Mathematics 1010

Fall 2010

Instructor: Kelly A. MacArthur

Class Time and Place: 7:30 to 8:20 a.m.
Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Fridays in WEBL104
Review Session Thursdays 7:30 to 8:20 a.m. (location TBA)

Office Hours: Mondays 12:00 to 3:00 p.m., Wednesdays 12:00 - 2:00 p.m.,
Thursdays 9:00 to 11:00 a.m., Fridays 1:00 to 4:00 p.m.,
or by appointment.
Office Location: JWB226
Office Phone Number: 581-6837
E-mail address: macarthur@math.utah.edu
Website: www.math.utah.edu/~macarthu

Text: Intermediate Algebra, 4th edition, by Larson and Hostetler.

Tutoring Lab: T. Benny Rushing Mathematics Student Center
(adjacent to JWB and LCB), Room 155
M - Th 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
F 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
(opens 2nd week of semester) (closed Saturdays, Sundays and holidays)
They are also offering group tutoring sessions. If you're interested, inquire
at the Tutoring Lab.

Private Tutoring: University Tutoring Services, 330 SSB (they offer
inexpensive tutoring). There is also a list of tutors at the Math Department
office in JWB233.

Computer Lab: also in the T. Benny Rushing Mathematics Student Center, Rm 155C.
M – Th 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
F 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Link to computer lab

Calculators: You are welcome to use a calculator on your homework, but there
will be NO calculators allowed on any of the exams!

Grading: The grades will be calculated as follows:
Weekly Homework 10%
Midterm 25%
Midterm 25%
Midterm 10%
Final Exam 30%
(Note: There will be 3 midterms. Your lowest midterm score will count for
10% of your grade and your top two midterm scores will each count for 25% of
your final grade.)

Teaching Philosophy: I believe strongly that mathematics, at its
core, is the art/experience/science of problem solving and pattern recognition.
It is inherently a creative process, one to be struggled with, repeated, and
enjoyed. The process requires imagination, persistence, courage, processing
time, and ultimately produces experiential, mathematical skill. It is from
this perspective that I teach. I'm not as concerned with the destination, i.e.
the answer, as I am about the journey of problem-solving and mathematical
exploration since it is exactly the entirety of the journey that creates
the answer. And, self-confidence and mastery are then natural by-products
of the mathematical journey.

Weekly Homework:

I will collect homework during the first class of each week.
All of the homework assigned the previous week is due at that time.
Each section of homework will be worth ten points. For example,
if you have three sections of homework assigned for one week, then
that homework set is worth a total of 30 points.
You will get the full credit if you DO every problem. I will
NOT be grading for correctness, so it is your responsibility to
make sure you understand the problems and their solutions. This
is basically motivation for you to do the homework because that is
the only way to survive a math class. (Please notice that there
is no way to get an A in this course if you choose not to do any of
the homework. On the other hand, turning in all of the homework
can help your grade substantially.)
The homework is to be turned in according to the following
instructions:

The homework set MUST be stapled together with the
corresponding cover sheet as the first page. (I will
provide the cover sheets in class.) A homework set turned
in without being stapled together or without a cover sheet
will not be counted!! It will be returned to you without
being graded. You can staple it with the cover sheet and
turn it in the following week to be graded...but it will then
count as a late section! Please do not come to class hoping
that I or someone else will have a stapler. Be prepared
when you arrive.
To get full credit for the homework, you MUST show all your work!
If you turn in just the answers, with no work shown, you will get
a -1 score for that section. If this happens three times, you will
no longer be allowed to turn in homework for any credit!!!
I will accept 10 late homework sections, up
to two weeks late, throughout the semester for full credit.
I will not accept homework more than two weeks late. I
accept these late homework sections to allow for illness,
oversleeping, hectic schedules, etc. Do not ask for special
favors with regard to the homework policy, unless the
circumstances are extraordinarily severe, because my response
will not be in your favor. Also, it is not necessary nor
recommended that you tell me why your homework is late.
This policy is meant to be flexible enough to cover all reasons
and so I don't get calls and emails every week with your personal
drama stories.
I only collect homework during the first class of the
week!! If you need to turn in homework late, you will have
to do so on the first class of the week (one or two weeks after
its due date). This is the only time and location that I
will accept homework. If you slide homework underneath my office
door, I will throw it away without looking at it.

You are responsible for knowing these policies. Please take it
seriously because the flexibility listed here is literally all there is.

WebCT: I will put your grades online on WebCT.
You can get there easily from the main University of Utah website www.utah.edu.
(There's also a link from my website.) To log in, you use the same student id
and password that you use for Campus Information System. I do my best to
update the grades on a regular basis and keep everything accurate.
However, I would advise you to check your grades often to make sure there
were no data entry mistakes. I'm always happy to correct any mistakes I've
made. You just need to let me know about them.

Grading Scale: The grade scale will be the usual:
A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79),
C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), E (0-59).
I will not curve the grades, as there will be no need, since I've
taught this class many times and know what to expect.

Other Policies: Due to experience, I have decided to make some
additional policies regarding my classroom administration and grading.

There will be no retakes of exams…ever. Your score is
what you get.
There are no alternate exams, period. Make sure you make your
travel plans around the exam dates, which I will keep fixed. If
your parents decide you need to come home early for winter break,
then you will simply miss the final exam for this class and therefore
fail. The only exceptions I will ever make to this policy is for
extreme cases of illness, in which case you will need to provide
thorough documentation of said illness.
I will demand respectful behavior in my classroom. Examples of
disrespect include reading a newspaper or magazine in class, social
chatting with your friend in class, text-messaging your buddies during
class or cuddling with your girl/boyfriend in class. If you choose to
be disrespectful during my class, I can guarantee I will take action
to terminate your disruptive behavior.
There will be no cursing nor negative ranting (for example,
“math sucks”) on any written work turned in. The penalty
for such things on your written work will be a zero score on that
assignment or test!
You need to have a valid email address registered with Campus
Information System. I will regularly send emails to the class and hold
you accountable for receiving that information.
If you have crisis-level extenuating circumstances which require
flexibility, it is completely your responsibility to communicate with me
as soon as possible. The longer you wait to communicate with me, the
less I can and am willing to do to help.
If you have questions about any exam grade, or you want
to appeal the grading of the exam, you must bring it to me within one
week of the exam. After that, you will have to live with whatever
grade you got.
Please make sure you do your best throughout the semester and come
talk to me if you need further study strategies. I will NOT offer
any extra credit at the end of the semester or any other way for you
to improve your grade at that time. If you ask me toward the end of
the semester if I'll make special arrangements for you to improve
your grade by some means, I will automatically deduct one percentage
point from your overall grade, just for asking the question!!