I.    MATH 1113/08, Precalculus

        KENNESAW STATE UNIVERSITY

        DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS

        Fall, 2002

 

II.     INSTRUCTOR:

        NAME: Sean F. Ellermeyer, Ph.D.

        OFFICE: SC 524

        PHONE: (770) 423-6129

        E-MAIL: sellerme@kennesaw.edu

        URL: http://science.kennesaw.edu/~sellerme

        OFFICE HOURS: Mondays and Wednesdays 2:00-4:00 p.m. and by appointment.

 

III.    REQUIRED TEXTS AND MATERIALS:

            TEXT: Precalculus by Beecher, Penna, and Bittinger

            MATERIALS: TI-83 Graphing Calculator, graph paper, and protractor.

 

IV. CLASS MEETINGS

Class meets on Mondays and Wednesdays, 12:30-1:45 p.m. in CL 1003.

 

V. COURSE DESCRIPTION

            In this course, we will study the material that is needed to begin studying calculus. The main topics will be functions (studied from analytical, graphical, and numerical viewpoints) and trigonometry. Some specific topics to be covered will be quadratic functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, trigonometric functions, and inverse functions. Throughout the course, emphasis will be placed both on learning how to solve problems and on learning how to explain your solutions effectively in writing (use of correct notation, a clearly explained reasoning process, etc.) The prerequisite for this course is a reasonably good understanding of high school algebra.

 

VI. EVALUATION AND GRADING:

Your grade will be determined by your performance on four one-hour in-class exams and a two-hour comprehensive final exam. The probable exam dates are listed below.

 

Exam

Date

Exam 1

September 16

Exam 2

October 14

Exam 3

November 11

Exam 4

December 9

Final Exam

December 16

 

Each of the four one-hour exams will contain six questions and the final exam will contain twelve questions. Each question on each exam will be graded as follows:

·        An award of 10 points means that your solution is mathematically correct (including a correct “final answer”) and that I am easily able to determine the correctness of your solution because it is written in a clearly readable fashion (with good organization, correct notation, etc.)

·        An award of 8 points means that your solution is mathematically correct (probably including a correct “final answer”) but due to some problems with the way your solution is written, I am forced to do some guesswork in determining that the solution is mathematically correct.

·        An award of 5 points means that your solution is not correct but that you have provided a well-written partial solution that demonstrates significant progress toward a correct solution. (In short, 5 points means high partial credit).

·        An award of 2 points means that your solution is not correct but that I am able to determine that you have provided at least the beginnings of a correct solution. (In short, 2 points means low partial credit.)

·        An award of 0 points means that you have not provided enough to receive any partial credit.

Note: “Solution is correct” does not mean the same thing as “Answer is correct”. It is possible to get the correct answer to a question via an incorrect solution process. Thus it is possible, for example, to get 0 points on a question even if the correct “final answer” is obtained.

Your grade on each exam will be the average of the points that you earned on the exam multiplied by 10 and rounded to the nearest integer. Thus a perfect score on any exam is 100 points. All of the exams (including the final exam) will be weighted equally in computing your final grade. However, the lowest of the Exam 1-4 grades will be replaced with the final exam grade (only if the final exam grade is higher) before computing the final grade. Letter grades at the end of the quarter will be assigned according to the following scheme:

Final Average

Letter Grade

80-100

A

60-79

B

40-59

C

20-39

D

0-19

F

 

There will be no make-up exams given for any reason. If you miss an exam for some legitimate reason such as illness, you must supply an official written excuse (such as a doctor’s letter or police report) stating that you were not able to be in class on the day of the exam. If you are officially excused from an exam, your grade for that exam will be based on your performance on the portion of the final exam devoted to the material on the exam that you missed. If you miss an exam and have no official excuse, you will be given a zero for the missed exam. (Note: Going on vacation is not considered a legitimate excuse for missing an exam.)

 

VII.            ACADEMIC HONESTY: 

       Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct, as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials, misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal, retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary Program, which includes either an "informal" resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement.

If you cheat in any way in this course (such as looking at another person’s paper during an exam), you should expect to receive a minimum sanction of a grade of F for the course.

 

VIII.     ATTENDANCE:

            Attendance in class is highly recommended. If you must miss a class due to some unavoidable problem, it is your responsibility to obtain any notes, homework assignments, and/or announcements that were given in class on the day that you missed.

 

IX.    COURSE OUTLINE:

 

August 26

            What is a Function?

August 28

What is a Function? And Transformations of Functions

September 4

            Transformations of Functions

September 9

            2.3 – Quadratic Equations, Functions, and Models

September 11

            2.4 – Analyzing Graphs of Quadratic Functions

September 16

            Wrap-up and Review

September 18

            Exam 1

September 23

            4.1 – Composite and Inverse Functions

September 25

4.2 – Exponential Functions and Graphs

September 30

            4.3 – Logarithmic Functions and Graphs

October 2

            4.4 – Properties of Logarithmic Functions

October 7

            4.5 – Solving Exponential and Logarithmic Equations

            4.6 - Applications and Models: Growth and Decay

October 9

            Wrap-up and Review

October 14

            Exam 2

October 16

            5.1 – Trigonometric Functions of Acute Angles

October 21

            5.2 – Applications of Right Triangles

October 23

            5.3 – Trigonometric Functions of Any Angle

October 28

            5.4 – Radians, Arc Length, and Angular Speed

October 30

            5.5 – Circular Functions: Graphs and Properties

November 4

            5.6 – Graphs of Transformed Sine and Cosine Functions

November 6

            Wrap-up and Review

November 11

            Exam 3

November 13

            6.1 – Identities: Pythagorean and Sum and Difference

November 18

            6.2 – Identities: Cofunction, Double Angle, and Half Angle

November 20

            6.3 – Proving Trigonometric Identities

November 25

            6.4 – Inverses of the Trigonometric Functions

December 2

            6.5 – Solving Trigonometric Equations

December 4

            Wrap-up and Review

December 9

            Exam 4

December 11

            Wrap-up and Review

December 16

            Final Exam

 

Note: The above schedule of topics is subject to change.