TEXTBOOK The textbook for this course is Using and Understanding Mathematics: A Quantitative Reasoning Approach, by Jeffrey Bennett and William Briggs.  (This textbook is published by Addison-Wesley.)

TESTS & QUIZZES There will be two tests: a midterm following Chapter 6, and a cumulative final exam at the end of the semester.  These will be departmental, multiple-choice exams.  Additionally, a quiz will be given at the beginning of class each Friday.  (Note: as of April 2, all quizzes are given on Mondays rather than Fridays.  This will continue through the end of the semester.) To receive credit for a correct answer, all work must be shown -- this is true even for the multiple-choice exams (i.e., the midterm and the final).   To be more precise: your work must be neat, organized, and it must show all of the necessary steps to solve the given problem.  You should practice this standard of writing mathematics when doing the homework (see below). With all exams and quizzes, all relevant formulas will be made available.  This allows you to focus on problem-solving rather than memorization. There are no re-tests (or re-quizzes) in Math 55.  If you must miss a test, let me know beforehand, and also provide some written verification for your excuse.  Missed quizzes can not be made up; however, you will be allowed to "drop" your three lowest quiz grades.  Thus, you could miss up to three quizzes without hurting your semester grade.

HOMEWORK Some recommended exercises will be assigned from the textbook.  It is expected that each student will complete all of the recommended exercises.  These exercises will be discussed in class as necessary.  The tests and quizzes will be based on (though not identical to) the recommended homework exercises from each chapter.  As mentioned earlier, you will be expected to clearly show all of your work on tests and quizzes.  When doing homework, it isn't enough to simply get the book's answer; you also will need to practice writing out all of the necessary steps.  If you are not sure that your work is up to this standard, you may turn in your homework to be checked (not graded) for accuracy and completeness. Note: turning in your homework is optional; the homework itself will not be graded.  However, in order to succeed in this (or any other) math course, it is essential that you do all of the recommended exercises.

PARTICIPATION A part of your semester grade will be based on class participation.  This takes into account: attendance, participation in any group activities, attitude, behavior, etc.  As long as you regularly attend class and are not disruptive, you should recieve 100% of the class participation grade.

ATTENDANCE You are expected to attend every class meeting.  If you must miss a class, let me know beforehand if possible, and be sure to find out what you missed that day.  Remember: whether or not you are present, it's your responsibility to be aware of everything that happens in class -- material covered, changes to homework or syllabus, other announcements of any sort, etc.

CALCULATORS The use of calculators is permitted (and often necessary) during quizzes and tests.  A scientific calculator, capable of handling exponents and logarithms, is recommended. While calculators are allowed, be aware that the emphasis in this course is on problem-solving, not button-pushing.  You will be taught how to effectively use your calculator to arrive at accurate solutions.  Usually, this means calculator use should be minimal; i.e., put off until the very last step, whenever possible.  More detailed explanations of effective calculator use will be provided in class.

GRADING Your semester grade will be based on your total out of 500 possible points.  Tests and quizzes will be weighted as follows: midterm (100 points), quizzes (150 points total), final (200 pts), and class participation (50 points). Grades will be assigned based on the following system:   B+:  435-449 C+:  385-399 D+:  335-349 F: < 300 A:  470-500 B:  415-434 C:  365-384 D:  315-334 A-:  450-469 B-:  400-414 C-: 350-364 D-:  300-314

TUTORING Free one-on-one tutoring is available at the Mathematics and Science Resource Center (MSRC) located in room 18 of Curtis Hall (in the basement). The tutoring schedule is posted in room 18.

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Last modified: 4/2/2001
Kurt Ludwick (ludwick@math.temple.edu)