MATH 093 Syllabus
- Fall 2008
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Instructor
Information |
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Name: |
Eric Hutchinson |
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Biography: |
I am originally
a |
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Home Page: |
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Emergency |
NOTE: Due to the wealth of computer
viruses spread through e-mail and the daily barrage of unsolicited junk
mail (SPAM), any current student wanting to send the instructor a course-related
message must do so using the mail system available within Online Campus CE. The instructor's emergency e-mail
address is to be used ONLY if the mail system within the online course is unavailable. Non-Emergency
e-mail sent to this regular e-mail will, most likely, be ignored. |
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Phone & |
(702) 651-7512 |
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Fax: |
(702) 651-5881 |
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Office: |
CSN |
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Office Hours: |
Mondays:
9:30AM – 10:45
AM
Wednesdays: 12:45PM – 2:00PM Tuesdays and Thursdays: 2:15 - 3:30 PM |
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Course Information |
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Number/Title: |
MATH 093, Basics of Mathematics |
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Section: |
D05, Call #51174 - NOTE: This is a 16-week course.
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Dates: |
D05, Call #51174, D06, Call #51176 – Monday, August 25th through Friday, December 12th , 2008
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Description: |
A course intended to review
arithmetic and preview elementary algebra. Prerequisite: Placement Test,
or MATH 091 or equivalent. |
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Method of |
Students will be expected to
read the text, do the suggested homework problems, and study the indicated
web site materials. Students will also be expected to ask questions and
initiate communications with the instructor, as needed. Note: Technical
Difficulties on behalf of the students will not be an acceptable excuse
for missing deadlines or neglecting to complete the assigned work. |
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Location(s): |
Internet Only (Except for Final
Exam - See NOTE #2 Below) - Online Campus CE:
http://vconline.csn.edu/webct/entryPageIns.dowebct
NOTE: Various features in this course,
including the required online quizzes, make use of pop-up windows. Thus,
to be able to participate in this course, you should disable any "Pop-Up
Blocker" software installed on your computer. You must also have Java 1.6.0. NOTE #2: The Final Exam must be taken
in person, in an approved and proctored environment. |
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ONLINE CAMPUS CE ACCESS: |
ONLINE CAMPUS CE User Name: Last 8 digits of your CSN Student
ID Password: 4-digit number, MMYY corresponding
to your birth month (Example: If you were born in May of 1975, your
Password is 0575) |
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Special Note |
AOL users have reported many
difficulties with the class management system. If you are intending to
use AOL to access the course materials, you will either want to use the
latest Version of AOL, or a different browser. Nearly every computer sold
in the last three years contains a copy of Internet Explorer. After you
log onto AOL, you can simply open Internet Explorer and use it instead
of AOL's browser. By the way, all those free AOL CD's you get in the mail
make great coasters. |
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CSN |
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Textbook |
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Required: |
This course will use a book
written and edited by several members of CSN's
own Math Department. The title of the book is Prealgebra,
2007, Edition 4, and the author is listed as M. A. Wyatt. THIS BOOK
IS AVAILABLE FOR FREE ONLINE IN OUR COURSE. There will be a link to this
book from our course homepage. If you chose to buy a hardcopy, they have
copies in the bookstore available at a very low cost. You may not, however,
be able to sell it back to the bookstore at the end of the semester. |
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Purchase |
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Course Objectives |
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Goals: |
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Special Notations
Used In This Course |
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Fractions: |
For every fraction, put the
numerator in first then a division sign, and put the denominator in . That
is, type it as numerator/denominator, WITHOUT using spaces. For
example, to write the fraction three-fifths, type 3/5. |
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Mixed |
When typing a mixed number in
a quiz or e-mail, you must put a single space between the whole number
and fractional parts. For example, to write the mixed number two and three-fifths,
type 2 3/5. |
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Exponents: |
When typing an exponential expression,
it will not be possible to superscript exponents. Instead, use a ^ (shift-6
on most keyboards) to indicate exponents. Thus, to indicate the expression
x5, type x^5. As with all exponential expressions, be very careful
with the inclusion or exclusion of parentheses. 7y^3 = 7 · y · y · y,
and (7y)^3 = 7 ·7 ·7 · y · y · y = 343y^3. |
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Policies |
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Calculators: |
Calculators are allowed in this
course, except for on the final exam.
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Any student who qualifies for
"reasonable accommodations" in accordance with the American with Disabilities
Act must notify the instructor in writing of such by the end of the first
week of class. If you have a documented disability that may require assistance,
you will need to contact the |
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Honesty: |
Academic dishonesty of any kind
will not be tolerated. Any incident of academic dishonesty will be reported
to the College's Administration, and the most serious course of action
will be recommended. |
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Religious |
(From the CSN Student Handbook)
CSN is sensitive to the religious obligations of its students. Any student
missing class, quizzes, examinations or any other class work because of
an observance of religious holidays shall, whenever possible, be given
an opportunity to make up the missed work. You must notify the instructor
in writing of such an event before the date of occurrence. This policy
shall not apply in the event that administering the assignment at an alternate
time would impose an undue hardship on the instructor or the College which
could not have been reasonably avoided. |
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Withdrawals: |
If you stop logging into the
course or completing the required quizzes, you will NOT be assigned an
automatic "W" or "Withdrawal" grade; you will receive an "F" to connote
that you failed the course. If you wish to be withdrawn from this course,
it is your responsibility to officially drop the course by the date listed
in the college catalog. If an unavoidable, yet documented
problem forces a student to miss an excessive amount of class time and
corresponding Quizzes/Exams, then the student should withdraw from the course
and apply for an Exception to the Refund policy. Contact the College
Admissions and Records Office for more information. |
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Missed |
There are no acceptable excuses
for missing (or failing to complete) a Quiz or Exam. This includes technical
difficulties (or other computer problems), illness, deaths in the family,
traffic court, vacations, or any other legitimate (or imaginary) problems.
Quizzes and Exams are available for an extended period of time so that
students can make appropriate arrangements to complete the required work.
Thus, any missed Quiz or Exam will be scored as a zero, and no make-up
work of any kind will be offered. |
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Changes: |
The instructor reserves the
right to change the course syllabus, schedule, and policies as necessary.
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Grading |
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Homework: |
A list of suggested homework
assignments is provided in the Course Schedule. These assignments are there
for your benefit. No textbook assignment will be submitted for grading. |
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Syllabus |
You will begin the course by
taking a quiz over the information and policies laid out in the syllabus.
Although the score on the Syllabus Quiz will not count toward your overall
course grade, you MUST get a perfect score on it before any of the remaining
quizzes in the course will be made available to you. |
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Graded Quizzes: |
There will be eleven, 10-point
quizzes (numbered Quiz 1-Quiz 11) taken online in the
Online Campus CE and must be completed by the deadlines listed in
the Course Schedule. Any Quiz not taken by the specified deadline will be
scored as a zero. Absolutely no make-up Quiz will be offered for any reason.
Each Quiz must be completed within the posted time limit. Unless approved
by the instructor, answers saved after time has expired will not be accepted.
At the end of the semester, the lowest quiz score will be dropped, and
the remaining quiz scores will be used to compute the Quiz Total (QT),
and will constitute approximately one third of your course grade. |
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Graded Exams: |
There will be two, 50-point
tests (labeled Exam 1 and Exam 2) taken online in WebCT
and must be completed by the deadlines listed in the Course Schedule. Any Test not taken by the specified
deadline will be scored as a zero. Absolutely no
make-up Test will be offered for any reason. Each
Test must be completed within the posted time limit. Unless
approved by the instructor, answers saved after time has expired will not
be excepted. Both tests will count.
The lowest test score WILL NOT be dropped.
Exam 1 and Exam 2 will constitute approximately one third
of your course grade. |
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Final Exam: |
A comprehensive, departmental
final exam must be completed on or before the deadline listed in the Course
Schedule. The final exam must be taken online and in person, in an approved
and proctored environment. This includes the testing centers on any CSN or
other university. The final exam is password protected, so only the proctor
will know the password. NO NOTES, BOOKS, OR A CALCULATOR
WILL BE ALLOWED DURING THE FINAL EXAM. If you do not score at least a 50% or more on the final,
you will not pass the course regardless of your grade prior to the final
exam. If the final exam is not taken by the
specified deadline, it will be scored as a zero. Absolutely no make-up
Exam will be offered for any reason. Your final exam score will be scaled
to 100 points, will constitute one third of your course grade.
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Computer |
You are required to enter all
responses using the specified formatting notation indicated in the instructions
for individual questions. Quizzes will be automatically graded by the computer,
which, unfortunately, sometimes fails to recognize alternate forms of correct
answers. Thus, it will be in your best interests to review every Quiz after
it has been graded. If you have an answer you believe was incorrectly
marked wrong by the computer, it is your responsibility to contact the
instructor for a possible adjustment to your score. |
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Extra Credit: |
Absolutely no extra credit work
will be offered in this course. |
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Calculation: |
Course Grade = Quiz Points +
Exam 1 + Exam 2 + Final Exam. (Remember only 10 quizzes will be added to
make up the Quiz Points. Course Grade point totals will be rounded to the
nearest hundredth of a point. |
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Grade Scale: |
A: 270.00-300.00 Points +/- grades will be issued at teacher’s discretion.
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Tips For Success
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Study: |
If you want to succeed in this
course (or any course), you must attempt the assigned and suggested work
in both the textbook and the Course Notes. For each hour of class time,
you should spend an additional two hours studying each week. Since this
is a 3-credit hour course, you should be spending approximately 9 hours
per week studying the material for this course. |
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Don't |
Don't wait until the last minute
to begin a quiz or exam. You are strongly advised to complete each quiz
and exam at least a day or two before the deadline. That way, if you run
into a technical problem, there will be enough time to resolve the issue
before the actual deadline. Remember, no make-up work will be offered,
for any reason. Generally, you will be better off if you stay ahead of the
schedule. |
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Ask for Help: |
If you find yourself falling
behind or become even the slightest bit confused, seek help immediately!
Feel free to call or e-mail your instructor at any time. You should receive
a response within 24-48 hours. Each student receives 12 free hours of tutoring
for each class in which they are registered. The |
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Rework |
Pay close attention to the examples
found in the book and the Course Notes. After reading through them, write
down the problem and try to work it without looking at the book or the
Notes. |
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Connections: |
When doing homework problems,
try to identify the process and point of doing the problem. If all you
do is crunch out numeric answers, you won't get very much from them. Many
homework exercises are intended to enforce the understanding of concepts.
If you can see the intended connections, you may find that you need only
work a few problems before you understand them. |
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Clearly State |
Unless directed otherwise, when
responding to questions, use complete sentences, not phrases. For example,
if the numeric answer to a word problem is 60, simply stating 60 or x
= 60 is insufficient. Instead, state "There are 60 cats in the barn." This
will force you to realize some answers my be incorrect. If you write the
sentence, "There are 13.7 cats in the barn," you should realize 13.7 is
not a valid answer. NOTE: For most of the answers on the
online quizzes and exams, you are not to write complete sentences or include
units of measure. While they may significantly aid in the understanding
of the material, the extra verbiage will cause the computer to mark the
answer incorrect. |
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Check |
Use the book wisely. After completing
an exercise, compare your result with the answer in the book. If the results
are different, try to solve the exercise again. If you believe your answer
to be correct, feel free to ask your instructor, a tutor, a classmate or
a friend. |
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Affirmations: |
Stop saying "I am not good at
math." The more you say it, the more likely you are to fail. Instead, start
telling yourself "I can do this." |
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Work |
Exchange e-mail addresses and
phone numbers with some of your classmates. Working with other students
will be very beneficial. Often, another student can relate to a simple
problem and offer advice. If you can clearly explain how to work a problem
to another student, your own understanding will be greatly enforced. Also,
if you cannot explain how to correctly work a problem, you may find you
may need to work a little harder on some topics If you choose to work on
a quiz together keep in mind that each student's quiz will have different
problems since the questions are randomized by the computer. |
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Make |
Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Everyone, including your instructor, makes a few careless mistakes. Mistakes
are part of the natural learning process. Don't get discouraged by them;
profit by them. Always take the time to review your work and graded quizzes.
The best way to start reducing the number of careless mistakes you make
is to identify the kind of mistakes you are prone to making. That way,
you know what to look for when working future problems. |
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