MAT 108
MATH FOR THE NATURAL SCIENCES
FALL, 2012
Times: 108-02: MWF 9:10 – 10:00; 108-03: MWF 10:10 – 11:00; EN B214
Instructor: John Scheuermann
Office: EN D138
Office Phone: 392-5580 (You may leave voice-mail messages, but email preferred.)
E-mail address: scheuermanj1@southernct.edu
Website: http://home.southernct.edu/~scheuermanj1 All of the quizzes and tests from the previous times I
taught this course are here. I will email you a link to the site, a copy of the syllabus, and the course goals.
Office Hours: MWF 8:40 – 9:10, MF 11:00 – 12:00, M 2:00 – 3:00, TR 10:30 – 11:00. Also by
appointment or by chance. You are always welcome to stop by and see if I am in my office.
Course Prerequisites: C- or better in MAT 100 or 102, or a satisfactory score on the Placement Exam.
Text: Explorations in College Algebra, 5th Edition, by Kime, Clark, and Michael; John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
We will cover Chapters 1, 2, and 4-7.
Equipment: Students must have a calculator that can do exponentials and logarithms. TI-83 and 84’s are
strongly recommended.
General: You are responsible for any material covered in lecture, the text, and the assigned homework
problems. Please bring your textbook and calculator with you to each class.
According to University Policy, an average student should expect to work on course material at least
two to three hours outside of class for each hour spent in class.
Students are encouraged to seek help when needed from the instructor. Office hours have been
established for that purpose. You do not need an appointment to see me during office hours. Don’t wait till
the day before a test or the week before the final to get help! If you are not satisfied with how well you are
doing in the class, come and talk to me. If you get D’s and F’s on your tests and don’t come and talk to me,
I will assume you are satisfied with getting D’s and F’s.
Make sure you have someone in the class you can get notes and assignments from if you miss a
class. Do not call or email me to ask what was covered or assigned.
I believe in providing reasonable accommodations for students with documented disabilities on an
individualized and flexible basis. If you are a student with a documented disability, the University’s
Disability Resource Center (DRC) determines appropriate accommodations through consultation with the
student. Before you may receive accommodations in this class, you will need to make an appointment with
the Disability Resource Center, located in EN C-105A. To speak with me about your approved
accommodations or other concerns, such as medical emergencies or arrangements in case the building must
be evacuated, please make an appointment as soon as possible.
Grading: Your grade will be determined as follows (no extra credit work will be given!):
Quizzes (lowest dropped)
16%
3 One-hour exams
17% each
Cumulative Final Exam
33%
A- (90-92.9), A (93-96.9), A+ (97-100)
C- (70-72.9), C (73-76.9), C+ (77-79.9)
F
Below 60
B- (80-82.9), B (83-86.9), B+ (87-89.9)
D- (60-62.9), D (63-66.9), D+ (67-69.9)
You will be graded on more than just your answers. Problems must be solved in a neat, clear, and
mathematically correct manner using correct notation. You must be able to clearly communicate your
results with others. If I cannot read it or understand it, it is wrong. Any answers that are given without
sufficient supporting work or explanation will be given zero credit. All scratch paper used must be turned in
with your work. If you lose any points because of the presentation of the answers on quizzes, you will be
able to get the points back if you rewrite and resubmit the problems in an acceptable format. Note that this
opportunity will not be given for tests or for answers without supporting work.
I take off extra points for wrong answers that should have been easy to check (such as equations of
lines) or for answers that you should have known were obviously wrong. If you know your answer is wrong
but aren’t sure how to fix it, make sure to state that on the test.
In every class I have taught so far, test results and quiz results are almost always very similar. Thus,
bad quiz scores (less than 20 out of 25) should be taken as a warning! Don’t just write down the corrections
for a wrong quiz problem and then think you can do it. Instead, go to my old tests or the book to find
similar problems and make sure you can get the correct answers.
Homework: Homework will be assigned daily, but will not be collected or graded. You should do as many
of the assigned problems as you need to do in order to convince yourself that you could do all of those
assigned. We will spend time at the beginning of each class going over any of the homework any student
had trouble with. Students are encouraged to discuss the problems or work together with their classmates.
Answers to the odd-numbered exercises are in the back of the book. Even though homework does not
count directly toward your grade, the amount of homework you do will have a huge impact on how
well you do in the course! Try not to fall behind – it is difficult to catch up in a math class.
Keep all homework problems that you do together in a separate folder or place in a notebook. I may
ask to see it if you are having trouble in class.
Attendance Policy: Students are strongly urged to attend every class. Although attendance will not
count directly toward your grade, regular attendance will also have a huge impact on how you do on the
tests! I do not take attendance, but I do notice who does and doesn’t attend class. If you miss a class, get
the notes from a friend, read the book, try the homework, and then come see me if you still need help. Do
not call or email me requesting missed assignments or sections covered.
Make-up Policy: In general, make-up exams will not be given. If you miss a quiz, you may take it before
the next class (subject to the cheating rule mentioned below!). However, you may only take 2 late quizzes
during the semester. If you miss an exam due to an emergency or other extenuating circumstances, you
must contact me as soon as possible. Do not wait until the next class. You can always call me and leave a
voice-mail message or send me an e-mail. If you miss an exam for any reason I don’t consider
legitimate, you will get a zero on that exam. An excused absence on an exam will result in the other
exams (21% each) and the final (42%) counting more towards your final grade.
Honesty: Cheating is anything the instructor decides is cheating. If there is any chance that what you want
to do will be considered cheating, ask first! Cheating on any test (or quiz) will result in a grade of 0 (and
will not be dropped) for that work. You will also be reported to the dean. If you are caught cheating on a
quiz or test that I let you take outside the scheduled time, you will automatically fail the course!
Late Withdrawals: I do not give late withdrawals unless there are extenuating circumstances. Doing
poorly is not an extenuating circumstance. I usually require a note from a doctor or counselor.
Missed Classes: If we miss a class for any reason, whatever was scheduled for the missed class will be
done the first day back. Call 392-SNOW to find out about snow delays and cancellations.
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