Room and hours: Physical Sciences 304, 11:00- 12:15, T Th
Instructor: Muhammad Zafrullah Office PS 328 G
Phone: 282-2892 (Department), and 208-478-2759 (home), e-mail: zufrmuha@isu.edu
Office hours: MTWF 10:00- 10:50, or by appointment.
Textbook: Precalculus with unit-circle trigonometry, third edition, by David Cohen, Brookes/Cole Publishing Company, 1998.
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Math 107/108, 23 or more points in ACT Math or selection via the Internal Placement Test.
Course Description. This course is aimed at preparing you for more advanced courses in Mathematics. In it you would learn how to work with functions of various kinds. The message is: Learn it well so that you are well prepared for courses to come and you do not have to struggle with algebra when you are studying, say, the Calculus.
Syllabus: We will cover all sections of Chapters 3-5 and, sections 1-4 and 6 of Chapter 12, of the textbook.
Homework: Homework will be assigned at the end of each section but whether I will collect it for grading will be announced in a week’s time.
Calculators: A graphing calculator is required for this course. If you plan to go on to more advanced courses in Mathematics, you may as well have a good graphing calculator now. But laptops or other devices with QWERTY keyboards are not allowed in class nor in any examinations.
Math Help: Math Lab (Museum Building (Top Floor)) is a free drop-in tutorial service staffed by Teaching Assistants and Instructors from the Department of Mathematics. The facility will be available from September 11 onward. The Math Lab provides one of the best ways of getting personalized help. (About Math help: Remember, Mathematics is not a spectator sport. You would not get it if you do not participate. So get your hands dirty. Try to do the problems yourself and seek help only if you have some real difficulty with a problem or a concept.) Also, the library has available one-hour videotapes summarizing each chapter.
Tests, quizzes and grading: There will be
· Three in-class tests, one from each chapter for Chapters 3, 4 and 5. You will be tested on material from Chapter 12 in your final exam.
· A comprehensive uniform final, for all sections, on Monday December 17 (3:00 PM-5:00 PM). In addition
· There will be some 6 to 8 quizzes. The quizzes will not be announced. There will be a minimum of 6 quizzes to be taken. If you do take more, the highest scoring 6 will be taken into account.
· To make sure that you read and understand some topics on your own, I will give you some reading assignments on some topics. The reading assignments will be due at the next meeting.
Grades: The allocation of grades will be as follows: 100 points each for the three in-class- tests, 50 points for reading assignments (and/or homework) and 50 for the quizzes, and 200 for the final. In all you will be working for 600 points. (There will be no make-ups unless you have legitimate excuse. If you do have a legitimate and documented excuse for missing a test/quiz, I will set up a date and time agreeable to you for the makeup exam. If, for whatever reason you miss that exam too, there would be no more make-ups.)
Grading scale will be approximately as in the following table:
|
Grade |
A |
B |
C |
D |
F |
|
% |
90-100 |
80- 89 |
70- 79 |
60-69 |
<60 |
(Note: I do reserve the right to give bonus points to those whose performance in the class turns out to be outstanding. Being nice to me will not help. You will have to show performance, by participating in class-discussions, by asking questions and by getting good grades.)
Changes in policies: Course policies are subject to change. Any changes will be announced in class. You are responsible for keeping track of any such announcements.
Notes: (1) Past experience indicates that you will need at least 8 hours of study per week, in addition to the 3 contact hours, if you want to get good grades in this class. Try
not to miss classes. It is not always possible to see the useful points on your own.
(2) Reading the textbook, as the course progresses, enhances the understanding of the subject. Doing homework regularly also helps and allocating some study time to prepare for tests also improves the grades.
Disabilities: If you have or you believe you have a disability that may require accommodation on the part of ISU, call 282-3599 to make an appointment with the ADA and Disabilities resource Center.
Academic Honesty: You may work with other students on most assignments, but you are expected to write your own solutions and reading assignments. There will be no tolerance for cheating or plagiarism. University policies will be enforced in such cases.