Mathematics 1090-04

Spring 2011

Instructor: Kelly A. MacArthur

Class Time and Place: 11:50 a.m. - 12:40 p.m.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in WEB2250

Office Hours: Mondays 9:30-11:30 a.m., Tuesdays 11:00 a.m. -2:00 p.m,
Wednesdays 2:00-4:00 p.m., Fridays 2:00-5:00 p.m. or by appointment.
Office Location: JWB226
Office Phone Number: 581-6837
E-mail address: macarthur@math.utah.edu
Website: http://www.math.utah.edu/~macarthu

Text: (1) Business Algebra, preliminary edition, by MacArthur
ISBN-10: 0757564275 ISBN-13: 978-0757564277
(2) You will also need to print off my class notes and bring them to class
every day. I will put them on my website by chapters, as the semester goes on.

Prerequisite: At least a C grade in Math1010.

Tutoring Lab: T. Benny Rushing Mathematics Student Center (adjacent to
JWB & LCB), Rm 155
M - Th 8 a.m. - 8 p.m.
F 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
(opens second week of classes) (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.

Calculators: You may use any calculator you'd like for this homework in
this class. I will probably exclude the use of a calculator on some exams.
For other exams, I'll allow a scientific calculator, but NO graphing or
programmable calculator.

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: 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: Although I'm not philosophically opposed to curving
grades, I find it's rarely necessary. 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).
If I do need to curve the grades, I will simply shift everything down
by a few points (whatever is necessary).

Other Policies: Due to experience, I have decided to make some
additional policies regarding my classroom administration and grading.
  1. I do NOT allow the use of computers in my classroom. At this
    point, I don't believe you are taking notes for the class if your
    computer is open. Thus, it is unnecessary in class.

  2. There will be no retakes of exams…ever. Your score is
    what you get.
  3. You may take an alternate exam if you talk to me about it first
    and explain the extenuating circumstances that make it necessary.
    Needing to work, babysitting your siblings, oversleeping, or needing
    more time to study do not pass as acceptable reasons to inconvenience
    me. Getting in a car crash or your mother’s death, on the other
    hand, is sufficient reason to request to take an alternate exam. But,
    it is 100% your responsibility to communicate with me as soon as is
    possible, before the exam occurs (or as soon as possible).
    Talking to me after the problem will be sufficient reason
    for me to allow you to get a zero on that test.
    I reserve the right
    to make alternate exams more difficult than the scheduled exam.
  4. 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.
  5. 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!
  6. You need to have a valid email address registered with Campus
    Information System. I will regularly send emails to the class and expect
    you to be responsible for receiving that information.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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!!