College and Matrix Algebra
Syllabus
Professor Crystal Rust
Math 116
Table of Contents for Syllabus
 Meet Your Facilitator
 Contact Information
 Is Online Learning for you?
 Course Goals
 Learning Objectives
 Evaluation Part 1
 Evaluation Part 2
 Course Policies
 Course Materials and Resources
 Course Design
 Course Calendar
Meet Your Facilitator
My Teaching Philosophy:
I sincerely and honestly believe that anybody can be
successful in learning mathematics given the right learning
environment. I disliked mathematics for many years in
school. The phobia of mathematics started for me in third
grade.
When I went to the University of Houston, I was still very
math phobic. I had attempted mathematics classes several
times at the University, only to drop the class in
disappointment and feeling that my failure to understand
math was confirmation of me being totally mathematically
illiterate.
Then I was blessed with Dr. Murray. He had a way of
bringing math alive, as well as, making math understandable
to me!! Years of math anxiety and frustration melted away. I
try to be like Dr. Murray and help my students to the best of
my abilities. So never be afraid to come to me for help
Meet Dr. Murray
at:
http://www.math.u
h.edu/~km/
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Table of Contents
Contact Information
Telephone: 619-388-7166
Office: B-403D
E-Mail: mathdoctor1999@yahoo.com
Office Hours:
MW: 9:00 a.m.-10:30 a.m. & 12:45 p.m. – 1:30
TR: 8:10 a.m. – 9:15 a.m. & 11:10 a.m. – 12:00
Class Meets: On line, no in class requirements. You are
always welcome to come to my on campus section that meets
11:10 a.m. to 12:35 p.m. on Mondays and Wednesdays for
additional instruction/support. This is NOT a requirement,
just an invitation.
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Is Online Learning for you?
Take this short quiz to see if you are
prepared skill wise to be an online learner.
The skills asked about in this quiz are skills
you will need for our course:
http://www.sdccdonline.net/assess.htm
The following site is offered by the college to provide you
with valuable information about online learning and resources:
http://www.sdccdonline.net/students/index.htm
View the following video tutorials for additional help:
http://www.sdccdonline.net/tutorials/stuorient.htm
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Course Goals
This course is designed to strengthen the algebra skills
of students seeking Business or Natural Science degrees
who are required to take an applied calculus course.
Course goals include the following:
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Develop the theory of functions
Examine how to graph functions
Analyze exponential and logarithmic functions
Solve equations involving algebraic, exponential and
logarithmic functions
Solve systems of linear equations
Develop the concept of determinants
Calculate determinants using Cramer’s Rule
Formulate the theory of matrices
Solve applications problems
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Learning Objectives
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Analyze, graph, and evaluate linear
functions related to application
problems in business and the natural
sciences.
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Perform algebraic operations on
functions and determine function
inverses.
Analyze and apply rigid and non-rigid
transformations to algebraic,
exponential and logarithmic functions.
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Analyze and interpret the
relationship between the properties
and graphs of polynomial functions.
Solve equations involving logarithmic
and exponential functions, including
application problems.
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Perform operations with matrices.
Determine all the exact zeros of a
polynomial by applying root-finding
techniques and theorems.
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Analyze and interpret the graphs of
algebraic functions including square
root, cubic and rational functions.
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Solve and graph non-linear
inequalities and systems of non-linear
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inequalities.
Construct systems of equations from
applications.
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Evaluation Part 1
A learner’s grade will be based on multiple measures of performance:
I.
Homework assignments: Homework as enumerated in appropriate
assignments. These will be done on our Web-CT home space. The
assignments will be grouped in the exam module sections.
II.
Discussion board participation: There will be discussion boards
in each exam module. You must respond and participate in them.
Do not wait until the last minute to do these; you must keep up a
steady pace in the course. (Grading rubric found in discussion board
section of each exam module.)
III. Objective tests: Will measure a student's ability to identify and
perform the mathematical concepts outlined in the learning
outcomes. (There will be three monthly exams, lowest one is
dropped.)
IV. Comprehensive final exam. The final exam must be taken.
The grading scale is: 90 -100 = A, 80 - 89 = B, 70 - 79 = C, 60 - 69 = D,
0 - 59 = F.
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Evaluation Part 2
Your final course grade will be determined by:
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Homework Assignment score (15%) will be calculated by adding up your scores, and dividing by
the total number of assignments, the usual arithmetic average (Highest total average possible is 100
points).
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Discussion board participation score (15%) will be calculated by adding up total points, the
maximum is 100 points. (There will be a total of 10 discussion boards each discussion board is worth
10 points for a total of 100 points.)
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Monthly exams (20% each exam out of two highest exams) (each exam is worth 100 points)
Highest two scores out of the three monthly exams will be used in the final grade calculation. Hence,
there are no make-up exams.
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Final exam score (30%) (worth 100 points) You must take the final exam!!!
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Your formula to calculate your grade is:
(Homework score)(.15) + (Discussion board score) (.15) + (Monthly exam score)(.2) + (Monthly
exam score)(.2) + (Final exam score)(.3) = Numerical grade
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**All graded work will be done and submitted in Web-CT**
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Course Policies

Cheating: If I catch you cheating I will follow the procedures that are
outlined in Miramar College’s student handbook.
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Attendance: Since this is an on line course, taking daily attendance is not possible. If
two weeks of non-activity occur on your account, I will lock you out of the system until
I receive some kind of message from you. If I suspect you are not participating, I will
drop you!!
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Grade of W: If you decide not to stay in the class without notifying me and do not
drop yourself by April 11th, then you will risk receiving an F, if I do not catch it.
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For the above mentioned policies, please see the Miramar College catalogue at
http://www.communitycollege.net/catalogs/miramar/cat_miramar/cat_sec2.pdf
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Accommodations: Students with disabilities who may need academic
accommodations should contact me by email, fax or phone with in the first two weeks
of class. You and I can coordinate with the Disability Support Programs & Services
(DSPS) department to identify your appropriate accommodations. If you would like
further information or have questions about DSPS services, please e-mail them at
miradsps@sdccd.edu or call them at (858)-536-7212 or (619)- 388-7312. The office is
located in building C-304.
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Course Materials and Resources
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Textbook by Robert Blitzer entitled “College Algebra” fourth edition. Order it from the
bookstore at this link http://www.bookstore.sdccd.edu/miramar/
Hardcover: 832 pages
Publisher: Prentice Hall; 4th edition
(2005)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0007570678
ISBN-13: 978-0007570676
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MATHDOCTOR1999 Web-Site: I own and maintain a personal web site at
www.mathdoctor1999.com. On here you will find the notes I have written for College
Algebra and other courses I am teaching. Also, you will find more information and
links.
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COMPUTER LABS: The College has several computer labs available for our
students to use. More information can be found at http://studentweb.sdccd.edu/.
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Course Design
The course will be divided into Exam Modules, each containing:
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lecture material, the notes I have written.
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references to the textbook pages to read from Blitzer’s textbook.
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assignments for that particular Module
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discussion boards for that particular Module
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exam review for that particular Module,
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exam for that particular module
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EACH MODULE MUST BE COMPLETED BY A SPECIFIC FINISH
DATE!!
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Course Calendar
Please see each individual exam module for
the calendar for that section. It is a chart that
contains what sections of the text, which
lecture notes, and learning objectives for each
exam module with due dates for assignments.
Welcome to College and Matrix Algebra!
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