Carol J.V. Fisher's Homepage
Finite Mathematics Homepage
This page is on the web: http://www.onemathematicalcat.org/NAU/FiniteMath_MAT119/syllabus_2011.htm
Department of Mathematics and Statistics

Welcome to
FINITE MATHEMATICS (MAT 119)
Fall 2011

MAT 119-09, LEC 3051
TTh 9:35AM–10:50AM
Adel Mathematics Room 224 		MAT 119-11, LEC 3198
MWF 10:20AM–11:10AM
Adel Mathematics Room 164
INSTRUCTOR:Dr. Carol J.V. Fisher
 INSTRUCTOR'S SCHEDULE
OFFICE:Adel Mathematics: Room 112
OFFICE PHONE:928-523-6872
EMAIL:carol.fisher@nau.edu
WEBPAGE:http://www.onemathematicalcat.org (or google ‘math cat fisher’)
BBLEARN:bblearn.nau.edu (online learning environment)
WEBWORK:webwork.math.nau.edu (online homework for MAT 119)
WEBWORK SYNTAX:how to key math into WebWorks
OFFICE HOURS:9:00–10:00 MWF, 8:00–9:00 TTh, or by appointment
CURRENT GRADE SHEET:shows all course assessments to date

PREREQUISITE

A grade of C or better in MAT 114 (Quantitative Reasoning) or satisfactory placement.

COURSE DESCRIPTION

MAT 119 covers linear functions and modeling, systems of linear equations, introductory linear programming, mathematics of finance, combinatorics, probability, descriptive statistics and distributions. This course has received certification in NAU's First Year Learning Initiative.

STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

Upon successful completion of this course students will be able to:

COURSE STRUCTURE/APPROACH

This course will use a mix of lecture, group activities, and web-based work.
You'll use multi-platform, web-based, free technologies, including GeoGebra and Wolfram|Alpha Computational Knowledge Engine.
You'll also use BBLearn (an online learning environment) and WebWork (online homework problems; choose ‘CFisher_136’).
Want to know what we're doing on a given day?
Many course materials, including daily activities and homework, are on the web:


REQUIRED TEXTBOOK

Finite Mathematics, S. T. Tan, ISBN-13 978-1-4240-7977-3

REQUIRED MATERIALS

3-RING BINDER and DIVIDER SHEETS
A 3-ring binder is required to organize all class materials.
Please make tabs for FIRST DAY HANDOUT, GRADE SHEET, and INDEX CARDS.
INDEX CARDS
Index cards (4" × 6", both sides un-ruled) are used to summarize important material.
It is strongly recommended that you purchase a 3-hole punched plastic zippered pouch in which to keep your index cards.
CALCULATOR
You will need (at least) a scientific calculator for this course (including tests and quizzes);
you may prefer a graphing calculator.

COURSE OUTLINE and IMPORTANT DATES (including EXAMS)

There are 42 50-minute class meetings and 29 75-minute class meetings throughout the term.
The pace of content coverage may change slightly; however, exam dates will not change.
Week # dates # of
classes		 approximate content notes
1 Aug 29–Sept 2 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 1.2, 1.3 lines; business applications (i.e., cost, revenue, profit, supply, demand, equilibrium, break even point)
2 Sept 5–9 MWF: 2
TTh: 2		 1.4, 2.1, 2.2 matrix notation, row manipulations, 3x3 by hand;
students who have not attended any first-week classes will be dropped;
no class Monday, September 5 (Labor Day Holiday);
Thursday, September 8 is the last day to add/drop (no ‘W’ appears on transcript);
you will receive a GPS (Grade Performance Status) email before this deadline
3 Sept 12–16 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 Chapter 2 in-class activity; 3.1 practice word problems that lead to linear systems
4 Sept 19–23 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 3.2, 3.3, Chapter 3 practice linear programming
5 Sept 26–30 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 review; 5.1 compound interest;
EXAM #1: Thursday, September 29 (TTh)
EXAM #1: Friday, September 30 (MWF)
6 Oct 3–7 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 5.2, 5.3 annuities and amortization
7 Oct 10–14 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 continue 5.2 and 5.3,
chapter 5 practice		 mortgage calculations
8 Oct 17–21 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 sets, counting principles, permutations and combinations;
midterm grades will be submitted before October 21
9 Oct 24–28 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 chapter 6 practice, review EXAM #2: Thursday, October 27 (TTh)
EXAM #2: Friday, October 28 (MWF)
Friday, October 28— last day to drop a class with a ‘W’
10 Oct 31–Nov 4 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 7.1, 7.2, 7.3 probability
11 Nov 7–Nov 10 MWF: 2
TTh: 2 		7.4, 7.5 counting techniques, conditional probabilities;
no class Friday, November 11 (Veteran's day)
12 Nov 14–18 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 7.5, 7.6 lots of practice (especially on Bayes' Theorem)
13 Nov 21–23 MWF: 2
TTh: 1 		8.2 expected value;
no classes Thursday/Friday November 24/25 (Thanksgiving)
14 Nov 28–Dec 2 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 8.4, review the binomial distribution;
EXAM #3: Thursday, December 1 (TTh)
EXAM #3: Friday, December 2 (MWF)
15 Dec 5–9 MWF: 3
TTh: 2		 8.1, 8.3, 8.5, 8.6, review solve basic problems involving the normal distribution
16 Dec 12–15   finals week

ASSESSMENTS and GRADE SHEET

Each student is given a Grade Sheet that is maintained throughout the term—you'll know your current grade at every point in time.
Every time an assessment is passed back, you'll update your grade sheet (see example below).
Here are a few sample rows filled out:
FALL TERM 2011 YOUR POINTS POSSIBLE POINTS
# BRIEF DESCRIPTION DATE PTS EARNED CUM EARNED
(C)		 MAX
PTS		 CUM
MAX
(M)		 YOUR % GRADE
100*(C/M)
(round to tenths place)
1. short quiz 8/31 $23$ $23$ $30$ $30$ $100\cdot\frac{23}{30} \approx 77$
2. short quiz 9/1 $17$ $23+17=40$ $20$ $30+20=50$ $100\cdot\frac{40}{50} = 80$
3. homework 9/6 $18$ $40+18=58$ $20$ $50+20=70$ $100\cdot\frac{58}{70} \approx 83$
4. QQ points (week 1) 9/6 $6$ $58+6=64$ --- $70$ $100\cdot\frac{64}{70} \approx 91$
Assessments will consist of WeBWork homework, frequent short quizzes and activities, three in-term exams, index cards, and a cumulative final exam.
Homework is assigned daily, as indicated on the daily syllabus.
Due dates for WeBWorK problem sets are indicated on the daily syllabus; scores are accumulated and added to your Grade Sheet periodically.
Mastery of online web exercises is assessed by frequent, short, in-class quizzes.

FINAL EXAM DATES:
9:35 TTh class Tuesday, December 13 7:30 AM–9:30 AM
10:20 MWF class Monday, December 12 10:00 AM–noon
The cumulative final exam will count as 20% of your final course grade.
You must take the final at the designated date and time—keep this in mind as you make your travel plans.
(You definitely don't want a zero as 20% of your course grade.)
an extreme exception: if you have three or more finals in the same 24-hour period, then you may be able to reschedule one of the exams.
See http://home.nau.edu/registrar/final_exam_1107.asp for details.

QUICK QUIZZES

At the beginning of each class there is a Quick Quiz (QQ), which consists of a basic question from the previous day's work.
Pick up a quarter-sheet of scrap paper as you enter: the long side goes up/down; name in upper-left; your number (see below) in upper-right.
One purpose of the QQ is to get you to class on time—it is given at the scheduled start time, and there are absolutely no QQ make-ups.
The QQ also gives me a complete attendance record (if you arrive late, there is a sheet you must sign).
The Quick Quizzes are graded with a  ‘1’  (one point) or an  ‘N’  (Not completely correct).
I keep track of your QQ points, and they are periodically added into your point total as BONUS POINTS.
I also use Quick Quizzes scattered throughout lectures to assess your current understanding.
Quick Quizzes are discarded immediately after grading.
Quick Quizzes can't hurt your grade, but they can certainly help! They can make a difference of a letter grade (especially if you're borderline).

OTHER EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITIES

FAMUS (Friday Afternoon Mathematics Undergraduate Seminar) meets in Adel Mathematics, Room 164, on Fridays from 3:00–4:00.
I will usually be there, and I'll have a clip-board with me: seek me out at both the beginning and end of the seminar to sign the clipboard, and I'll add four points into your Quick Quiz total.

You earn four QQ points for getting a correct solution to the Problem of the Week (posted in corridor).

GRADING SYSTEM

Grades will be based on a percentage not deviating significantly from the following scale:
A: 90-100% B: 80-89% C: 70-79% D: 60-69% F: 0-59%


COURSE POLICIES

MATH DEPARTMENT POLICIES

The Mathematics Department will not accept homework.
The Mathematics Department does not have calculators for students to borrow.

I WANT TO KNOW YOUR NAME!

I've got about 180 students, so I'll need your help.
Come to office hours and chat with me (I maintain a sign-up sheet for students who come to office hours.)
Offer me a cute little memory device to attach your name to you.
(Here's mine: I'm reasonably tall, and reasonably thin. Exaggerate this!
Look at me, and ‘see’ a wicked tall, wicked thin gal, singing Christmas carols while she's fishing.)


HELP!!! HOW CAN I GET IT?

THE ‘INDEX CARD’ LECTURE METHOD

All the important ideas in the course are summarized on index cards, which become a primary study source for exams and quizzes.
You can mix up the order, so your learning isn't order-dependent. You can pull out cards that you already know.
Here's how the ‘index card method’ works:

CHANGES IN THE FIRST DAY HANDOUT

Events during the term may make it advisable to change information in this handout. Any such changes will be communicated during class.

YOUR NUMBER IS ...

On the first day of class, a form will be passed around where you will get your number for the term.
This number is written in the upper-right corner on all passed-in material.
Please record your number below:
MY NUMBER IS:

STUDENT WORKLOAD

On average, you will need to spend two hours outside of class for each 50-minute class day to be successful in this course;
(three hours for each 75-minute class).
If you're not putting in this time, then it's likely that you won't get the grade you desire.

... and finally, THE CARROT...

If we have a good, focused class, then I'll spend the last few minutes doing some really fun math.
I might talk about cutting pizza in an unusual way, or evil numbers, or number tricks, or...









NORTHERN ARIZONA UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

UNIVERSITY AND DEPARTMENT POLICIES—FALL 2011

Course Prerequisites and Placement: Prior to enrollment in a course in the Department of Mathematics and Statistics a student must have completed the course prerequisites or have proper placement for the course. It is the students' responsibility to check that they are properly enrolled in a course and to drop the course if they are not. Failure to do so could result in not receiving credit for the course. The department may cancel students' registration in a course in which they are not properly enrolled. However, it is the student's responsibility to monitor their own enrollment.

Administrative Drops: An instructor may administratively drop from a course any student who does not attend the first two class meetings. Students who have not met all prerequisites for a course may be administratively dropped. However, it is the student's responsibility to monitor their own enrollment.

Class Attendance: Students are expected to assume full responsibility for class attendance and are accountable for work missed because of absences. Instructors are under no obligation to make special arrangements for students who have been absent unless such absence has been excused by a formal institutional excuse. Institutional excuses permit a student to be absent from classes to represent the University in athletics and extracurricular or academic activities. Institutional excuses must be hand-delivered to the instructor and arrangements made for the work missed prior to the planned absence from class.

Dropping/Auditing a Course: The last day you may drop a course (and receive a W) is October 28, 2011. Academic policy requires that a student who never attended class or stopped attending class receive an F should the student fail to officially drop the course. The deadline to change from credit to audit or vice versa is September 9, 2011. Once a student has registered and completed a class as an auditor, the audit grade cannot be changed to a credit-earning grade. The grade of AU is awarded to auditors for satisfactory attendance. See the most recent Academic Catalog for more information at: http://www4.nau.edu/aio/AcademicCatalog/academiccatalogs.htm

The Grade of Incomplete: A grade of I is given by an instructor only if a student is unable to finish a course due to extraordinary, unforeseeable circumstances, and the deadline to drop has passed. An incomplete is only given to a student who was passing the course with a grade of C or higher at the time the student was forced to stop attending. Before a grade of I can be given the student and instructor must complete the official department form indicating the work to be completed, as well as the date(s) by which the work must be completed. A grade of I not removed within a one-year period automatically reverts to a grade of F.

Final Examinations: Final examinations are required in all classes and must be given at the scheduled times and dates indicated in the university final exam schedule. An exception to the official final examination schedule can be made if a student is scheduled to take more than two examinations in one day. For more information, see the schedule at: http://home.nau.edu/registrar/final_exam_1107.asp

Other University Policies
Students are responsible for the following policies: Safe Environment, Students with Disabilities, Institutional Review Board, Academic Integrity, and Academic Contact Hour. A copy of these policies may be downloaded from the web site http://www2.nau.edu/academicadmin/UCCPolicy/plcystmt.html