College Algebra Online - Spring 2013 - Syllabus

Instructor: Michael Sakowski
Office: Room W2846

LSC Office Hours (In Room W2872): Tuesday & Thursday 10:00 - 12:00 or by appointment
This would be a good time to call to get help over the phone, Also, you may Email me at any time. If you have homework questions, also make use of the Discussions "Ask or Answer a Question" topic.

Online Office Hours: You may email me any time day or night, however, I will set aside Wednesday 10AM-Noon and Friday 10AM-Noon as "Online Office Hours" . At other times I will always try to reply to emails within a day during the week and within two days on the weekend.

Phone: 218-733-5992 or toll-free @ 1-800-432-2884 (Call during regular LSC Office Hours for help with your homework)

Email: Via course email or m.sakowski@lsc.edu

Text: College Algebra and Trigonometry by Aufmann, Barker & Nation, 7th Edition Trigonometry - ISBN 9781111292850, available at LSC Bookstore.

Calculator: Scientific Calculator is required. A graphing calculator is helpful but may not be used on Midterm or Final Exams.

Grading:
1 Midterm - 200 points total
13 five-point Online Quizzes Using the Course Quiz Tool - 65 points
13 five-point Assignments Submitted to Drop Box - 65 points
2 Homework Sets (Paper) - 40 points total (20 pts each)
Discussions Participation - 39 points total (3 pts/unit)
Final - 200 points

Grades based on a percentage of final points:
A - >90%
B - 80 - 89 %
C - 70 - 79 %
D - 60 - 69 %
F - <60 %

Basically, you have to do 5 things for this course:

  1. Do assigned homework from the text book (with paper and pencil) and submit it when you take the Midterm Exam and then again when you take the Final Exam. A 20% late penalty will be assessed if you submit this homework late. Again, you will only be submitting at the time of the Midterm and again at the time of the Final.
  2. Take Online Quizzes using the Quiz Tool. To take these quizzes, simply click on Quizzes in the menu on the Lake Superior Connect Course Page. There is a 50% late penalty for late quizzes.
  3. Take Dropbox Assignments and submit to the dropbox. To take these assignments, go to this Dropbox Assignments Page. You should bookmark this page. There is a 50% late penalty for late drop box assignments.
  4. Click on the Lake Superior Connect course page menu button Discussions and post or reply to someone else's post in the topics posted as being due. Only one post/reply total is required for each unit. Also, this is a great place to get help as I check on these Discussions and answer questions frequently. Make use of the Ask or Answer a Question topics to ask your own questions. No Late Discussions Accepted!
  5. Take a Midterm Exam at LSC or an approved proctored location and take a Final Exam at LSC or an approved proctored location. The Midterm and Final will consist of a subset of problems similar or identical to the assigned homework. The Midterm will cover all sections that are outlined in the course Course Schedule Page up to the time of Midterm and is comprehensive. The Final will be somewhat comprehensive - a Final Exam study guide will be provided that outlines all sections tested. Go to http://www.mnonline.mnscu.edu/student/proctoring.html to find proctors in your area. Contact me about other proctor arrangements - all proctor arrangements must be approved by me in advance. Other than the proctors listed on the site, good candidates for proctors are full-time staff at educational institutions (including K-12) and libraries.
  • Important Note About 1 More Thing To Do: Stay up to date in this class! If you miss 2 weeks (14 days) of class, I am required to give you an FN grade. Simply logging in does not qualify as attending - you must complete a class activity for points! See The LSC Policy On Attendance Here.

Go to this Course Schedule Page for due dates on these 4 items. You should bookmark this page and also print it out!

Resources To Help You Succeed

  • Content Files - These are the content pages that are found on your Course Schedule Page that you can read online, print, or save to your computer.
  • Khanacademy Videos (Free!) at http://www.khanacademy.org/
  • MathTV.com - this features free video lessons.
  • Discussions at Lake Superior Connect course page - As part of the weekly requirement for posting, you can post your question in "Ask or Answer a Question" - this counts for your required post.
  • Graphmatica and Graphcalc - Shareware and freeware graphing software you can use to graph functions.
  • SMARTHINKING ONLINE TUTORING - Up To 15 Hours Free Per Semester!
  • Free Tutoring at Lake Superior College (Face to face tutoring)
  • Other Online Resources such as PurpleMath - This is a GREAT Site - and Free!

Course Outcomes:
Students will be able to achieve the following outcomes:

1. set up a mathematical model of a given situation and use given data to evaluate this model
2. solve linear, quadratic, and special form polynomial equations *Solve equations containing absolute value
3. solve linear and non-linear inequalities
4. solve equations containing exponential and logarithmic expressions
5. review solving equations containing radicals and rational expressions
6. use function notation and evaluate functions
7. combine functions with arithmetic operations
8. evaluate compositions of functions and write a given function as the composition of two other functions
9. find and graph inverse functions and identify intervals for which functions are one-to-one
10. graph linear, polynomial, rational, logarithmic, and exponential functions
11. use function translation rules; rules for symmetry when graphing functions
12. sketch the graphs of conic sections centered at (0,0)
13. find all zeroes of polynomial functions
14. find the vertex of quadratic functions
15. sketch the graphs of polynomial functions
16. perform polynomial division
17. completely factor polynomial functions
18. use exponential and logarithmic functions to model real-life situations
19. evaluate exponential and logarithmic expressions
20. write exponential equations in logarithmic from and write logarithmic equations in exponential form
21. use properties of logarithms to simplify logarithmic expressions and to solve equations containing exponential and logarithmic terms
22. sketch the graphs of conic sections that are not centered at (0,0)

Methods of assessment include tests, quizzes, and interactive online assignments.

Academic Dishonesty:  Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated!  Occurrences of academic dishonesty occurring during midterm and final exams may be reported to the Dean and/or a failing grade for the course may result.  You may get help when working on assigned homework and weekly quizzes but you should complete the quiz or assignment in your own words and using your own work. If I see that your quiz or homework is a carbon copy of another students homework or quiz, I may ask you to redo the homework or quiz. You must do your own work on the midterm and final exams.  When taking the midterm and final exam you should bring some form of picture ID and be prepared to show it.

Other Student Responsibilities:

1. Students may be required to participate in college-wide assessment activities as part of this course. Such activities may include course or instructor evaluations, testing or special assignments.

2. Students with disabilities who may need an accommodation in this class are encouraged to contact Georgia Robillard, Disability Coordinator at 733-7650, S1911, g.robillard@lsc.edu as soon as possible to ensure that accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion.

3. Any charges of academic misconduct will be brought to the attention of the student and disciplinary actions will be taken. See the Lake Superior College Student Code of Conduct, Policy III.6, Part 8 for further details.

4. Non-attendance Policy Students are expected to attend classes regularly and are advised to officially withdraw from courses if they should stop attending. The College's Non-attendance Policy requires instructors to report students who are not attending class(es), resulting in the automatic issuing of an "FN" (failure for non-attendance) grade and re-evaluation and possible repayment of financial aid. Please refer to the LSC Policy 3.17.4 for additional information at This Link .

This document can be made available in alternative formats by contacting Disability Services, E2114, at 218-733-7650 (voice) or 218-722-6893 (TTY).