Course Details

Number / Title : Math 141 / Elementary Functions
Section / Semester : 01 / SP17
Course webpage : https://aylvisaker.github.io/MC-MATH141-SP17/
Meeting times MWF 2:00 - 4:00, CSB 176
Meeting location TueThu 10:00-11:00, CSB 340
Textbook : PreCalculus by Faires and DeFranza (5th edition)

Resources

Instructor : Andrew J. Ylvisaker
E-mail address : aylvisaker@monmouthcollege.edu
Office / Phone : CSB 348 / 309-457-2184
Instructor office hours : MF 11:00, Tue 9:00, WThu 2:00 (in CSB 348)
Supplemental Instruction (SI) Leader : Rachel Unger (runger@monmouthcollege.edu)
SI Sessions : Times TBA, Location TBA
SI Office Hours : Times TBA, CSB 177
TLC Tutor : Anas Karkout (akarkout@monmouthcollege.edu)
TLC Tutoring Sessions : TueThu 5:00-7:00, CSB 309

Course Schedule / Content

A detailed schedule can be found on the course webpage. This will be kept up to date as the semester progresses. We have a total of 69 class days scheduled. Of those, 9 have been allotted for exams. We will require at least 47 days for class discussions. This leaves 13 flex days. Flex days can be used at any time for any reason as long as it is approved by a simple majority of students who are present. You may want to use one for a review day before an exam, or to spend some extra time discussing a particularly difficult section in the book.

Chapter 1 : Algebra review and introduction to functions
Chapter 2 : Combining functions with operations
Chapter 3 : Algebraic functions
Chapter 4 : Trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions
Chapter 5 : Exponential and logarithmic functions

Grading Scale

Your overall grade for the course will be computed as the average of your exam scores, with the final exam being weighted the same as two regular exams. Your lowest exam score (excluding the final exam) will be dropped from consideration. Letter grades will follow the standard 90/80/70/60 scale, with 90 sufficient for some kind of A, 80 sufficient for some kind of B, etc. Plus and minus grades will be assigned at the instructor’s discretion, typically the lower third of the range (0-3) earning a minus and the upper third of the range (7 and up) earning a plus.

Homework

You will find practice problems corresponding to each section of the book on the course webpage. Having read the section carefully you should find yourself able to do most of the “practice” problems. At least half of the questions on each exam will be taken verbatim from the “easy” and “difficult” problems (more from the “easy” problems). The remainder will be similar to homework problems, but I will make minor changes. Some sections will have “extra credit” problems associated with them. You can turn these in before the corresponding exam. Each completed extra credit problem will earn you 1% extra credit on that exam.

Exams

Scheduled exam dates are available on the course calendar. These will likely change as we burn flex days, but will otherwise proceed on schedule. I will make an effort to remind you when an exam is coming up, but it is ultimately your responsibility to pay attention to the calendar.

Exams must be written in pencil. Any exam written in pen will have 10% deducted from the final score. Listening to music and the use of electronic devices (other than calculators) is strictly forbidden. If you need to use the restroom during an exam, leave all of your things behind (especially your phone) and quietly excuse yourself (eye contact with me is good enough, no need to make a production of it).

The final exam will be cumulative and takes place on Tuesday, May 9 at 11:30 in CSB 176. As of the writing of this document the exam time is listed as 11:30 PM. I presume this to be a typo, and we will plan to meet at 11:30 AM. If the exam time changes I will make an announcement in class and update this document. This exam cannot be rescheduled except under extreme circumstances.

Workload Expectations

In addition to attending class each day, students should plan to spend approximately 10 hours per week working outside of class. This time should be spent reading, practicing homework, studying, and making use of available resources. The figure is only an estimated average, some students may need to spend much more than 10 hours practicing in order to learn the material effectively.

Classroom Expectations

Each day students should plan to bring:

a graphing calculator (recommended model is the TI-84)
the textbook
pencil and paper
questions from the reading
problems from the homework

Students should be prepared for class each day. That means you should already have read the section we will be discussing that day, and (at a minimum) have looked at the corresponding homework problems. Be prepared to ask questions from the reading and homework. In short, you should be prepared to participate in our discussion of that chapter.

Social media use (whether on a phone or a computer) is not allowed in this class. It is distracting at best, disruptive at worst, and downright rude in every instance. Phones should be silenced before class begins and kept put away while class is in session. If you must have your phone on due to an imminent emergency, it should be kept on vibrate and you should quietly leave the room to answer any calls or texts. If you are caught using a your phone in class, you will be asked to leave. Please don’t make this an issue.

The seating arrangement will be left to your discretion so long as it doesn’t create problems. If we start having problems staying on task, I will shuffle students around. That will probably mean displacing another student from his/her chosen seat, so please don’t make this necessary.

Academic Dishonesty

In this course, any violation of the academic honesty policy will have varying consequences depending on the severity of the infraction as judged by the instructor. Minimally, a violation will result in an F or 0 points on the assignment in question. Additionally, the students course grade may be lowered by one letter grade. In severe cases, the student will be assigned a course grade of F and dismissed from the class. All cases of academic dishonesty will be reported to the Associate Dean who may decide to recommend further action to the Admissions and Academic Status Committee, including suspension or dismissal. It is assumed that students will educate themselves regarding what is considered to be academic dishonesty, so excuses or claims of ignorance will not mitigate the consequences of any violations.

Disability Accommodations

Accommodations are determined on a case-by-case basis by considering the disability documentation provided by the student, the functional impact of the students disability, and the essential requirements of the students courses, programs, and activities. Disability Services works in conjunction with faculty to determine appropriate accommodations for students in their courses. Please contact Disability Services at the Teaching and Learning Center, 2nd floor Poling Hall, 309-457-2257, or tlc@monmouthcollege.edu with specific disability or accommodation related questions.