Math 1100 Information, section 4

1. About the Instructor

   Name: Harold B. Reiter
   Office: Fretwell, 345A
   Office Hours: 3:00 pm to 4:00 pm Mondays and Wednesdays, and by appointment. I expect to be available every weekday from 10 to 11 am.
   Phone: office 687-4561; home 364-5699
   Email: hbreiter@email.uncc.edu; fax: 687-6415
   Text: College Algebra, by Michael Sullivan, fifth edition
   

2. Grading

   There will be three tests, each contributing 15% of the final grade. There will be roughly 12 quizzes (about 1.0% each), and approximately 10 Problems of the Week (about 0.5% each). Homework will be collected and graded. It will count about 10% of the final grade. The combination of these two (quizzes and PODs) counts for 25% of the final grade (see organization below for more on this). The tests are cumulative. That is, each test will include some questions on material covered in previous tests. The common final exam, also cumulative, will count for at least 30% of the final grade. Grades will be determined as follows: A, 85%;B, 70% to 85%; C, 55% to 70%; D, 40% to 55%. A total of 667 points are available in the course:100· 3 (in class tests) + ·  180 (the quizzes, Homework and POW grade) + 200 (for the final exam)=680. The grades will be distributed as follows: 570+, A; 470+, B; 370+, C; 270+, D; less than 270, F.

3. Makeup Tests

   Tests will be made up only under the following circumstances:
   a. You must call  the instructor at 687-4561 or 364-5699before the test to indicate the need to miss the test or has sent mailto:hbreiter@email.uncc.edudated before the test, and
   b. the student provides a valid excuse for missing the test. Homework will not be collected, but should be done either individually or in a group.
   c. All makeup tests will be oral.
   d. Problems of the week will not be accepted after the deadline under any circumstances.

4. Group Work

   Group work is encouraged. A roster of students with email addresses will be posted at the website.

5. Quizzes

   Short quizzes will be given during the last 15-20 minutes of certain lectures, usually impromptu. Material covered or assigned through the end of the previous lecture will be on the quizzes so you are encouraged to keep up to date. Missed quizzes will not be made up. If a valid excuse is provided, the student's average quiz score will be used to replaced the missed quiz. Homework will be collected during class, and will not be accepted after class ends.

    

6. Problem Assignments

   Homework assignments appear on a separate sheet that may be found here . All problems are taken from the text. Problems are to be turned in. You should work all the problems assigned each week and not wait until the day before the test. On the first attempt, you should expect to find that some of the problems require thinking and practice, i.e., they require time to do properly.

7. Academic Integrity

   Students have the responsibility to know and observe the requirements of The UNCC Code of Student Academic Integrity (Catalog p. 24). See http://www.uncc.edu/unccatty/integrityguide.htmlfor the complete document. This code forbids cheating, fabrication or falsification of information, multiple submission of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, and complicity in academic dishonesty. Any special requirements or permission regarding academic integrity in this course will be stated by the instructor and are binding on the students. Academic evaluations in this course include a judgment that the student's work is free from academic dishonesty of any type; and grades in this course therefore should be and will be adversely affected by academic dishonesty. Students who violate the code can be expelled from UNCC. The normal penalty for a first offense is zero credit on the work involving dishonesty and further substantial reduction of the course grade. In almost all cases the course grade is reduced to F. Copies of the code can be obtained from the Dean of Students Office. Standards of academic integrity will be enforced in this course. Students are expected to report cases of academic dishonesty to the course instructor.

8. Organization

   The course is organized into three lectures of length 50 minutes each on Monday, Wednesday and Friday.

9. This may not be the right course for you.

   This course is designed for those students planning to take the business  calculus, Math 1120, and/or the Intro. to Statistics, Math 1122. For students who are not planning to take another math course, the math 1102 course is designed for you. This course does satisfy the Gen Ed Problem Solving Goal however, just as Math 1102 does. Many students take both these courses to meet this requirement.

10. Expectations

    What you can expect from me:
    That I will treat this course as the most important course I have ever taught, and
    A. That I will be consistently well-prepared for class,
    B. That I will greet you cordially at my office and help you however I can to learn.
    C. That I will respond to your email messages on the day I receive them.
    D. That I will treat you with respect.

    What I expect of you:
    A. That you will read the book.
    B. That you will do your homework including problems of the day regularly and on time.
    C. That you will attend both lectures and recitations.

11. Requirements for the course.

    1. You are required to complete (just once) the FORM at the website.

    2. One of the requirements in this course is to establish and use an electronic mail account.

       If you have an account already, say hotmail or aol, you will not need a UNCC Eudora account. Sometime well before the first test, which will be on February 24, you will send email to me at the address:
       hbreiter@email.uncc.edu
       and I will respond to that message with a message to you which will include an individualized secret string of symbols. This code is your answer to a question on the first test see question 1 Test 1 from the Spring 1997 section. Your message must be signed at the bottom and have the word `hello' in the subject line. You must have your own email account. You may use one provided by UNCC or use one you obtain yourself. To take advantage of the UNCC account, you will need to borrow or buy a 3.5 inch diskette in order to store your email account information and personal messages. To set up such an account, visit one of the many assistant-manned computer labs on campus, and ask the assistant to help you set up the account. Alternatively you can sign up for a free web based email account (like HOTMAIL) from any of several companies.

    3. You may be required to have an interview following the first test.

       Each student who scores 54 or less on the first test must schedule and carry out a short interview with the instructor following the first test. The interview will last no longer than 15 minutes. You'll be asked questions related to material on the first test. It is possible that a few students will get a few extra points based on the interview.

    4. You will need a calculator and access to a computer for this course.

       A graphing calculator is highly preferable. Please bring you calculator to every lecture and especially to each test and quiz. 

    5. Use the web page for Math 1100, section 17.

       This is not a requirement for the course, but I strongly urge you to take advantage of the wealth of material available here. All the important information about this course including the syllabus, the grading information, the assignment sheet, course goals, lecture topics, and several other items can be found in the course's world wide web page, http://www.math.uncc.edu/~hbreiter/m1100/index.html

       You can access these pages using the Netscape browser available on most UNCC computers. However, you do not have to type in the address. You can get to the pages by clicking, starting at the UNCC home page, the root page for computers on campus, then going, in order, to Math Dept.; then to faculty web pages; then to Harold Reiter's home page; then to Math 1100 home page. Try it. You'll see that it is very easy. You can then print out whatever information you want in hard copy. http://www.uncc.edu/ (this is the home page of UNCC )
       http://www.math.uncc.edu/ (this is the math dept's home page)
       If you have trouble with the browser or email, ask the assistant on duty (TA) in the lab you use.

12. Making progress in the course.

    You are expected to make academic progress of two types in this course. First, you are expected to develop certain skills: factoring, solving equations, expanding and simplifying expressions, and evaluating expressions and functions. You are also expected to develop an understanding of the concepts and ideas of algebra and counting (probability), and the confidence and mathematical maturity to use these concepts in new settings. You can expect to pass the course without making significant progress in the latter, but you must achieve substantial understanding to make a B or better in the course. Exam problems will be taken from problems of the day, textbook homework, and from practice tests. It is also quite possible that some test problems will be new to most students. Tests in the course are cumulative. That is to say, each test covers all the material encountered since the course began. The reason for this is that each topic after the first test is built on material discussed earlier.

13. Getting help in the course.

    Tutorial services offers regular one-on-one and group tutorials for this course. Ask about this in the University Learning Center, third floor of Fretwell. Video tapes covering each aspect of this course are available for your viewing in both the University Learning Center, 3rd floor of Fretwell, and at the audio-visual checkout area of the library. There are two series of tapes, one from the publisher and one made for this course by the UNCC math department.

14. Understanding the lectures.

    You should plan to read about each topic in the text before hearing a lecture on it. If you find this impossible, not all is lost, because...
    the lectures in our section are designed to help you to READ the text. They are not intended to enable you to avoid reading the text.

15. Goals for the course

    A. To win you over to the intellectual enterprise. That is, I hope to help you develop the confidence and maturity to take the intellectual approach to solving problems you encounter. In other words, you can solve many problems by thinking and learning, and you can change your environment for the better if you embrace the academic enterprise.
    B. To help you develop the algebraic and combinatorial skills and understanding of the integers and real numbers in order to learn well the material in the two math courses for which this course is a prerequisite.
    C. To help you see mathematical problem solving as an enjoyable and worthwhile activity.
    D. To help you become familiar with electronic communication.
    

To return to the math 1100 index http://www.math.uncc.edu/~hbreiter/m1100/index.html

To return to Harold Reiter's homepage, http://www.math.uncc.edu/~hbreiter/