Course Description:  Logic, sets, probability and statistics, problem solving strategies. May not be taken for credit by those who have earned credit in MDS 119. Prerequisite:  MSCTC 0090, MDEV 102 or a minimum ACT Math score of 24 or a minimum MNSCU math placement score of 10.  Some prior knowledge of algebra is expected.

MSUM's standard is that one semester credit hour for undergraduates is meant to represent three hours of academic work per week during a regular length semester for the average student who has the expected preparation for the courses that he or she is enrolled in.  For this class, each day in class is the equivalent of a week of the regular semester.  This means that you are expected to put in nine hours a day, only three hours of which are in class.  The remaining six hours are expected to be outside of class time.  Spending time reading the book, doing homework and labs, and studying for exams is meant to be a significant part of this course.

Course Organization:  The course will be largely lecture-based, with time for homework questions.  There will be frequent graded lab assignments and five exams.  There will be at least 25 lab assignments, of which the best 20 will count towards your grade.  There will be five regular exams and a cumulative final exam.  The lowest regular exam grade can be replaced by the final exam grade (assuming that your final exam grade is higher than your lowest regular exam grade).

Course Goals and Student Learning Outcomes:

Students will be able to

• Determine whether arguments are valid.

• Solve real-life problems by using the principles of set theory.

• Make decisions regarding the possible events that are governed at least in part by chance.

• Apply the basic concepts of statistics, such as collecting data; drawing graphs; finding measures of average, variation, and position; and solving problems using the standard normal distribution.

• Demonstrate understanding of selected concepts in logic, set theory, probability, and statistics by solving a real-life problem and communicating their work to the class orally and/or in writing. 

Attendance:  Attendance is mandatory in the sense that you will not be given an opportunity to make up work from class that you miss, and it is up to you to learn the material on your own.  I will not give you the lecture on a one-on-one basis in my office.  Regardless of why you miss, missing class will likely mean that you won't understand the material as well as you should and your homework, lab, and exam grades will likely suffer as well.  Unfortunately this statement is true whether you miss class because you just didn't want to get up that morning or if you miss class because you had a major emergency (in fact, the better the reason for missing class is, the more students tend to not understand the material no matter how much they try to make it up, since they are distracted by other concerns in their lives).  Missing class is strongly discouraged.  It will not be directly penalized, however, except for exam days, and I do not take a formal attendance each day.  Note that any labs due will not be excused if you are not in class.  You must turn them in on the day that they are due, even if it is to my office or sent with a friend.

Since each day of class in a three-week summer session is the equivalent of a full week during a semester, I am not likely going to be very lenient on makeup exams for personal reasons such as family reunions, weddings, etc..  For illnesses, I will expect that if you are ill enough to miss an exam, you are also ill enough to go to the doctor, and I will want to see a note from the doctor's office indicating that you should miss class/work (most doctor's offices have such generic notes).  It does not have to say what you were seen for.  

If you do miss a day, you will need to not only turn in the labs but get copies of the labs due the next day.

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 homework and labs - 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 114 as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

Course Requirements:  You are expected to complete daily homework, complete and submit the labs, and take and pass all the exams on the scheduled date.

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

Course Outline:  See the schedule.

Calculators:  For this course, a scientific calculator will be required (graphing calculators are allowed but not required).  The feature that you will need on the calculator is the ability to do combinations and permutations.  These are normally second functions (written in blue, beige, or some other color above the key) and will usually look like either C(n,p) and P(n,p) or like _nC_p and _nP_p.  They may also be in a menu system accessed by a key labeled PRB or PROB.

A basic scientific calculator costs $10-$25 at Target, Kmart, CVS, Office Depot, or some similar store.  Students often find a model with a two-line display easier to use (one line is for what you type, the other for the answer).

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.  Note that you need to tell me, at a minimum, what you are typing into your calculator.

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, roommates, or siblings/spouses/children/parents, 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.  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.

Help Resources:  In addition to my office hours, there is tutoring in the main Math department tutor lab (MA 383).  This is walk-in help, so you don't need to make an appointment or call ahead.  The hours and locations for the tutor lab is on my office hour page. 

Cell Phones:  Turn off your cell phones when you go to class (this class or any other class).  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 reserve the right to require you to leave the classroom for the remainder of the period.  This includes those days we have exams.  In fact, it applies especially on those days when we have an exam.  I strongly suggest that you always remember to turn off your phone.  Note:  A cell phone on vibrate is still an audible ring 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 best to turn off  your cell phone entirely.  This policy applies to any other distracting device, such as a pager or alarm clock, as well.

In addition, during exams, your cell phone (or any other electronic device other than a calculator) may not be visible at all - you must put it in your closed bookbag or something similar.  If you use it for your watch, you will have to bring a different clock to exams or use the classroom clock.

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