1 Mathematics 0315 – Beginning Algebra South Plains College, Levelland Campus Spring Semester 2011 Credit: 3 Lecture: 3 Lab: 1 Section: 005, MW, 2:30 pm – 4:15 pm Room: Levelland Mathematics Building 108 Instructor: Sheyleah V. Harris-Plant, PhD Office Info: Room: Levelland Math Building 104 Phone: (806) 716-2665 Email: [email protected] Hours: the following table will display the regular office hours Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday 1100-1130 1300-1400 1000-1100 1100-1130 1300-1400 1000-1100 0900-1200 OR BY APPOINTMENT This course satisfies a core curriculum requirement: No Prerequisites: Minimum score of 42 on Accuplacer or 180 on THEA. Available Formats: conventional/internet Campuses: Levelland Campus, Reese Campus, Plainview Center, Byron Martin ATC Textbook: Elementary and Intermediate Algebra, Sullivan/Struve/Mazzarella, 2010, 2nd Edition, Prentice Hall/Pearson Education Supplies: Pencil, six (6) blue books, paper, and erasers Student Learning Outcomes/Competencies Successful completion of this course should reflect mastery of the following objectives: (Chapter and section numbers are indicated in parentheses.) 1. Add, subtract, multiply and divide real numbers. (1.5) 2. Use the order of operations to simplify an expression. (1.7) 3. Simplify algebraic expressions. (1.8) 4. Solve linear equations. (2.1, 2.2, 2.3) 5. Translate and solve word problems. (2.5, 2.6, 2.7) 6. Solve linear inequalities. (2.8) 7. Graph equations in two variables by the intercept method and the slope intercept method. (3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4) 8. Evaluate expressions using exponent rules. (5.2, 5.4) 9. Add, subtract, multiply and divide polynomials. (5.1, 5.3, 5.5) 10. Factor polynomials, (6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4, 6.5) 11. Solve quadratic equations by factoring. (6.6)2 Course Specific Instructions There are video tapes of the lectures available in room M116 (math building) on the Levelland campus. These tapes can be viewed in the lab, or checked out and taken home for viewing. The tapes can also be viewed on Blackboard. These tapes do not replace class meetings, but can be used as supplemental material for students‘ use (Username: mvideos, Password: mvideos). Course Description This course is designed for those students who need MATH 0320 and have not had one year of high school algebra. It includes properties of signed numbers, algebraic expressions, linear equations in one unknown and geometry. Time in a math lab is required. This course will not satisfy graduation requirements. The course is required if testing indicates a need. Course Purpose/Rational/Goal The purpose of this course is to provide a background in beginning algebra concepts necessary for MATH 0320. Course Requirements To maximize the potential to complete this course, a student should attend all class meetings, take notes and participate in class, complete all homework assignments and examinations including final examinations. Resources  Free tutoring at Levelland is available in room 116 of the Mathematics-Engineering Building, at the Reese Center campus in room RC 256 and in Building 8, and at the Byron Martin ATC in Lubbock (34th and Avenue Q). Please remember to sign in when you seek the help of a tutor in each of these places.  The South Plains College Department of Mathematics and Engineering has put one copy of the textbook for this course on reserve in the Levelland Campus Library. Calculator Usage The calculator is a mathematical tool. For anyone to effectively use any tool the person must know if the tool is completing the task correctly. With this being said, the student will have an opportunity to take a battery of four exams to earn the right to use a calculator in class. The battery of exams consists of 100 basic addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts each to be completed with 95% accuracy in a total of 20 minutes without a calculator. The student must complete and pass the entire battery in one sitting to be allowed to use a calculator (TI-84 or equivalent or below). Students may begin taking the battery after the first exam during an appointment time with the instructor, upon returning the syllabus receipt signed and initialed, if a student fails the battery, the student may take the battery again during an appointment time with the instructor. Disclaimer The instructor reserves the right to alter any class policies as deemed necessary by the instructor or South Plains College, and will announce any changes in class. If a student has any questions about a change in policy ask the instructor for clarification.3 Important Quotes  The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education. -Martin Luther King, Jr.  True knowledge exists in knowing that you know nothing. - Socrates  The only place success comes before work is in the dictionary. – Vince Lombardi  We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. – Aristotle  For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. – Aristotle  Great things are not done by impulse, but by a series of small things brought together. – Vincent Van Gogh  Every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity an obligation; every possession, a duty. – John D. Rockefeller  Failure to plan on your part does not constitute an emergency on mine. – South Plains College faculty member The “Secret” of Math Mastery When you are learning math you need to focus and learn the concepts and patterns of the skill or skills being taught. All of math can be tied to or derived from fundamental arithmetic skills. Then we apply these skills to different looking entities. The goal for you as a student is not how to solve one problem, but how to solve a type of problem. Mathematics is built upon two fundamental principles—pattern recognition and problem solving. It is the ultimate objective of this and any other mathematics course to enable the student to become proficient in both. Too often have I observed students hang a majority of time up on each specific problem, so it is my mission as your instructor to emphasize that there are sets of problems within the homework assigned that require one concept or skill to solve all problems in each set! Guide to Being Successful in This Course In order for