College Algebra: Math 203-IN

Week 12

2010-04-18T15:20:39Z

This week we will have the second take-home test covering sections 2.1-2.3, 2.5 and 2.6. The test has two parts: an online part and a written part.

The online part can be found by clicking on the "Take a Quiz/Test" button on the main page, and there is no time limit. There are no restrictions as to the number of times that you can get into the test, so you can do a little at a time.

The online part must be completed by Saturday, April 24 at 11:59 p.m.

The written part can be found by clicking on the Written Tests button on the main page. You should print the test, complete the test by showing all of your work, and then scan it and send it to me via email as an attachment. The file must be in pdf format. The written part is also due on Saturday, April 24 at 11:59 p.m.

I am building in a 24-hour grace period to address any technical difficulties that you may have with regards to the tests. If you have any technical difficulties submitting your test, you must email me as soon as you realize that you have a problem before 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, April 24. I will help you troubleshoot the problem on Sunday, April 25.

Any tests submitted after Sunday, April 25 at 11:59 p.m. will lose 25% per day late, regardless of the reason that the test was late.

Good luck on the test, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 6

2010-02-28T13:38:15Z

This week in Section 1.2 we’ll be talking about graphing equations, finding intercepts, and testing an equation for symmetry. Although each of these things can be done by hand or algebraically, you can use your graphing calculator to verify results and save time. In Section 1.3, many of the equations you will be asked to solve cannot be solved algebraically and must be solved using the graphing calculator.

I have put together a set of short calculator tutorials for these sections. Each is under 5 minutes in length. They can be found by clicking on the Calculator button on the main page. If anyone has any suggestions for additional calculator videos, I'd be happy to take requests.

The section 1.2 homework will be due on Tuesday, the section 1.3 homework will be due on Thursday, and the quiz will be due on Saturday.

There will be no required discussion board postings this week in order to allow you time to focus on becoming familiar with the calculator. There will, however, be a forum for general questions but this will be optional.

Week 5

2010-02-21T16:28:23Z

This week we will be finishing up with the review material (Section A.9: Rational Exponents) and starting with new material in Section 1.1. The section A.9 homework will be due on Tuesday, the section 1.1 homework will be due on Thursday, and the week 4 quiz will be due on Saturday.

One of the topics covered this week will be the TI-83 (or TI-84) graphing calculator that is required for the course. You may purchase, borrow, or rent a calculator through Massasoit for $20 per semester. If you are interested in renting, please contact me and I will send you a rental form.

I want to remind you that if you have any questions during the week, you can post your question to the discussion board, use the “Ask My Instructor” button next to each problem, or schedule a time in the online classroom to work with me. Even though this is an online course, help is always available!

Week 4

2010-02-21T15:57:49Z

This week we will have our first test. The test has two parts: an online part and a written part.

The online part can be found by clicking on the "Take a Quiz/Test" button on the Course Compass main page, and there is no time limit. There are no restrictions as to the number of times that you can
get into the test, so you can do a little at a time. The online part must be completed by Saturday, February 20 at 11:59 p.m.

The written part can be found by clicking on the “Written Tests” button on the main page. You should print the test, complete the test by showing all of your work, and then scan it and send it to me via email as an attachment. The file must be in pdf format because I will be correcting it using software that
allows me to annotate pdf files using my tablet pc. If you do not have a scanner, you should be able to go to an office supply store such as Staples or Office Depot and they will scan it for you for a small fee. The written part is also due on Saturday, February 20 at 11:59 p.m.

I am building in a 24-hour grace period to address any technical difficulties that you may have with regards to the tests. If you have any technical difficulties submitting your test, you must email me as soon as you realize that you have a problem before 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, February 20. I will help you troubleshoot the problem on Sunday, February 21. Any test submitted after Sunday evening will be marked down 25% per day late, even if the reason is technical difficulties.

If you have any questions with regards to the test, please let me know. All of the work that you do should be your own; you should not have outside assistance.

Week 3

2010-02-07T19:13:00Z

This week we will be talking about complex numbers and inequalities. The section A.6 homework will be due on Tuesday, the section A.8 homework will be due on Thursday, and the week 3 quiz will be due on Saturday. In addition, there are three discussion board postings that are due over three separate days this week.

Some people have been posting questions about the material to the discussion board, which is a great way to get help. In order to get discussion board credit, postings must be substantive. If you’re asking for help with a problem, you need to specify the problem that is giving you trouble as well as the steps that you’ve taken to try to solve the problem. That will make it easier for your classmates to give suggestions. In addition, postings should be at least three sentences long and contain correct grammar and punctuation. You must post over three separate days to get credit.

I have graded the discussion board postings for the first and second week. If you have any questions about your discussion board grade, please let me know. It’s a little more challenging to participate in a discussion board in a math class (as opposed to history or English, for example), but I have found with previous classes that as the semester progresses, getting help through the discussion board will be very beneficial.

Some people had issues with posting equations. If you click on the Course Info button on the main page, there is a link entitled “How to Enter Answers” which provides information on how to use the math palette.

If you click on the Course Info button on the main page, you will see a master schedule for the course. On the master schedule, you will see that the first test will be next week. I will make the test available on February 14th and it will be due on February 20th. It will consist of an online portion and a written portion. The written portion must be submitted electronically in .pdf form. (Note: I will not accept submissions in any other format, including picture format such as .jpg or .gif.) If you do not own a scanner, after you complete your test, you should bring it to an office supply store such as Staples or Office Depot where they will scan it for a small fee. Please plan ahead for this.

Have a good week, and please let me know if you have any questions.

Week 2

2010-02-01T01:47:33Z

This week's topics will be polynomials (Section A.3) and solving equations (section A.5). The assignments this week are significantly longer than those that were assigned last week, so please leave yourself enough time for the homework and the quiz.

I enjoyed reading your introductions; we have quite a varied group. Thank you to all who posted questions regarding the material to the discussion board since everyone will benefit from the answers. I'd like to remind you that there are three discussion board postings due each week across three separate days. Postings can consist of responses to my question, questions that you have regarding the material, or a response to a fellow student's question.

The first test is coming up in a couple of weeks. I want to remind you that there will be an online portion and a written portion. The written portion must be submitted electronically so that I can grade it in a timely manner and send it back to you. If you do not have a scanner, you should start thinking about
where you can go to scan your test and send it to me. Staples and Kinko's have scanners that
you can use for a small fee.

Week 10

2009-11-14T13:56:00Z

This week we'll continue to discuss functions, and in particular, composite functions.

It is important to note that in this course you are not responsible for finding domains of composite functions even though many of the problems in Section 4.1 will ask you to find them.>When you get to those problems, you can just enter an arbitrary value, and I will go in and manually override your grade for those problems.(Of course, if you'd like to try them, you're welcome to do that!)

The written tests have been returned. If you have any questions about either the written test or the online test, please let me know.

Week 9

2009-11-09T13:53:00Z

It was a pleasure meeting so many of
you last week when you came to campus. I have corrected the midterm
exams and posted the grades in the gradebook. Because of the
detailed comments that I’ve made on each exam and blue book, I’ve
decided not to return the exams electronically and instead to send
them to your home address only. If you have any concerns about your
grade, please contact me and we can talk about what can be done
going forward.

This week we’ll be talking about functions and their graphs. The
section 2.1 homework will be due on Tuesday, the section 2.2
homework will be due on Thursday, and Quiz 7 will be due on
Saturday.   In addition, we will resume the discussion board this
week (a minimum of three separate postings across three separate
days).

Week 1

2009-03-19T17:56:24Z

I’d like to welcome you to online college algebra.

This week we will be working on Sections A.1 and A.2, which contain a review of algebra and geometry. The homework for this week is due on Thursday evening at 11:59 p.m. Please remember that the homework problems may be done an unlimited number of times until you receive a perfect score. This week’s quiz is also due on Saturday evening, and the quiz problems are taken directly from the homework problems. (However, the numbers may be different.)

Feel free to work ahead on the assignments. This week’s assignment is purposely light so that people can get used to working with MyMathLab. Next week’s assignment is significantly longer, so you may want to work ahead.

If you have any questions on the material, please post your questions to the discussion board so that everyone can benefit from the response. If you are able to respond to someone else’s question, that will count toward your participation grade for the week. You also may use the “Ask My Instructor” button next to every problem to send me an e-mail regarding that problem.