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Math 127 - College Algebra - Spring 2006		Instructor: Professor Ellen Hill
Bridges 261		Mathematics
TH 8:00-9:15 am or 11:00-12:15 am in BR 261		Office: Maclean 342
3 credits		Office phone: 477-4023
Textbook: Algebra & Trigonometry with Analytic Geometry, by Swokowski and Cole		elhill@mnstate.edu
web.mnstate.edu/elhill		Office Hours: MF 9-10am, MTWHF 10-11am, MTHF 1-2pm, TH 2-3pm

Exponents, factoring, equations, inequalities, functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, systems of equations, and matrices. Prerequisite: Math 099 or a minimum ACT Math score of 24 or a minimum MNSCU math placement score of 15. Some prior knowledge of algebra is expected.

The student-learning goals of Math 127 include learning to work with exponents, radicals, polynomials, fractional expressions, exponentials, logarithms, and matrices; and applications of all of these. It will prepare students for either Math 229 Fundamentals of Applied Mathematics or Math 143 Trigonometry. Students who need to take Math 261 Calculus I will need to take Math 143 before Calculus.

I do not take attendance. However, it is my experience that students who frequently miss class (one absence every other week or more) frequently do not do well in mathematics courses of this level. Skipping class is an extremely bad idea. If you do miss class on a non-test day, you may get the blank copy of the guided notes from me. It is up to you to fill them in. I do not need to know why you were gone. I also expect you to turn in any labs early if you know that you will miss class. This includes those instances when the absence is due to an official university activity.

For all graded work in this class, you must show work for credit and give exact answers unless otherwise specified. In general, if you have to write it down, you have to show it to me. My rule of thumb when grading is either whether I could do a similar calculation in my head and not make a mistake or if the point of the problem is being met (i.e., if the point of the problem is to show a known result, you have to show it in some detail). If I feel that you needed to show more work, I will indicate it. I want to emphasize that showing work is a lesson you would much rather learn on the labs than on the exams. My criteria is the same for both.

I do not curve courses of this level. I have given a class average of a B+ in a course of this level, and I have also given a class average of a D+. I grade you as individuals, and by whether or not you personally have mastered the material. I also very rarely give extra credit, and when I do it is to the entire class. If you come to my office at the end of the term and ask if you can do extra credit to improve your grade, my answer will be no. The grading scale and weights for the worksheets and exams are given here.

I will in general return any work the next class day. If you are not there, I will not give it to friends, nor will I give out grade information on the phone or via email. (These restrictions are not arbitrary - they are based on federal law regarding student privacy.) Normally, I include any old assignments with any current ones, but I do not try to pass them back a second time unless you have turned in the most recent assignment. I will bring the old assignments with me every day, so if you ask at the end of class you can get them then.

As in any college class (or any level, for that matter), cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated. On the other hand, when doing the daily homework and when working on the labs I do encourage you to work together. This is not the same as copying from each other, however. Working with someone else in a small study group is often very conducive to learning mathematics and most other subjects (as long as you stay on task!). Working together, however, will not be allowed on exams, so you must make sure that you learn the material yourself. There is also tutoring available in the main math office tutor lab (MA 362A) and in MA 276 in the afternoon, some evenings, and on Wednesdays. See also the statement on academic honesty in the student handbook.

Due to the sophistication of graphing calculators and the ability of some of the more expensive ones to do symbolic calculations, I find that having such a calculator is a major advantage to those students who can afford it. Therefore, I will not allow graphing calculators to be used on the exams for this course. In fact, for the first part of the course, no calculator will be allowed at all. In my experience, calculator use too early tends to prevent most students from learning the concepts. However, a basic scientific calculator will be required for the material from chapter 5 on (which starts the class day after spring break). I have put in a textbook request at the bookstore for the one that I feel serves the students the best. I chose this particular calculator for several reasons, the two major ones being that it is solar powered and that it shows the user what has been typed in (and allows the user to edit that typing if it is incorrect). Being able to see what you have typed prevents the majority of the data entry problems that calculators tend to have. You do not need to buy this particular calculator, but you do need a non-graphing scientific calculator for this course.

Note that regardless of your calculator, I expect you to show work. I grade the work and the method, not the answer, so an answer with no work is worth very little or no credit towards the grade for the problem.

There will be daily lab assignments that will be either at the end of the day or at the start of class the next day. The labs will be handed out in class at the end of the lecture part of the class. Late labs will not be accepted for a grade for any reason except a long illness (requiring you to miss class for at least three class days), National Guard duty lasting more than a week, or a similar reason. A short illness, family event, and the like are not sufficient. On the other hand, I will keep only the best 15 lab grades, out of about 20 labs. If you do miss a lab due date for some reason, it will be one of the dropped labs as long as you don't miss too many labs. However, you do want to keep some dropped grades available in order to drop low lab grades. It is difficult to do excellent work every day, but I believe most students are capable of excellent or good work most of the time.

Each lab will be worth the same as any other lab. I will scale the lab grades to a ten-point scale. I will answer questions on the labs during the lab time in class or in my office. In addition to the labs there will be assigned problems from the textbook. These will not be collected, but it is in your best interests to do them. I will take questions on these questions in class.

There will be five regular exams and the final. The dates are given in the accompanying calendar here. If you have to miss an exam for any reason, I expect to be notified as soon as possible. In particular, this means before the exam. If it is a reason that I would expect you to know now (such as a MSUM official activity, a family commitment such as a wedding, etc.) I expect to be notified no later than Thursday, January 19. If you do not notify me by that time, I may not give you a makeup exam. If you are sick on the day of the exam, I expect a phone call or an email before the exam starts. I also assume that if you are sick enough to miss an exam then you are sick enough to go to the health center - after all, you don't want to be sick longer than absolutely necessary. In any event, if you miss an exam, I insist on written documentation before I grade a makeup exam. This can be a dated and timed note from the doctor's office saying that you were seen (I do not need to know what you were seen for), a program from the wedding, a published obituary notice, a copy of the police report from an accident you were in on the way to the exam, etc.. If a relationship is not clear, I may ask you to write a sentence stating what the relationship between you and the appropriate person in your documentation is and to sign it.

Note: For any university-sanctioned activity, I expect to be notified at least two weeks prior to the event, as required by the Student Absence Policy. Failure to meet this deadline will be a problem for you. Note that this means that you will likely have to get on your coach's case - few coaches or academic advisors meet this deadline without prompting, in my experience.

If you have any special needs that may affect your success in this class please let me know as soon as possible so that accommodations can be made. This includes (but is not limited to) any physical or learning disabilities that you may have.

Students with disabilities who believe they may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Greg Toutges, Coordinator of Disability Services at 477-5859 (Voice) or 1-800-627-3529 (MRS/TTY), CMU 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Cellular phones and other distracting devices generally have no place in a formal or semi-formal setting, such as a classroom. If your phone rings audibly during class, I will require you to leave the classroom for the remainder of the period. This includes those days we have exams. Hence, if your cell phone rings during an exam, you will have to turn in what you have completed up to that point. No extra time will be given. I strongly suggest that you always remember to turn off your phone. (You are free to return to class the next day, and there will be no other consequences.) Note: I have found that cell phones on vibrate, when in a backpack next to a textbook, are still quite loud since they reverberate against the book. If I can hear it at the front of the room or if most of the students next to you react to it, it is still an audible ring. Keep it on something soft or on your waistband or in your pocket.

In addition, during exams, I will not allow any electronic devices except for a calculator in a location that is visible to me or to you. This includes your waistband. I will require that you put your cell phone in a covered pocket in your bookbag. Better yet, don't bring it at all on exam days.