Montgomery College-
Rockville
Department of Mathematics
Spring 2013
Math 115, Mathematical Ideas, CRN 32768
Professor: Rick
Penn
Office: 30
Science West (SW)
(240)
567-5195
Rick.Penn@montgomerycollege.edu
http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/~rpenn
Office Hours: Mondays, 3-4 pm; Wednesdays and Fridays, 10-11 am; or by appointment.
Course Description: Intended primarily for students
who need only one mathematics foundation course, this course includes topics
selected from (but not limited to) graph theory, geometry, number theory,
algebra, combinatorics, and statistics. Students
address topical applications from management sciences, social sciences,
environmental sciences, information technologies, and the arts, with an
emphasis on quantitative reasoning.
Text: Excursions in Modern Mathematics, 7th
edition, by Tannenbaum/Arnold, Prentice Hall,
with MathXL.
Required supplies: You will need a
calculator, but it does not need to
be a graphing calculator. Any calculator
that can handle arithmetic operations and exponents, with parentheses to set
order of operations, will be fine.
Prerequisites: Grade of C or better in MA
097 (Intermediate Algebra) or equivalent, or appropriate score on the Math
Assessment Test, or approval of the professor.
NOTE: If you enrolled and do not
have the prerequisites met, you may be dropped from the class.
Course layout: We will be covering 3 of the 4 parts in the
textbook - “Social Choice”, “Management Science”, and “Shape, Growth, and Form”. Each part consists of 4 loosely related
chapters. We may speed up or slow down
at various times, but we will typically spend approximately 1 week on each
chapter.
Grades: You grade for the course will be based on 5
components:
Ø Quizzes, which will follow each chapter.
I will drop the 1 lowest quiz, and average the
others.
Ø Homework, which will be due weekly. Most
answers will be submitted on MathXL, but I will also
collect work in which you show step-by-step how you arrived at your solutions,
along with explanations in the form of neatly drawn pictures and/or complete
English sentences.
Ø 3 unit tests.
I will
drop the lowest of these 5 grades, and average the other 4 equally. If your average is then 90 or higher, you
will earn an 'A' for the course; 80-89 will earn a 'B'; 70 - 79 a 'C'; 60-69 a
'D'; and 0-59 an 'F'.
Make-up Policy: Late homework will not be accepted, as we
will generally be discussing it the day it is due, and then moving on to new
topics. If you know in advance that you
will miss a quiz or test for a college sponsored activity, religious holiday,
or other similarly unavoidable reason, I will try to make arrangements for you
to take an alternate test before the test day. No make-ups will be
given after the fact for any reason.
In
addition, we will frequently have in class worksheets and other
activities.
If
you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact me as soon as possible
so that you can be prepared for the next class session – do not wait until the next
class meeting to ask for missed work! I will often be able to
e-mail you copies of the missed activities so that you don’t fall even
further behind.
Important dates: February 17
: last day to drop the class (no
‘W’)
April 21: last day to drop the class (receiving a grade
of ‘W’)
Wednesday May 15: final exam:
10:15-12:15
E-mail communications: Communications for this class, when
necessary, will be made via college e-mail.
Be sure to check yours regularly!
Inclement weather and other emergencies
If
inclement weather forces the College or any campus or College facility to
suspend classes or close, public service announcements will be provided to
local radio and television stations as early as possible. You may also call MC
at 240-567-5000 or check the college website www.montgomerycollege.edu to verify MC school
closings. Any exams planned on days
classes are suspended will be administered at the first class meeting once
classes resume. Note that the Montgomery
County Public Schools (MCPS) and Montgomery College do not follow the same
school closing procedures.
In the event class is
unexpectedly cancelled, please check your college e-mail for information and
assignments. I will do my best to keep
class going even if we can’t meet in person.
Math Science Center: Located in 02 Macklin Tower,
this is where you can go to borrow a math book, work in a group study area,
work in a quiet study area, use a computer for a math or science class, borrow
a calculator, or, best of all, get free tutoring. The phone number there is 240-567-5200, and
the hours are: Mon. – Thurs. 8am – 8pm, Fri. 8am – 4pm, Sat.
10am – 3pm. http://www.montgomerycollege.edu/Departments/mathscrv/
Accommodations for Students with Disabilities: Disability
Support Services (240-567-5058)
Any student who may need an accommodation due to a disability, please make an appointment to see me during my office hour. A letter from Disability Support Services (CB122) authorizing your accommodations will be needed. Any student who may need assistance in the event of an emergency evacuation must identify to the Disability Support Services Office; guidelines for emergency evacuations for individuals with disabilities are found at: www.montgomerycollege.edu/dss/evacprocedures.htm
If you are a veteran or on active or reserve status
and you are interested in information regarding opportunities, programs and/or
services, please visit the Combat2College website at www.montgomerycollege.edu/combat2college and/or
contact Joanna Starling at 240-567-7103 or Joanna.starling@montgomerycollege.edu.
Academic Regulations & Student Code of Conduct
All MC students are expected
to follow “Academic Regulations” & “Student Code of Conduct” as described
in the MC Student Handbook. These
regulations and guidelines can be found at: www.montgomerycollege.edu/departments/academicevp/Student_PandP.htm
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I would love nothing better
than to have everyone earn a passing grade, or better yet an 'A'. However, the grades that I give will be those
that are earned, as described above. If you "absolutely, positively, must
pass this class" to graduate / for
your job / to keep your full-time status/ so your dog doesn’t run away / or for
any other reason, the time to think about that is now, not after you have dug yourself into too deep a hole.
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I
expect that when you come to class, you are doing so with the intention of
learning. I will do my part to make the
atmosphere as conducive to learning as possible, and I ask you to do the same. Feel free to ask questions, or to answer questions
for other students. But please keep
unnecessary distractions down, and,
please turn off and put away all cell phones, ipods, etc. before entering class.
Math 115 Learning Outcomes:
|
# |
Upon completion of this
course, a student will be able to: |
|
1. |
Collect
and organize quantitative information and then model a societal, cultural or
management system |
|
2. |
Select
an appropriate mathematical model for a given quantitatively based system and
then analyze properties of the system |
|
3. |
Compare,
contrast, and discuss the limitations of alternate methods of analyzing a
given quantitatively based system |
|
4. |
Use
technology to develop and analyze mathematical models for quantitatively
based systems |
|
5. |
Explain
the difference between exact and approximate algorithms |
|
6. |
Explain
the difference between efficient and inefficient algorithms |
|
7. |
Select
an appropriate algorithm to use on a quantitatively based system |