Contemporary Mathematics I Syllabus for 2013-2014
Return to Syllabus List

Instructor Information

Office Location

Engineering 201D

Office Hours

Unless I am in a meeting, my office hours for Fall 2015 will be:

10:30 – 11:50 a.m. MW

1:30 – 2:00 p.m. MW

2:50 – 4:10 p.m. T

Other days and times by appointment are also fine. (For your convenience, making an appointment with me is always best. E-mail me, or call me, and we’ll set up a time!)

Additional Contacts:

Collin Witherspoon, Math, Science, & Engineering Department Chair

Office: ENGR-205B Phone: 371-5142 Email: ccwitherspoon@actx.edu

Course Information

Recording Policy

Disability Statement

Any student who, because of a disabling condition, may require some special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should contact disAbility Services (Student Service Center room 119, phone 371-5436) as soon as possible.

Statement for Mental Health and Advocacy & Resource Center:

As a student you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning, such as strained relationships, increased anxiety, alcohol/drug problems, feeling down, difficulty concentrating and/or lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce a student's ability to participate in daily activities. Amarillo College offers services to assist you with addressing these and other concerns you may be experiencing. If you or someone you know are suffering from any of the aforementioned conditions, you can learn more about the broad range of confidential mental health services available on campus by calling the AC Counseling Center at 806-371-5900. The AC Counseling Center website is https://www.actx.edu/counseling/ . Also, if you are in need of social services (affordable housing, utilities, transportation, food, clothing, childcare, medical/dental/vision, legal), please call the AC Advocacy & Resource Center at 806-371-5439. The AC Advocacy & Resource Center website is https://www.actx.edu/arc

Amarillo College Tutoring for Success Policy:

Administrative Drop Policy

N/A

Student Withdrawal Procedures

N/A

Privacy Statement

The Amarillo College Privacy Policy is found at https://www.actx.edu/-amarillo-college-privacy-notice , and applies to all Amarillo College students. If you have questions about this privacy statement or you believe that your personal information has been released without your consent, send email to humanresources@actx.edu .

Course

MATH-1332-003 Contemporary Mathematics I

Prerequisites

MATH 0303-minimum grade of C, an Accuplacer score of 75, a THEA score of 270, an equivalent score on a state-approved test or Department Chair consent

Course Description

Logic; sets and counting; metric system; probability; statistics; geometry; math of finance; and exponential and logarithmic functions.

Student Resources Student Resources Website

Department Expectations

Occupational License Disclaimer

Hours

(3 sem hrs; 3 lec)

Class Type

On Campus Course

Syllabus Information

Textbooks

\ Thinking Mathematically, Fifth Edition. Author: Robert Blitzer, Pearson Education, Inc.

Supplies

\ Thinking Mathematically, Fifth Edition. Author: Robert Blitzer, Pearson Education, Inc.
\ TI-83, TI-83 Plus, TI-84, or TI-84 plus graphing calculator (no TI-89’s or TI-92’s)

\ Blue-li

Student Performance

After completing this course, the student will be able to demonstrate knowledge of the following topics as evaluated by the faculty in the department/program:

Investigate and apply sets and set operations, Venn diagrams, and combinatorics.
Demonstrate an understanding of basic terms and rules, independent and conditional probability.
Interpret population, sample, and data, measures of central tendency, measures of dispersion, and normal distribution.
Correct application of deductive and inductive reasoning, symbolic logic, conditionals, and truth tables.
Review exponential and logarithmic functions, properties of logarithms, and investigate their applications in exponential growth and decay.
Compute and evaluate perimeter, area, volume, and surface areas.
Evaluate simple interest, compound interest, annuities, amortized loans, and annual percentage rate.

Students Rights and Responsibilities

Student Rights and Responsibilities

Log in using the AC Connect Portal

In order to receive your AC Connect Email, you must log in through AC Connect at https://acconnect.actx.edu .

If you are an active staff or faculty member according to Human Resources, use "Exchange". All other students, use "AC Connect (Google) Email".

Expected Student Behavior

Math & Engineering Department Behavior Policy:

Students are expected to behave in the classroom in a manner that is supportive of the learning environment. Behaviors that are not supportive include, but are not limited to: tardiness/leaving early; electronic device noises; talking during the lecture; abusive, offensive, and/or disrespectful language or demeanor toward AC faculty, staff, students, and/or Amarillo College property.

The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board sets the topics that must be covered in order to receive credit for a course. The instructor sets the pace to ensure that these requirements are met. Complaining about the pace will not result in less material being covered. :) Any student having trouble maintaining the pace should seek extra help from the instructor and / or a tutor.

Students who fail to comply with the standards outlined in the syllabus and/or AC’s Student Rights & Responsibilities document will be subject to disciplinary action which may include, but is not limited to: removal from the classroom; consultation with the Math & Engineering Department Chair and/or other AC authority; withdrawal from the course and/or Amarillo College.

Cheating/Plagiarism/Academic Dishonesty Policy:

Cheating/plagiarism/academic dishonesty, whether it is on homework assignments or on tests, cannot be tolerated in any math course at Amarillo College. A student who plagiarizes or cheats (or attempts to plagiarize or cheat) on any homework assignment or on any test in this course will receive an automatic “F” in the course. Such academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, the illegal use of books, notes, calculators, cell phones, and/or copying on any test or any course assignment. Cheating also includes helping, or attempting to help, other students to cheat on a test or any course assignment. Please refer to the “Student Rights and Responsibilities” document on AC’s website for more information on this issue, and feel free to ask me about any questions you have on any of these policies.

Food/Drink Policy AND Cell Phone/Pager Policy:

It is the policy of the Mathematics & Engineering Department that food and drink may be allowed in the classroom setting, at the instructor’s discretion, but food and drink are not allowed at any time in the computer labs.

It is the policy of the Mathematics & Engineering Department that cell phones and pagers should be turned off, or in silent mode, in the classrooms and in the computer labs. If you must have your cell phone on in class, due to a true emergency situation, please step out into the hallway immediately with your phone, without talking, to minimize the disruption to the class and/or to the other students.

Grading Criteria

Homework

At the end of each class, I will assign homework problems from the problems given in the book. These problems will be listed on your separate “Homework Assignment Sheet.” That assignment will be due at the BEGINNING of the next class. Late homework will only be accepted for a particular section of homework before the major exam covering the material in that section is given. Also, I will accept a maximum of TWO late homework assignments only on the day that the test is given covering that homework sections’ material. When I calculate the homework grade, I will drop some problems from the total number of problems assigned. So, if you do not turn in a few problems, you can still receive a grade of “100” for your homework grade. The highest grade you may receive for your homework average is “100.” Please see your “Homework Assignment Sheet” for additional instructions on using the correct format on your homework assignments.

Tests

There will be 4 major exams during the semester and a mandatory comprehensive final exam at the end of the semester.
If you know in advance that you will be gone during the date assigned for one of the exams, it is YOUR responsibility to make arrangements with your instructor to take the exam EARLY in the Math Testing Lab. Make-up tests will not be given in this course.
If you miss one of the 4 major exams, that grade will be replaced with the score you make on the final exam. This policy applies to one test only. If you miss more than one test, a grade of zero will be averaged for the other missed test(s).
If you do not miss any major exam during the semester (good for you!), the score you make on the mandatory final exam, if it is higher, will replace your lowest test grade.
Students testing through DisAbility Services are responsible for making arrangements with the instructor for each test taken over there.
Please refer to your “Lecture & Suggested Test Schedule” in your syllabus for the test dates and the final exam time. If we need to adjust a major exam date, we will make note of it on this schedule during class. I will also announce it in Blackboard. Another reason class attendance is so important. :)

Final Examination:

The mandatory comprehensive final exam for this course will be given, in our regular classroom, on:

Math 1332 - 003: Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) to 2:00 p.m. (No late finals accepted!)

(Please note: This exam time, along with all the other final exam times, is listed on the AC Website with up-to-date final exam information.)

Grading Policy

The final course grades of A (90-100), B (80-89), C (70-79), D (60-69), and F (below 60) will be computed as the mean (average) of the earned grades (plus or minus your attendance points) from:

Your homework average = 1/6
Your 4 major test grades = 4 * 1/6 each = a total of 4/6 = 2/3
Your final exam grade = 1/6

Attendance

Attendance Policy:

Regular attendance is necessary to learn the material. Therefore, it is your responsibility to attend class and be on time for the daily attendance check. Signing in on the attendance sheet is your responsibility to prove you attended a specific class. Nonattendance will be recorded as an absence, and no differentiation will be made as to excused or unexcused absences. The following policy applies to classes meeting 2 days a week for 16 weeks:

If you have perfect attendance, you will have earned an extra two points being added to your final average. Yippee!
If you miss 1 to 3 classes, there will be no change in your final average.
If you miss 4 to 5 classes, one point will be deducted from your final average.
If you miss 6 or more classes, three points will be deducted from your final average

Please be honest about your attendance. If you sign the attendance sheet and then leave class early without my permission, you will be given an absence for that day. Moreover, a student who signs in for another absent student will be given an absence as well for that particular day. (An important drop date note is below.)

NOTE: Please remember that the last day to drop any 16-week class at AC during the Fall 2013 Semester is Wednesday, November 20, 2013. This date is published in the school year calendar in WebAdvisor on the Amarillo College Website. If you stop attending class, and your average drops below a “60” due to missed assignments, and you do not officially drop the course by this deadline, you will receive an “F” for the course.

Calendar

MATH 1332 - 003

CONTEMPORARY MATHEMATICS

Lecture and Suggested Test Schedule

Fall 2013

12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. TR

NOTE: This schedule (including the Test Dates) is subject to numerous changes without advance notice, so you always need to come to class to stay informed of updates as they occur. ***I also post updated announcements in Blackboard, so please check it (and your email) regularly to stay informed of what’s going on in class.

DATE	ASSIGNMENT	INFORMATION
Tuesday, August 27	Orientation, 1.1
Thursday, August 29	2.1, 2.2
Friday, August 30		Last Day to Receive 100% Refund
Monday, September 2	No Classes	Labor Day Holiday—College Closed
Tuesday, September 3	2.2, 2.3
Thursday, September 5	2.4, 2.5
Tuesday, September 10	2.5, 3.1
Wednesday, September 11		Census Day (Dropped course won’t appear on transcript)
Thursday, September 12	3.1, 3.2
Monday, September 16		Last Day to Receive 70% Refund
Tuesday, September 17	Test # 1	Test #1 covers 1.1 – 2.5
Thursday, September 19	3.2, 3.3
Monday, September 23		Last Day to Receive 25% Refund
Tuesday, September 24	3.3, 3.4
Thursday, September 26	3.7
Tuesday, October 1	7.6
Thursday, October 3	Test # 2	Test #2 covers 3.1 – 3.7
Tuesday, October 8	8.1
Thursday, October 10	8.2, 8.3
Tuesday, October 15	8.4
Thursday, October 17	8.5
Tuesday, October 22	9.1, 9.2
Thursday, October 24	Test #3	Test #3 covers 7.6 – 8.5
Tuesday, October 29	9.2, 9.3
Thursday, October 31	10.3, 10.4
Tuesday, November 5	10.4, 10.5
Thursday, November 7	11.1, 11.2
Tuesday, November 12	11.2, 11.3
Thursday, November 14	Test #4	Test #4 covers 9.1 – 11.1
Tuesday, November 19	11.4, 11.5
Wednesday, November 20	*Last chance!*	Last Day to Drop a 16-Week Class & Receive a Grade of “W”
Thursday, November 21	12.1, 12.2
Tuesday, November 26	12.2, 12.3
Thursday, November 28	No Classes	Thanksgiving Holiday :)
Friday, November 29	No Classes	College Closed
Tuesday, December 3	Review	Last Day to Turn in Homework!
Thursday, December 5	Review	Last regular class day for our class
Monday, December 9	No regular classes	Final Exams begin (Check the AC web page for the final exam schedule.)
Thursday, December 12	12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.	Contemporary Math Final Exam! (We’ll meet in this classroom for the final exam.)
Friday, December 13	High noon	Final Course Grades Due
Saturday, December 14	10:00 a.m.	Commencement

Additional Information

Free Help:

If you feel yourself getting behind in class or having problems with certain concepts covered, get help immediately. It is YOUR responsibility to get help outside of class.

The following are a few ways to get FREE help outside of class:

Contact your instructor to make an appointment for help.
Get free tutoring from the Outreach Center (Durrett Bldg., Room 104, 371-5119). You will need your Amarillo College ID card to sign in. Hours: 8:00 a.m.- 8:00 p.m. MTWR, 8:00 a.m.- 2:00 p.m. Friday, and 9:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m. Saturday. Closed on Sunday.
Get free one-on-one tutoring for other classes from Charlotte Goebel at 371-5432 (Lynn Library basement, office 011)
If you need help with AC Connect, you can contact the AC Help Center at 371-5000, or via email at AskAC@actx.edu.
Smarthinking is free online tutoring that Amarillo College makes available to currently enrolled students. Professional tutors are available for mathematics (Basic Math through Calculus, including Bilingual Math), Biology, Intro to Human A & P, Chemistry, Organic Chemistry, Physics, Economics, Accounting, Intro to Finance, Statistics, Spanish, and Writing. Tutoring is available up to 24/7.

With Smarthinking you can:

chat with a live tutor
submit your writing for any class and receive a critique in 24 hours
email a question and receive a reply from a tutor.

To get started:

Go to http://www.actx.edu and click on AC Connect on the left side of the screen.
Log into your account using your ACNetID and Password.
Click on one of your classes.
Click on the My Institution tab at the top right to navigate to the SMARTHINKING sign-in area.
On your first visit, Create an Account. The next time you use SMARTHINKING, just log on with your username and password.

**Please note that going to the Outreach Center is NOT a substitute for attending class! You must attend each class to begin learning the material and to avoid losing attendance points. The Outreach Center is designed to support your studying for tests, as the place to go to check your homework answers in my solution notebook, and to get clarification, outside of my office hours, of difficult concepts you have already seen in class.

A Final Note:

This course can be stressful for many students, primarily because of the volume of material we need to cover. (Let’s work on reducing everyone’s stress level in general.) Please don’t feel overwhelmed—I am here to help you, and you can be here to help each other as well. If you have a problem, please bring it to me, or to the group, so that we can work together to solve it. You can succeed in Contemporary Mathematics if you will make the commitment of effort and time. :)

Syllabus Created on:

11/30/-1 12:00 AM

Last Edited on: