| Math 368-1 |
Course Policy |
Summer I 2008 |
Last modified Jun 8, 2008
Course Web site:
http://math.arizona.edu/~laetsch/368082/ 
INSTRUCTOR:
- Dr. Ted Laetsch
- Office: Room 205, Math Building
- Phone: 621-6860
- email: laetsch@math.arizona.edu
For quick access to some of the information below, click on the following
links:
OFFICE HOURS/DISCUSSION TIMES: To be announced on course website.
Please feel free to ask for an appointment at any reasonable time, or, if
you want to take the chance, just stop by my office and see if I'm
there.
TEXTBOOK: An Introduction to the Mathematics of Money by
Lovelock, Mendel, and Wright.
PREREQUISITE: The prerequisite for this coure is Math 129 (i.e., one
year of calculus). Students who do not have credit in Math 129 or its
equivalent may be administratively dropped from the course.
INTERNET ACCESS: Students are assumed to have access to email
and to the internet, both of which will be used to distribute and to post
course information. Email should be checked daily. Students are reponsible
for being aware of all material on the course website and all
announcements made by email.
Please send me (by
email ) your email address.
(Note: Some of the links given on the online version of this
policy may not be active or MAY NOT BE CORRECT immediately, but they should
all become operational before the second week of classes.)
COURSE CONTENT: We will proceed through the textbook in a leisurely
fashion, covering as much material as we can in a careful way.
- Since this is a mathematics course, we will do some proofs;
in particular, you will be expected to be able to use the Principle of
Mathematical Induction to do some simple proofs. This idea will be
discussed in class.
- On the other hand, there will also be a great emphasis on problem
solving (with numbers), and you will expected to be able to solve most
of the problems in the problem sets in the textbook.
ATTENDANCE/ABSENCE POLICY:
Students who miss the first two or three days may be administratively
dropped, and also students with many absences during the first two weeks of
class (e.g., more than 3 classes, together with missed homework or exams)
may be administratively dropped. This applies also to students who are
auditing the course. Students who miss an exam and do not attempt to
arrange a make-up exam may be administratively dropped. (See University
Administrative Drop Policy.) It is highly unlikely that you can keep up
with the material in the course if you miss class.
All holidays or special events observed by organized religions will be
honored for those students who show affiliation with that particular
religion. Absences pre-approved by the UA Dean of Students (or Dean's
designee) will be excused. Since attendance is not required, this will be
an issue only in connection with examinations, and with sufficient notice
to the instructor, exams can be scheduled to avoid any conflicts.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: If you anticipate issues related to the
format or requirements of this course, please meet with me to discuss ways
to ensure your full participation in the course. If you determine that
formal, disability-related accommodations are necessary, it is very
important that you be registered with Disability Resources (621-3268) and
notify me of your eligibility for reasonable accommodations. We can then
plan how best to coordinate your accommodations.
HOMEWORK: Problems will be assigned regularly and you will be asked
to turn in some or all of them to be graded and/or given quizzes over the
assigned material. Although consultation among students is
encouraged, the work turned in should not be a copy of someone else's
work. More information on Homework is or will be online at Homework Policy, Homework Writing Policy, and Homework Format.
CAVEAT EMPTOR: It is not guaranteed that I will catch all the
mistakes you make when I grade your papers. Your making an egregious error
which I accidentally overlook is NOT necessarily an excuse for making the
same error on the exams.
EXAMS/GRADING POLICY: There will be three
“midterm” exams and a comprehensive Final Examination. See Exam Guidelines for more information on how to
write your exams. Make-up
exams will be given at the instructor's discretion and only if an exam
is missed for a valid, serious reason. You must notify me of the need to miss an
exam as soon as possible. See below for information on withdrawals and incompletes.
The exams assume familiarity with ALL material presented in class,
in addition to the material in the textbook and assigned for homework.
The dates for the “midterm” exams will be announced in class at
least two lectures in advance. The Final Exam will be given on last day
of class. (No exceptions for travel plans; be aware of your Final Exam
dates BEFORE making travel plans.)
At the end of the semester, course grades will be determined as follows:
- 300 points will come from the total of all
"midterm" exams
- 200 points will come from the comprehensive Final
Exam.
- 100 points may come from homework and in-class work. (The total points available for these items will
be much more than 100 points; at the end of the semester, the score will
be scaled to a total possible 100 points.)
The following cutoffs are guaranteed.
A: 90% , B: 80% , C: 70% , D:
60% .
Actual cutoffs in the past for this course have been considerably below
this.
In addition to the specific topics covered in the
course, students who get a C or better will have demonstrated proficiency
in the following general mathematical skills:
- Understanding that MATHEMATICS MAKES SENSE, and avoiding NONSENSE
when doing homework, quizzes, and exams.
- The ability to deal intelligently with standard mathematical
notation; in particular, the ability to understand
- the difference in the role of the symbols S,
f, b, c, on the one
hand, and the symbol x , in statements such
as
For all x in the set
S, f(x) =
sin(bx+c)
and
- the difference in the role of the symbols n
and a, on the one hand, and the symbol
i , in expressions such as
WITHDRAWALS: Grades for
students withdrawing from the course will be determined as follows:
- Through June 27, all students will be considered to be passing the
course and (if the instructor is required to sign a Change of Schedule
Form) will receive the grade W.
- Students wishing to withdraw between June 28 and the last day of
class, inclusive, (late withdrawal) will have their grade determined as
follows: Each graded exam will be given a weight of 100 points; graded homework
will be given a total weight of 50 points. Students seeking late
withdrawal whose overall score is at least 50% by this scheme will be
considered to be passing the course and will receive the grade W on the
Change of Schedule Form. Students seeking late withdrawal whose overall
score is less than 50% by this scheme will be considered to be failing
the course and will receive the grade E on the Change of Schedule Form.
Note that students seeking late withdrawal must also obtain a Dean's
signature on the Change of Schedule Form. Exceptions to this policy for
the grade of E may be granted under unusual circumstances.
(See University
dates and deadlines.)
INCOMPLETE: The University
Policy stated in the General Catalog will be followed in awarding
incomplete grades. An incomplete is not to be used as a substitute for a
poor grade.
In general, the grade of I will be not be given unless
ALL the following conditions are met:
- The student has completed all but a small portion of the required
work.
- The student has scored at least 50% on the work completed according
to the scheme described in Withdrawals above.
- The student has a valid reason for not completing the course on
time.
- The student agrees to make up the material in a short period of
time and reaches a written agreement with the instructor which
specifies the period of time allowed and the work to be made up.
- The student asks for the incomplete before the Final Exam or, if
all work up to the Final Exam is completed and an emergency forces the
student to miss the Final Exam, within 48 hours of the scheduled Final
Exam.
DISHONEST SCHOLASTIC WORK AND INAPPROPRIATE
BEHAVIOR: Your work in this class is covered by the University's Code
of Academic Integrity, and any violations of the code will be dealt
with as prescribed in the Code. See also the University policy on
threatening behavior (pdf document) and the complete Student Code
of Conduct.
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