Office Hours

Note: These are "official" office hours. Please don't be afraid to stop me and ask me a question whenver you spot me on campus. For example, after class might be a good time to ask a question or two.

Office Location and Phone

Email

Textbooks

• Precalculus Enhanced with Graphing Utilities, Sullivan and Sullivan, Prentice Hall
• There is a CD that accompanies the text which provides access to the Integrated Learning Environment on Prentice Hall's website.

Tutorial Opportunities

• Math 099 Graphing Calculator Assistance
• This course is designed to provided extra assistance in using your graphing calculator effectively in current and future courses. Contact the instructor, Stuart Moskowitz, for further details.
• CRN: 43632
• House 54, Room 1
• Tuesday: 2-5:30
• Wednesday: 10:00-1:00
• Thursday: 1:30-3:30
• Math 099 Tutoring for Math 115
• Drop in tutoring lab for Math 115 students.
• CRN: 42734
• MTW: 8am - 6pm
• Th: 8am - 3:30 pm
• F: 8am - 3pm
• Sat: Closed
• Sun: 4pm - 6pm
• This is a credit only course. No grade will be administered.
• Credit from this course does not count toward any graduation requirement. However, credit for this course counts in all other situations: financial aid, veterans' benefits, etc.
• Videos
• There is a collection of videos that are keyed to the sections of our textbook on reserve in the library.  There are also videos on reserve that explain how to use the TI-83 and TI-86 calculators.

Graphing Calculators

Instructor Recommendations:

I won't be able to demonstrate the use of all calculators during classtime, but will be happy to help you with your particular calculator both before and after class. If you feel that you will need extra help learning your calculator, then you should consider enrolling in Stuart Moskowitz's course. He is an expert in using the TI calculators and does a great job teaching others to use them as well.

Future Calculator Needs

Students majoring in math, science, and engineering will eventually need a calculator that is more powerful than the TI-83. Because graphing calculators are expensive, students often ask whether they should purchase the more powerful calculator and avoid another calculator expense in the future. We advise agains this for two reasons:

1. The TI-89, TI-92, and HP49G calculators are a bit more difficult to use.
2. The TI-83 will be the calculator that is used in your text and in classroom demonstrations. It will be much easier for you to follow along if you have the TI-83.

Classroom Materials

• You will need a good pencil, eraser, and plenty of notebook paper for your assignments.
• You need a clear plastic straightedge, something that you can easily see through when creating graphs.
• You will need a lot of graph paper, so I suggest that you search for good bargins. However, I would like to recommend engineering graph paper. Engineering graph paper is a light colored green paper with dark gridlines on one side. The flip side has no grid lines, but because of the dark gridlines underneath, you can easily seem them through the paper and use this second side for graphing. The light side is particularly nice for combining both calculations and graphs. In addition, engineering graph paper adopts a strategy of using a heavier line for every fifth gridline, which makes counting easier, saving the user time on both homework and examinations. I strongly recommend the use of this paper. It's more expensive, but in many cases it is well worth the price.

Homework

Homework Collection Policy

Formatting Your Homework

• Show your work. Homework assignments that show answers but no supporting work will not receive full credit, if any at all.
• Place your name at the top of your homework assignment.
• If you have more than one page, staple your pages in order, placing a staple in the upper left-hand corner of your assignment.
• On the first line of your homework assignment, place the assignment number (see the the homework summary), the page numbers of the assignment, and the problem numbers. For example, Assignment #1, Page 103: #3-5, 7, 9, 11, 15, 21, 27, 28, 31, 39, 42, 43, 73, 75, 77, 81, 83, 85, 86.
• If you are tearing pages from a spiral notebook, please use a scissors or paper cutter to trim the perforated edges.

Late Homework Policy

Grading the Homework

• Homework Weight: Homework will be graded and will count the equivalent of one exam in the final grading process.
• The 75% Rule: Suppose that I collect 40 assignments on the semester. Then 75% of 40 is 30. I will select your top 30 homework scores and divide by 300 (thirty assignments at 10 points apiece). I will calculate your percentage by dividing your total points by 300 and I will then assign a letter grade based on the following scale.

Note: If I only collect 36 assignments, then 75% of 36 is 27. I will sum your top 27 scores, then divide by 270 and assign a letter grade based on the scale indicated above.

Examinations

Makeup Exam Policy

Final Examination

There is one very important benefit and reminder regarding the final examination:

1. If your final exam score is higher than your lowest test score, I will replace your lowest test score with your final exam score.

Grades

A Grading Example

• Exam Scores: C, C, B, B
• Homework: A
• Final Exam: B

You have a total of 17 grade points. Because there are 6 scores, your grade point average is 17/6 (approximately 2.83). This particular student GPA (2.83) would only earn a C in the class.

Adjusting for the Final Exam

The grade points now total 18. The average is 18/6 (approximately 3.0), good enough for an B in the class.

Final Grades.