Mathematics
95 Distance Education Course
Fall
2009
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Instructor: |
Christina Hughes Roldan |
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Office: |
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Office Hours: |
Online in our Online Campus Chatroom:
These hours are subject to change.
I will keep you informed. |
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Voicemail: |
(702) 651 - 5687 |
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Fax: |
(702) 651 - 5881 |
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E-mail: |
tina.roldan@csn.edu |
Required Materials:
Text: Beginning and Intermediate Algebra, 4th Edition by Lial, Hornsby, & McGinnis. You may choose to purchase the online version of the textbook (MyMathLab) instead of or in addition to the hardback text.
Internet Access to CSN Online Campus.
Calculator: A scientific calculator
is not required, but is recommended.
Course Description and Prerequisites:
This course is intended to provide a basic foundation in algebra concepts.
It covers the fundamental operations of real numbers, solving of linear
equations and inequalities, absolute value equations and inequalities,
polynomials, exponents, factoring, simple graphing, and word problems.
By the end of the course, you are expected to be able to: work with real numbers, exponents, and polynomial arithmetic; solve linear equations and inequalities; factor polynomials and solve equations by factoring; solve absolute value equations and inequalities; graph liner equations in two variables; apply and extend all concepts.
To enroll in this course, you must have scored appropriately on the CSN Placement Test or
successfully completed a prealgebra course or Math 116 with a grade of C or better. It is assumed that you understand
how to operate positive and negative integers and fractions and how to solve
simple linear equations upon entering this course.
Course Format:
Instruction:
Instead of coming to a traditional classroom for lectures, you will
receive instruction via your textbook and previously taped video lectures. The
videos are optional, so use them as often or as little as you need. Refer to
our quiz and exam schedule below to see what videos you should view each week.
The videos are available for you online or in videotape format. ONLINE FORMAT: The
videos can be viewed online by referring to the following online videolist. VIDEOTAPE FORMAT: For Las Vegas Valley students, copies of the videos are available
at every CSN campus library and at the distance education office (call 651-5619). For students at a rural site, you may obtain copies of the videos from your rural site coordinator.
NOTE: The videos were taped
several years ago when we were using a different text. Do not be alarmed. Though the section numbers and section
titles are different in the videos than in our current text, the content of the
videos still corresponds to the material in our course. Refer to the assigned schedule below to
determine the correct videos you need to be watching each week.
Quizzes and Exams:
In order to help you keep up with the course material, we will be having
weekly quizzes that will be taken via our Online Campus web site. There will also be two
exams and a final to be taken in a designated, proctored testing area. Students in the Las Vegas/Henderson area will take their exams at a CSN testing center. Out-of-state and rural students will take their exams at a rural site with an approved proctor. You can find a more detailed description of the quizzes and
exams below.
MyMathLab:
MyMathLab is special software developed by the publisher for use with our textbook. The purchase of MyMathLab with your textbook is not required, but is encouraged. The MyMathLab website contains an online version of our textbook, worked examples, exercises, practice tests, video clips and more. It is an excellent resource to enhance your learning and understanding of the material in this course.
How You Will Be graded:
You will accumulate points in several areas: discussion forum, online quizzes, two semester exams and a final exam. The total of all the points you earn throughout the semester determines your final grade. There are 1145 points possible in the course. To determine your grade at anytime during the semester, simply divide the amount of points you've earned by the total number possible up to that point. Below is the overall end-of-semester grading scale.
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1048 pts - 1145 pts = 91.5% - 100 % = A
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819 pts - 898 pts = 71.5% - 78.4% = C
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1030 pts - 1047 pts = 90% - 91.4% = A-
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801 pts - 818 pts = 70% - 71.4% = C-
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1013 pts - 1029 pts = 88.5% - 89.9% = B+
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784 pts - 800 pts = 68.5% - 69.9% = D+
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933 pts - 1012 pts = 81.5% - 88.4% = B
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704 pts - 783 pts = 61.5% - 68.4% = D
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916 pts - 932 pts = 80% - 81.4% = B-
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687 pts - 703 pts = 60% - 61.4% = D-
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899 pts - 915 pts = 78.5% - 79.9% = C+
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0 pts - 686 pts = 0% - 59.9% = F
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Withdrawals - If you wish to withdraw from the course (receive a W grade), it is your responsibility to officially drop the course by the drop date listed in the CSN semester calendar.
How You Will Earn Points:
Homework: There are weekly homework assignments
for you to complete. You will not hand in the homework, however you will have a
quiz each week consisting of problems very similar to your homework. For your convenience, a list of
the weekly homework assignments is located on our
class website and also at the end of this syllabus.
Quizzes: You will have weekly homework quizzes throughout the semester. The quizzes are meant to test your knowledge of the material and evaluate whether you've understood your assigned homework. To take your quizzes, simply click on the "Assessments Folder" under the Course Content tab on our class website and follow the instructions. You may use your completed homework problems to assist you on the quizzes, however the quizzes must be your own work.
Notes regarding the quizzes:
~ The Information Quiz and Quiz 0 are practice quizzes only and do NOT count
towards your grade.
~ The Information Quiz must be completed before any remaining quizzes are
released to you.
~ You will have one hour maximum allowed for each graded quiz attempt, unless
otherwise specified. Be prepared when you go to take the quiz.
~ I will NOT accept late quizzes for any reason. Each quiz MUST be completed by the scheduled due date and time.
~ Two Attempts: You may take each graded quiz (Quiz 1 - Quiz 14) twice, with only the highest
score counting as your quiz grade. Remember each attempt must be submitted by the scheduled due date and time.
~ Drop Three Policy: Your three lowest quiz scores will be dropped from your overall semester grade.
~ Each graded quiz is worth 30 points.
*Special Note Concerning Computer
Grading: All our graded quizzes are
automatically graded by the computer, which, unfortunately, sometimes fails to
recognize alternate forms of correct answers. It is up to you to review every quiz after it has been graded. If you
have an answer that you believe was incorrectly marked wrong, it is your
responsibility to contact me, the instructor, for a possible adjustment to your
score. To eliminate most computer
grading errors, be sure to carefully read and follow the quiz instructions before
entering in your quiz answers.
**Special Note Concerning Technical Issues: Computer issues may occur during the semester. Whenever you are unable to resolve a technical issue, please immediately call the CSN computer help desk for assistance, 651-HELP. The hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Computer problems do not excuse you from missing quiz deadlines. See note above - I will not accept late quizzes for any reason. Make sure you allow ample time to complete your weekly online quizzes. Do not wait until the last minute!
Proctored Exams: You will have two proctored exams during the semester, both in paper form. You will be required to come to a PROCTORED TESTING CENTER to take each exam. That is, you will be required to come to a CSN campus testing center or an approved rural or out-of-state site to take each exam. You choose the day and time that you wish to take each exam, as long as it is taken during the designated exam period. Both exams are closed book. NO notes are allowed. Scratch paper and scientific calculators (NO graphing calculators) are permitted. You will have up to 2 hours to complete each exam. NO MAKE UP EXAMS will be given after the designated testing periods, though you may take an exam early with instructor permission. Each semester exam is worth 250 points.
Proctored Final Exam: Your final exam is a cumulative test, in paper form, covering material from the entire course. Like your semester exams, the final exam must be taken in a PROCTORED TESTING CENTER. That is, you will be required to come to a CSN campus testing center or an approved rural or out-of-state site to take the final exam. You choose the day and time that you wish to take the exam, as long as it is taken during the designated exam period. Scratch paper and scientific calculators (NO graphing calculators) are permitted. You may bring a 3 inch by 5 inch note card with you to the final exam, though no other notes or books may be used. You will have up to 2 hours to complete each exam. NO MAKE UP FINAL EXAMS will be given after the designated final exam testing period. The final exam is worth 300 points.
Class Participation: You will be
required to post a discussion forum message at least once during each full month of the semester - September, October, and November. (Messages posted in August will count towards your September posting amd messages posted in December, before Dec. 8th, will count towards your November posting.) The discussion messages must be somehow related
to the course (suggestions include: questions about the class, questions on the
homework, words of encouragement to fellow students, responses to another
student's message, etc.). It will be up to the instructor to determine if your
posting satisfies the requirements for the points. You will earn 5 points for
each required monthly posting. There are 15 total points possible for the discussion forum postings.
Is there any other important information
you should know?
Conduct/Responsibilities:
(1) All work done for this course is to be your
own.
(2) Cheating is forbidden - incidents will be
reported to the Department Chair and/or Academic Dean.
(3) Please use courtesy and respect when
posting discussion forum messages or communicating with fellow students or the
instructor.
(4) You are expected to have read and
understand the current issue of the student handbook, published by Student
Services. The handbook includes all student responsibilities, student rights,
intellectual property policy, information about procedures, and appropriate
student behavior.
Disability Awareness: If you have a documented disability that may require
assistance, you should contact a campus Disability Resource Center. The
Resource Center phone numbers are as follows: West Charleston Campus Disability
Resource Center 651-5089, Cheyenne Campus Disability Resource Center 651-4045,
Henderson Campus Disability Resource Center 651-3086.
Some Tips for Success:
1. Make specific time in your schedule
everyday for quiet study.
2. Stay motivated! Keep up with weekly
lessons, homework, and quizzes.
3. Regularly check your class mailbox. Get
involved in the site's chat room and discuss problems with others enrolled in
the course. Studies have shown
that working together with fellow classmates is very beneficial.
4. Seek help and ask questions. The best way
to reach me is through our website Course Mail Inbox.
5. Use a variety of instructional tools. Every new textbook comes with a handy cd-rom and MyMathLab access which contains valuable supplemental material, including practice tests, additional problems, worked examples, and video clips. Also, I have prepared and posted several online videos to assist in your studies (these can be found under the Course Content tab of our Angel website). All of the above are excellent resources for you!
6. Don't put off your studying till the end
of the week. Procrastinating and leaving your studying for the last minute is a
sure way to not succeed in the course. Spend some time everyday working on your math! Depending on your level of knowledge, you should expect to put no less than 12 hours a week of study in order to be truly successful in this course (some students will need far more time).
7. Visit a CSN campus Math and
8. Keep positive. After a decade of teaching, I have found that the biggest
reason students fail to succeed in math is not lack of ability but rather lack
of self confidence or lack of effort. Don't say "I am not good at
math". Instead say, "I can do this!". Or better yet, "You
know, math is really fun !"
9. Practice, practice, practice!
Fall 2009 Schedule – Quizzes and
Exams
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Quiz or Exam |
Textbook Sections |
Accompanying Videos |
Last Day to Complete |
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Information Survey |
None |
None |
Must be completed before any other quiz is taken |
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Practice Quiz 0 |
Prerequisite Material, Ch. 1
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None |
Tuesday, September 8th - by 9AM (Monday is a holiday, so your quiz will be due on Tuesday morning.)
(no points are awarded for this quiz) |
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1 |
Sections 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 |
Videos 101, 102 |
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2 |
Sections 2.4, 2.5 |
Videos 103, 104 |
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3 |
Section 2.6
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Videos 105, 106 |
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4 |
Section 2.7 |
Videos 107, 108 |
Monday, September 28th- before
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5 |
Sections 2.8, 9.1 |
Videos 222, 223 |
Monday, October 5th - before
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Exam #1 |
Chapter 2 |
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Monday, October 5th through Thursday, October 8th |
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6 |
Sections 9.1, 9.2 |
Videos 223, 224 |
Monday, October 12th - before
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7 |
Sections 3.1, 3.2 |
Videos 201, 202 |
Monday, October 19th - before
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8 |
Sections 4.1, 4.2 |
Videos 109, 111 |
Monday, October 26th - before
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9 |
Sections 4.4, 4.5, 4.6 |
Videos 108, 110 |
Monday, November 2nd - before
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10 |
Sections 4.3, 4.7 |
Videos 112, 113 |
Monday, November 9th - before
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Exam #2 |
Chapters 2, 3, 9, and 4 |
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Monday, November 9th through Friday, November 13th (No exams will be given on Wednesday, November 11th as it is Veteran's Day and CSN is closed.)
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11 |
Sections 5.1, 5.2 |
Videos 114, 115 |
Monday, November 16th - before
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12 |
Sections 5.2, 5.3 |
Videos 115, 116 |
Monday, November 23rd - before
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13 |
Section 5.4, Summary |
Videos 117, 118 |
Monday, November 30th - before
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14 |
Sections 5.5, 5.6 |
Videos 119, 120 |
Monday, December 7th - before
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Final Exam |
Cumulative on all material from course |
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Monday, December 14th through Thursday, December 17th
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Other Assignment Dates
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Assignment |
When to be completed |
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Discussion Forum Posting #1
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Post during the month of August/September |
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Discussion Forum Posting #2
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Post during the month of October |
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Discussion Forum Posting #3
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Post during the month of November/December, prior to Dec. 8th |
Homework Exercises
*The notation odd means do Every
Odd exercise. For example, 1-17(odd) means do 1, 3,
5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 15, 17.
**The notation EOO means do Every
Other Odd exercise. For example,
1-21(EOO) means do 1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21(skipping 3, 7, 11, 15, 19).
***The notation all means do Every exercise. For example, 1-8(all) means do 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8.
Section
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Page
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Exercises
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Chapter 1
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93
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1 - 32(all)
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2.1
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100
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1 - 69(EOO)
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2.2
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106
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1, 5, 9, 11, 19, 21, 23 - 55(EOO), 61,
65, 67, 69, 71
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2.3
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115
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5 - 21(EOO), 23 - 57(odd)
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2.4
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125
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1, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 15, 17, 23, 27, 29,
31, 33, 35, 39, 41, 43, 47 - 55(odd)
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2.5
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137
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1, 5, 7, 9 - 37(EOO), 49, 51, 55, 57, 59,
63 - 83(EOO)
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2.6
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146
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5, 9, 13, 17, 23 - 67(EOO)
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2.7
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157
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7, 9, 13 - 37(odd), 43 - 53(odd)
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2.8
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174
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1 - 37(odd), 41 - 69(EOO), 73 - 76(all),
77, 81, 83
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Exam #1
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Chapter 2
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9.1
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626
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1 - 4(all), 7 - 61(odd)
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9.2
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635
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1 - 17(odd), 21, 25, 31, 33, 35, 39, 45 -
59(odd), |
3.1
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201
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1 - 15(all), 19, 23, 27 - 37(odd), 41 -
64(odd), 73, 75, 77
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3.2
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214
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1, 3, 5, 7 - 16(all), 17 - 57(odd), 63, 65
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4.1
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261
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1 - 4(all), 5 - 23(odd), 25 - 77(EOO),
89, 91
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4.2
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270
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1 - 51(odd), 57 - 77(odd)
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4.4
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289
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1 - 41(odd), 59 - 79(odd)
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4.5
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297
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1 - 61(odd), 65, 71, 75, 77, 81
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4.6
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303
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3 - 19(odd), 25 - 39(odd), 71
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4.3
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278
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1 - 49(odd), 57, 67, 69, 71, 73 |
4.7
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312
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1, 7 - 31(odd), 39, 41, 43, 49, 51, 55, 59
- 65(odd), 71
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Exam #2
|
|
Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 9 (emphasis on
ch. 3, 4 & 9)
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5.1
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334
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1, 3, 5, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23 - 85(odd)
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5.2
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340
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1 - 73(odd)
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5.3
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347
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1 - 87(odd), 91, 93
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5.4
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356
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1, 5 - 57(odd)
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5.5
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366
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6, 7, 9, 11 - 71(odd)
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5.6
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375
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3 - 17(odd), 25 - 31(odd)
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Final Exam
|
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Comprehensive on ALL material in the
course
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Review Exercises
The problems listed below are suggested
review exercises. Do the review exercises as practice for your exams. All
exercises are taken from our course text, Beginning and Intermediate
Algebra, 4th Edition by Lial, Hornsby & McGinnis.
Title
|
Page
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Exercises
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Summary Exercises: Solving Linear
Equations
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117
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1 - 29(all)
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Ch. 2 Review
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183
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1 - 75(odd), 79, 81, 83
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Ch. 2 Test
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188
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1 - 20(all)
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Cumulative Review for Ch. 1 - 2
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189
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13 - 25(all)
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Exam #1
|
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Chapter 2
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Summary Exercises: Solving Linear and
Absolute Value Equations and Inequalities
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639
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1 - 48(all)
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Ch. 9 Review
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651
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1 - 29(odd), 36 - 46(all)
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Ch. 9 Test
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653
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3 - 13(all)
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Cumulative Review for Ch. 1 - 9
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654
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4 - 9(all), 40 - 43(all)
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Ch. 3 Review
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248
|
1 - 15(odd)
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Ch. 3 Test
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251
|
1 - 8(all)
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Cumulative Review for Ch. 1 - 3
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252
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6, 8, 9 - 18(all)
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Summary Exercises: Rules for Exponents
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272
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1 - 43(all)
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Ch. 4 Review
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319
|
1 - 39(odd), 45, 47, 49, 55 - 67(odd)
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Ch. 4 Test
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323
|
1 - 11(all), 13, 14, 16 - 25(all)
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Cumulative Review for Ch. 1 - 4
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324
|
13 - 20(all), 24 - 27(all), |
Exam #2
|
|
Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 9 (emphasis on
ch. 3, 4 & 9)
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Summary Exercises: Factoring
|
359
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1 - 38(all), 40 - 43(all), |
Ch. 5 Review
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385
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1 - 15(odd), 19 - 37(odd), |
Ch. 5 Test
|
389
|
1 - 14(all), 17 - 28(all)
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Cumulative Review for Ch. 1 - 5
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390
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1 - 7(all), 9, 10, 12, 16 - 34(all)
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Final Exam
|
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Comprehensive on ALL material in the
course
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Note: As instructor, I reserve the right to alter or change
this course syllabus as necessary.
If any such change does occur, you will be notified via our Online Campus course
Mailbox.