Precalculus

Professor:	Dr. Douglas Anderson
	Ivers 234D
	299-4453
	andersod@cord.edu

Office Hours: Feel free to stop by my office, Ivers 234D, Tuesday and Thursday 1:00-4:00, or MWF by discovery. If these times are inconvenient, please set up an appointment.

Free Tutoring: The Mathematics Department supports a Precalculus tutor Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights in Ivers 221: Sunday 6:30 PM to 8:30 PM; Tuesday and Thursday nights from 8 PM to 10 PM. The Academic Enhancement Center (AEC) in Lower Level Fjelstad, room B16, also has Math tutors: Sunday through Thursday 7 PM to 9 PM. For more information, visit the AEC homepage, or call 4551.

Core Criteria and Outcomes: As a Core Exploration Course in Mathematics, Math 110K Precalculus meets the following criteria relative to Concordia’s Goals for Liberal Learning (GLL) in our core curriculum, Becoming Responsibly Engaged in the World:

• Emphasize arithmetical, algebraic, geometric, algorithmic, or statistical methods (GLL 1,2,3);
• Develop an understanding of mathematical models such as formulas, graphs, tables, schematics, or algorithms (GLL 2,3,5);
• Incorporate mathematical models and methods to solve problems (GLL 1,2,35).

• Students will demonstrate an understanding of mathematical methods and models.
• Students will represent mathematical information symbolically, visually, and numerically.
• Students will apply mathematical methods and models to solve multi-step problems.

Tips for success in Mathematics: My role as college instructor is to guide you in your learning, but remember that you are ultimately responsible for what you learn. 1. Take your education seriously. As strange as it sounds, a majority of students do not really do this initially. We expect you to put in more time and effort outside the classroom to learn better and more rapidly than in high school. You are being asked to put in reasonable effort outside the classroom to gain expertise. To expect you to spend two hours or more outside of class studying the notes, reading the textbook, and working the problems for every hour inside of class is not unreasonable. 2. The aspiration for learning is much higher in college. In all subjects, professors want you to be able to judge what applies in new situations and carry it out. The subject where that is furthest from most of your high school experience is Mathematics, with the Sciences next. But you are still asked to bridge the gap. For that level of command, you must understand the underlying concepts; it is not "useless theory," but rather the means for deciding what to do in solving problems. It is not adequate to memorize how to do a list of problem types; instead work out a large range of problems to generate experience and judgment. 3. Take your math courses seriously. Despite the fact that you are taking a math course this semester, few of you are actually thinking about a mathematics major. Most of you will, however, need to use mathematics in your science, economics, or other courses, and you will be handicapped if you cannot.

Text: Essentials of Precalculus, by Richard Aufmann and Richard Nation. We will cover through Chapter 5 of this text. As mentioned in the goals above, these chapters provide an introduction to the function concept, focusing on polynomials, exponentials, logarithms, trigonometric functions and their graphs. Some applications may also be included.

Homework: Suggested homework problems for each section are given below for your practice in mastering the material; the answers to all odd-numbered problems and the blue-highlighted even-numbered problems are in the back of the book. You are encouraged to study together outside of class, and to see the precalculus tutor in Ivers 225, but each of you must write up your own solutions to each problem. Each class period (except for exam days) will begin with me collecting the homework consisting of around 5 assigned even-numbered problems listed below (3 points each for a total of 15 points). I will drop your lowest 5 scores, and then your homework grade will be scaled out of 125 points. All students must abide by the college's expectations regarding academic quality, integrity, and honesty.

Exams: Attendance is required for all exams. If you should miss an exam for an emergency you will be allowed to make it up only if you have notified me before the exam and it must be made up in a timely manner (to be discussed with me individually). The dates for exams are given on this syllabus; I will give you at least one week notice if the exam date is to be changed. There will be four 70-minute unit exams, each worth 100 points, and one comprehensive final, worth 125 points. I do not scale the 70-minute exams. Partial credit may be given for incorrect answers but correct reasoning; partial discredit may be given for correct answers but incorrect reasoning. To study for the exams, please look over examples from class and the homework, and work the review problems from the book.

Graphing Calculator: You will want to use a graphing calculator in this course. When you use a graphing calculator to answer a question on either the homework or during a quiz or an exam, you must document the way in which you have used the calculator. Unsupported answers will not receive full credit. Suggested calculators include the TI-83, TI-84, TI-85, or TI-86.

Grading: With a total of 625 points, the course grades will be as follows: