Course Description: Exponents, algebraic fractions, polynomials, linear and quadratic equations, systems of equations.  This course consists of two hours of lecture and two hours of laboratory work per week during the academic year.  Credit not applicable to any major or any degree.  Pre-requisites:  An ACT Mathematics score of 24 or a score of 10 or higher on the MnSCU math exam or successful completion of Math 090.

Student Learning Outcomes: Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to simplify polynomial, rational, and radical algebraic expressions; solve linear, quadratic, absolute value, radical, and rational equations, systems of linear equations in two unknowns, and linear and absolute value inequalities; graph, find the slope of, and find the equation of lines; and work with functions and functional notation.  The overall goal of Math 099 is to prepare students to succeed in a college-level mathematics course.

Attendance: In order to succeed in mathematics classes, experience indicates that it is extremely important that students stay on schedule.  Because we are interested in your success, this course carries the following attendance requirement:  Any student that is absent from more than 2 of the regularly class periods during the term will have his or her overall percentage score lowered by 2 percentage points per each additional absence before final grades are assigned.  Note:  Excused absences will not count towards this total.  However, an excused absence is given only at the discretion of the instructor, and is given rarely.  Family vacations, weddings, reunions, work schedules, transportation or daycare issues, and similar reasons will not be considered excused absences.  Illnesses that are justified by a medical excuse, family emergencies such as funerals, etc., may be considered as excused absences.  However, your chances of successfully completing the course if you miss more than two days are severely reduced regardless of whether the absence is an excused absence or not.  Remember that two days in the summer is more than a full week in the school year, and covers the same amount of material - which you will have to learn without the benefit of a lecture or of the lab session.

Makeup exams will ONLY be given in cases of documented emergencies.  The documentation should be consistent with the emergency (doctor's note stating that you were seen for an illness, police report for the accident, obituary notice or program for the funeral, etc.).  Labs and homework can not be made up for a grade under any circumstances (although you may certainly have a copy of the lab to help you study for the exam).  There are a total of 23 labs, of which I keep the best 18 grades.  Any labs that you miss will be one of the dropped labs.  Homework may be turned in late, at a penalty of 1/3 of the grade per weekday.  It may also be turned in early if necessary, and does not have to be turned in in person (you may send it with a friend to be slid under my office door, for example).

Academic Honesty: You are expected to do your own work.  You may certainly work with others and get help on homework assignments and labs, but the work you submit should be your own work.  Note that during exams you will not be allowed to get help from others.  Make sure that you learn the material while you do the labs and homework - that is the purpose of the assignments.  Then during the exam you can demonstrate your knowledge - that is the purpose of the exams.  Cheating and plagiarism will not be tolerated in any college course (or any course at any level).  See the MSUM Academic Honesty policy for more information and possible consequences of cheating.

Special Accommodations: 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 222 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Course Requirements:  You are expected to complete daily homework, either do a lab assignment or take an exam every class day, and to come to class every day.  See the grade page for more details.

Evaluations Standards: Your course grade will include homework, lab, and exam grades.  For more details, see the grade page.

Course Outline:  See the course schedule.

Calculators:  A calculator will not be allowed during this class.  It will also not be necessary.  You will, however, be expected at times to do some long multiplication or division - but these are skills that you learned in 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade and as such are reasonable for me to assume that you know how to do.  Any such calculations on the exams, however, will be such that I can do it in my head.  (That does not necessarily mean that you can, but doing it on paper would not be an unreasonably long problem.)  On the homework and labs, however, there will be problems that even I have to work out on paper.

General Comments:  For all graded work in this class, you must show work for credit and give exact answers.  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 homework 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.

I expect you to be responsible for yourself as far as getting notes from a classmate if you miss class.  (My notes rarely have answers, just problems, so are not very useful to students.)  I also expect you to turn in any homework early if you know that you will miss class.  This includes those instances when the absence is due to an official university activity.

Cell Phones:  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.

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Mathematics Department Home Page

This page maintained by Ellen Hill, elhill@mnstate.edu
Last Revision:  01/04/2008

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