College Algebra
Math 1050, Section 4
Spring 2012
Course Syllabus
Instructor: Morgan Cesa
Email: cesa@math.utah.edu
Office: JWB 219
Office Hours: Tuesday 10:45-11:45, Thursday 3:00-4:00, or by appointment.
Course Website: http://www.math.utah.edu/∼cesa/1050
Course Meeting Times: MTWF 9:40-10:30, HEB 2004
Text: Available online at http://www.math.utah.edu/∼cesa/1050/text.
Prerequisites:“C” or better in MATH 1010 or MATH 1060, or Accuplacer CLM score of 60
or better, or University Math Placement score of 3. Fulfills Quantitative Reasoning (Math).
Course Topics: Functions, inverses and graphs; polynomial, rational, radical, exponential
and logarithmic functions; systems of equations and matrices; applications; arithmetic and
geometric sequences and series.
Homework: Homework will be assigned for each section of the text. The majority of the
assignment will be collected and graded online via WebWork, which can be accessed at
http://webwork3.math.utah.edu/webwork2/math1050spring2012-4. Each week, there will
also be a paper worksheet consisting of one or two problems which will be collected in class.
The worksheet will be graded based on both the correctness of your answers, and the quality
and clarity of your work, with emphasis on the latter category. I encourage you to work with
others on the homework. However, each student must independently write up and submit
his or her own solutions for the assignment.
Attendance: Class attendance is vital to your success in any math course. As such, you
will be expected to attend class every day. There will be daily in-class worksheets based on
the previous and current days’ lectures, which will be graded on a credit/no credit basis.
You may miss up to 4 classes with no penalty.
Exams: There will be three midterm exams and one final exam. The midterm exams will
take place during class on February 10, March 9, and April 11. The final exam will be held
on Friday, April 27, from 3:30-5:30 p.m (room TBA).
Because this is such a large class, make up exams will be allowed only in extreme cases, at
the discretion of the instructor. If you think you may be considered an extreme case, you
1
must notify me before the start of the exam.
If you require testing accommodations, you must contact me at the beginning of the course
to make these arrangements. (See ADA Statement below.)
Grading: Your grade will be computed as follows:
• 50% - The average of your three midterm exam scores. Your lowest midterm score will
be replaced with your final exam score.
• 20% - Final exam
• 20% - Homework
• 10% - In-class worksheets (Attendance)
A letter grade will be assigned according to the University grading policy (find it here:
http://www.sa.utah.edu/regist/handbook/grading.htm) and the standard division of grades.
Calculator Policy: Calculators are not required for this course, are not necessary for homework, and will not be allowed on exams.
Classroom Policies: In order to ensure an environment conducive to learning, the following
policies will be enforced:
• No computers will be allowed in class.
• Cell phones must be turned off or silenced during class.
• If you behave disruptively or inhibit the class’s learning, you may be asked to leave
the classroom for the remainder of the lecture.
Other Resources: The T. Benny Rushing Mathematics Student Center (adjacent to JWB
& LCB), Rm 155 is open M - Th 8 a.m. - 8 p.m., F 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. Free drop-in tutoring is
available there. You may also contact a private tutor from the Math department list (available in JWB 233) if you require additional help. This course has Supplemental Instruction
attached. See the additional handout for more information.
ADA: The American with Disabilities Act requires reasonable accommodations be provided
for students with physical, cognitive, systemic, learning, and psychiatric disabilities. Please
contact me at the beginning of the semester to discuss any such accommodations for this
course.
2