from sponsor (verifying Provost's approval) or a card indicating an intercollegiate athletic contest. Only under these conditions will a different time be scheduled for you to take a quiz(or test), if one is scheduled for the missed class period. NO make-ups will be given otherwise for quizzes. Students with 4 or less absences will be rewarded by being allowed to drop their 3 lowest scores in the Quiz/Assignment category. This allows for an occasional 0 on a quiz due to an unavoidable absence. *Your final Quiz/Assignment grade will be determined by finding your percent in this category (after drops) and will have the same weight as one unit exam. Students missing more than 5 times will not be allowed any drops, and will find that not only will they have a low score in this area from having several 0's, but test scores will also fall. Any absent students should obtain class notes and do the assignment for the day missed, since all students are responsible for material covered or assigned, whether absent or not. I suggest you get the name and phone number of at least one other student in class.
Testing Policy: Test days are tentatively set at this time and will be confirmed at least a week ahead of time. Students must be prepared and plan to test on these days. A student missing class on a test day for a VALID excuse, other than what was listed above, must contact me no later than 24 hours after that class with an explanation. If unable to reach me, call the Mathematics Department Office (472-1313) and leave a message. Unacceptable excuses will result in a 0 test grade and failure to comply with this procedure will result in a minimum of 12 points deducted from that test score. Make-up exams are usually harder, and will be given for valid excuses only and at my discretion.
Supplies: Pencils and erasers are needed for exams and quizzes. Scientific calculators may be used on all exams and quizzes, but use of graphing calculators will be limited starting in Chapter 7. A notebook should be used for the following: 1) notes and examples given in class; 2) for individual notes when symbols or terminology is unfamiliar when reading assigned sections; 3) to practice harder example problems worked out in the sections (be sure to cover-up work shown by the author) and 4) to do the T-F Warm-ups at the end of each section. You can do homework in this notebook, but make it a thick notebook or just use looseleaf paper .
Course Objectives and Comments: The purpose of Intermediate Algebra is to enable students to learn and master skills beyond Beginning Algebra needed to succeed in future mathematics courses - in particular, Finite Mathematics, Elementary Functions and Calculus courses. There are many topics which must be covered in Intermediate Algebra to provide adequate preparation for these future courses, so the pace of this course will be quite rapid--some times covering two sections per class period. (See the Assignment Schedule.) I will assume that you already possess arithmetic and basic algebra skills and will spend little class time discussing them.
College math courses demand more time and effort than high school courses. This means 9 –12 hours of your time a week, of which less than 3 is spent in the classroom. Students must read sections assigned for discussion, since class time will be used for problem solving, quizzing and testing, as well as lecture. Lecture and class pace is often fast, so force yourself to keep up so that you at least have a partial understanding of problems being discussed. Review notes and examples outside of class at your own pace, and then keep them in front of you for reference when doing homework. Make note of anything in the readings or assigned problems that you would like to ask questions on the next period. Answers to odd problems are in the back of the book, so you can check your accuracy. Students should start all written assignments the day it is listed, so you can get help before the next class period when you have several questions concerning a particular assignment. Students will sometimes be asked to volunteer and show work to some of the harder homework problems due that class period on the board, and may receive extra credit points when done correctly. (These board points will be added to your quiz-and-homework total at end of semester.)
To check students understanding of assigned problems, in-class and take-home quizzes will mainly be given, but occasionally some problems from the assigned homework will be collected. Homework problems and take-home quizzes that are not completed at the time I collect will be graded as LATE with 1-3 points deducted. To receive any partial credit, late paper may be turned into me after class or later at my office, but no later than 8:20 the next morning of class. Grading will be based on work shown, not just answers, so get used to showing all steps needed in problem solving, as demonstrated in the book or in class. Be prepared to lose points for sloppy work as well as for missing or incorrect steps, even if the answer is correct.
UWW Policy Statement: The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater is dedicated to a safe, supportive and non-discriminatory learning environment. It is the responsibility of all undergraduate and graduate students to familiarize themselves with University policies regarding Special Accommodations, Misconduct, Religious Beliefs Accommodation, Discrimination and Absence for University Sponsored Events. (For details please refer to the Undergraduate and Graduate Timetables; the "Rights and Responsibilities" section of the Undergraduate Bulletin; The Academic Requirements and Policies and the Facilities and Services sections of the Graduate Bulletin; and the "Student Academic Disciplinary Procedures" [UWS Chapter 14}; and the "Student Nonacademic Disciplinary Procedures" [UWS Chapter 17]) . These policies may also be viewed by going to Prof. McFarland’s Web page, http:/math.uww.edu/~mcfarlat/143day1.htm, and select the UWW Policies button. Academic honesty and integrity are fundamental to the UW System. Students are responsible for the honest completion and representation of their work, and for respect of others' academic endeavors. Engaging in plagiarism, cheating on an examination, or intentionally helping someone else cheat will be penalized.
HOW TO SUCCEED IN ALGEBRA - IT'S A TEAM EFFORT - COME WITH A GOOD ATTITUDE!
Success in any sport requires determination and effort as one learns basic skills (with lots of practice), and then learns how and when to use these skills in the course of playing the game. An athlete cannot simply memorize all the ways the skills should be used in every possible game situation. There must also be understanding of what each skill accomplishes and how to apply it. Succeeding in algebra requires this same kind of determination and effort and a very similar approach.
1) ATTEND EVERY CLASS! Course skills you need to acquire will be stressed, and also applied to word problems. As the semester progresses, you will observe simple skills being combined into more complex procedures. Strive to understand the overall intent of a procedure, as well as the reasons for each of its steps.
2) READ AND STUDY THE TEXTBOOK CAREFULLY. This is a "must" for us to make the best possible use of class time. There is not enough class time to "teach" all the concepts covered in the textbook. Lecture time will be kept to a minimum so students can spend time on problem solving. Your instructor will not use class time to cover every idea or type of problem shown by the author. You, however, are responsible for all the material in each section assigned. Study example problems step-by-step, and then use them as models when doing exercises.
3) DO THE ASSIGNED HOMEWORK BEFORE THE NEXT CLASS MEETING. This is your practice! Even if you understand the steps in a procedure, you need to practice them yourself. Simple procedures need to become automatic, so you will be able to handle more complex procedures which rely on these simpler ones. Do not mistake understanding someone else's work for the ability to do the work yourself (watching someone else work problems isn't enough)!
4) CONTACT YOUR INSTRUCTOR FOR HELP. Have your assignment started and questions well in mind, so that areas you are having difficulty with can be pinpointed easily. Students earning C's in 040 and/or 041 should make a special effort to get in for help at least once a week. CALL (5167) OR E-MAIL (
5) USE THE TUTORING CENTERS AVAILABLE: (Opens the 2nd or 3rd week of classes)
Baker 240: (tentatively) open 10 – 4 M - H on a "Walk In" basis, and staffed with peer tutors. Tutorial Learning Center in the basement of McCutchan Hall (472-1230): Hours vary for different courses, but it is generally open 9 am – 9 pm M – H and 9 am – 12 on Friday.
6) FORM A STUDY GROUP with some fellow students. Encourage each other to UNDERSTAND the concepts and the homework regularly.