MATH 1030-09, Spring 2005

Introduction to Quantitative Reasoning

Syllabus

Instructor: Ron McKay

Email: rmckay@math.utah.edu
Phone # : 581-5394

Website: www.math.utah.edu/~rmckay

Office: 326 JWB

Office hours: Mon. 3:00-4:00 pm, or by appointment

Classroom: ST 208

Class time: MWF 10:45- 11:35 am

Text: Using and Understanding Mathematics: A Quantitative Reasoning Approach, by Bennett and Briggs (third edition)

Prerequisite: Math 1010 (Intermediate Algebra)

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): This act requires that reasonable accommodations be provided for students with physical, sensory, cognitive, systemic, learning or psychiatric disabilities. Students requiring such accommodations should speak with the instructor at the beginning of the semester in order to make appropriate arrangements for this course. The Center for Disabled Student Services (581- 5020) will also need to be informed.

Course Description: Math 1030 is a non-traditional, application-based course centered around the use of mathematics to model change in the real world, and the effective communication of these mathematical ideas. In other words, this is useful math! The course is primarily intended for students from the Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Health Sciences, and the Humanities who seek to satisfy the QA requirement (see http://www.ugs.utah.edu/student/gened/index.htm) for the bachelor's degree and who, with the exception of a statistics class, possibly won't take any further mathematics courses at the university.

Course Work and Grading: Practice. Practice. Practice. The coursework in Math 1030 emphasizes solving word problems that require the use of algebraic skills, tables, graphs, and formulas. In your work you will examine the reasoning behind basic mathematical concepts, explore problems and questions presented from different perspectives, clarify assumptions made in word problems, and look for connections between the course topics and your own field of study. Math is not a spectator sport. The best way to learn it is to do it. Doing some everyday, even if just for an hour, is far more effective than cramming.

The grades for the course will be based on:

Quizzes 20%

2 midterms 30% (15% each)

1 group project (described below) 20%

Final exam 30% (comprehensive, departmental exam on April 29 (Fri.) 3:30-5:30 pm)

Quizzes will be given every week(on Wednesdays), and will be based on homework problems that I assign that are not to be turned in. You may drop two quiz grades. There will be no make-up quizzes, so if you miss one (or two), these will be counted as your dropped scores. If you know you can't make it to an exam, you must schedule a time to take it before the scheduled time-there will be no make up exams! There will be no extra credit (sorry!). I highly recommend having a scientific calculator (one that can do exponents and logarithms).

Course Content/Schedule:

Week 1: Introduction, Algebra review

Weeks 2&3: Ch. 1, Sec C,D: Critical Thinking ; Chp. 2: Approaches to Problem Solving

Weeks 4&5: Ch. 3: Numbers in the Real World

Weeks 6&7: Ch. 4: Financial Management · Exam #1

Weeks 8&9: Ch. 8: Exponential Astonishment

Weeks 10&11: Ch. 9: Modeling Our World

Weeks 12&13: Ch. 10, Sec. A: Fundamentals of Geometry · Exam #2

Week 14: Review for final

Tutoring Center: The Mathematics Tutoring Center offers free, drop-in tutoring to all students enrolled in this class. The Tutoring Center is located in LCB (on Presidents Circle, just west of Administration). The hours are: 8:00 am- 8:00 pm Monday- Thursday and 8:00 am - 6:00 pm on Friday; closed on weekends and University holidays. For students who need more attention than the tutoring center can offer, University Tutoring Services, 330 SSB, offers inexpensive private tutoring. A list of private tutors is also available from the math department office (in JWB). Group tutoring sessions, for 5 or more students, can be arranged through the Tutoring Center. There is also a drop-in computer lab for all students enrolled in a math class, and group study rooms, both of which are adjacent to the Tutoring Center.

Group Projects: Working in groups of two to three students, group members select a question or problem to investigate from a list of topics approved by the course instructor. In their investigation students apply the techniques studied in the M1030 course and then present their results or conclusions in a typewritten paper. As a research report the paper is to include a discussion of the background of the problem, the approach the group has taken in their investigation, a discussion of the mathematical techniques used, and a summary of the results of the group's research. All members of the group read the final draft of the project and approve it before it is submitted. The analysis of the problem, organization of work, grammar, and spelling are all considered in the project grade. Here is an example of a past project topic:

Many practical questions arise in dealing with one's finances. Pick a newspaper or magazine article published during the past year that discusses the savings patterns of Americans (provide the name of the newspaper/magazine and the date of the article). Examine the article in your group, summarizing the points made, and then do the following problem. Suppose that Julia, age 35, opens a bank account paying 5% annual interest compounded monthly. She plans to deposit $100 each month in the account. Assuming the interest is the same for the next 30 years, how much will Julia's account be worth when she retires at age 65? Compare her accumulation to her total investment. Now do the same analysis for Bob who is 25 and for Beth who is 45. Were there any connections between your calculations and the article you've read? Now, determine how much you think you can afford to save per month and determine what kind of interest rate you could get at your bank. Depending on how old you are and when you want to retire, determine how much savings you could accumulate. Determine your accumulation both in terms of face value and after adjusting for inflation (assume 2% annual inflation). Suppose you plan to live on the interest from your accumulation when you retire. Estimating a 5% APY at that time, what will your annual interest amount to when you retire? Present a summary of your calculations, connecting your results to points made in the article. What factors do you think might impact your estimate of income from interest? What other methods are generally used to save for retirement? Discuss some of these briefly and present their benefits and drawbacks. Finally summarize any conclusion(s) your group has made.