College and Matrix Algebra Syllabus Professor Crystal Rust Math 116

Table of Contents for Syllabus  Meet Your Facilitator Meet Your Facilitator  Contact Information Contact Information  Is Online Learning for you? Is Online Learning for you?  Course Goals Course Goals  Learning Objectives Learning Objectives  Evaluation Part 1 Evaluation Part 1  Evaluation Part 2 Evaluation Part 2  Course Policies Course Policies  Course Materials and Resources Course Materials and Resources  Course Design Course Design  Course Calendar Course Calendar

Meet Your Facilitator Meet Dr. Murray at: h.edu/~km/ My Teaching Philosophy: I sincerely and honestly believe that anybody can be successful in learning mathematics given the right learning environment. I disliked mathematics for many years in school. The phobia of mathematics started for me in third grade. When I went to the University of Houston, I was still very math phobic. I had attempted mathematics classes several times at the University, only to drop the class in disappointment and feeling that my failure to understand math was confirmation of me being totally mathematically illiterate. Dr. Murray Then I was blessed with Dr. Murray. He had a way of bringing math alive, as well as, making math understandable to me!! Years of math anxiety and frustration melted away. I try to be like Dr. Murray and help my students to the best of my abilities. So never be afraid to come to me for help Back to Table of Contents

Contact Information Telephone: Office: B-403D Office Hours: MW: 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. & 12:45 p.m. – 1:30 TR: 8:10 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. & 11:10 a.m. – 12:00 Class Meets: On line, no in class requirements. You are always welcome to come to my on campus section that meets 11:10 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays for additional instruction/support. This is NOT a requirement, just an invitation. Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Is Online Learning for you? Take this short quiz to see if you are prepared skill wise to be an online learner. The skills asked about in this quiz are skills you will need for our course: The following site is offered by the college to provide you with valuable information about online learning and resources: View the following video tutorials for additional help: Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Course Goals This course is designed to strengthen the algebra skills of students seeking Business or Natural Science degrees who are required to take an applied calculus course. Course goals include the following:  Develop the theory of functions  Examine how to graph functions  Analyze exponential and logarithmic functions  Solve equations involving algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions  Solve systems of linear equations  Develop the concept of determinants  Calculate determinants using Cramer’s Rule  Formulate the theory of matrices  Solve applications problems Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Learning Objectives  Analyze, graph, and evaluate linear functions related to application problems in business and the natural sciences.  Perform algebraic operations on functions and determine function inverses.  Analyze and interpret the relationship between the properties and graphs of polynomial functions.  Determine all the exact zeros of a polynomial by applying root-finding techniques and theorems.  Analyze and interpret the graphs of algebraic functions including square root, cubic and rational functions.  Solve and graph non-linear inequalities and systems of non-linear inequalities.  Analyze and apply rigid and non-rigid transformations to algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions.  Solve equations involving logarithmic and exponential functions, including application problems.  Perform operations with matrices.  Construct systems of equations from applications. Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Evaluation Part 1 A learner’s grade will be based on multiple measures of performance: I.Homework assignments: Homework as enumerated in appropriate assignments. These will be done on our Web-CT home space. The assignments will be grouped in the exam module sections. II. Discussion board participation: There will be discussion boards in each exam module. You must respond and participate in them. Do not wait until the last minute to do these; you must keep up a steady pace in the course. (Grading rubric found in discussion board section of each exam module.) III.Objective tests: Will measure a student's ability to identify and perform the mathematical concepts outlined in the learning outcomes. (There will be three monthly exams, lowest one is dropped.) IV. Comprehensive final exam. The final exam must be taken. The grading scale is: = A, = B, = C, = D, = F. Back to Table of Contents

Evaluation Part 2 Your final course grade will be determined by:  Homework Assignment score (15%) will be calculated by adding up your scores, and dividing by the total number of assignments, the usual arithmetic average (Highest total average possible is 100 points).  Discussion board participation score (15%) will be calculated by adding up total points, the maximum is 100 points. (There will be a total of 10 discussion boards each discussion board is worth 10 points for a total of 100 points.)  Monthly exams (20% each exam out of two highest exams) (each exam is worth 100 points) Highest two scores out of the three monthly exams will be used in the final grade calculation. Hence, there are no make-up exams.  Final exam score (30%) (worth 100 points) You must take the final exam!!!  Your formula to calculate your grade is: (Homework score)(.15) + (Discussion board score) (.15) + (Monthly exam score)(.2) + (Monthly exam score)(.2) + (Final exam score)(.3) = Numerical grade  **All graded work will be done and submitted in Web-CT** Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Course Policies  Cheating: If I catch you cheating I will follow the procedures that are outlined in Miramar College’s student handbook.  Attendance: Since this is an on line course, taking daily attendance is not possible. If two weeks of non-activity occur on your account, I will lock you out of the system until I receive some kind of message from you. If I suspect you are not participating, I will drop you!!  Grade of W: If you decide not to stay in the class without notifying me and do not drop yourself by April 11th, then you will risk receiving an F, if I do not catch it.  For the above mentioned policies, please see the Miramar College catalogue at  Accommodations: Students with disabilities who may need academic accommodations should contact me by , fax or phone with in the first two weeks of class. You and I can coordinate with the Disability Support Programs & Services (DSPS) department to identify your appropriate accommodations. If you would like further information or have questions about DSPS services, please them at or call them at (858) or (619) The office is located in building C-304. Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Course Materials and Resources  Textbook by Robert Blitzer entitled “College Algebra” fourth edition. Order it from the bookstore at this link  MATHDOCTOR1999 Web-Site: I own and maintain a personal web site at On here you will find the notes I have written for College Algebra and other courses I am teaching. Also, you will find more information and links.  COMPUTER LABS: The College has several computer labs available for our students to use. More information can be found at Hardcover: 832 pages Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4th edition (2005) Language: English ISBN-10: ISBN-13: Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Course Design The course will be divided into Exam Modules, each containing:  lecture material, the notes I have written.  references to the textbook pages to read from Blitzer’s textbook.  assignments for that particular Module  discussion boards for that particular Module  exam review for that particular Module,  exam for that particular module  EACH MODULE MUST BE COMPLETED BY A SPECIFIC FINISH DATE!! Back to Table of ContentsTable of Contents

Course Calendar Please see each individual exam module for the calendar for that section. It is a chart that contains what sections of the text, which lecture notes, and learning objectives for each exam module with due dates for assignments. Welcome to College and Matrix Algebra! Back to Table of Contents