Math 099 Instructor File
Textbooks: Beginning and Intermediate Algebra, 5th edition, by Elayn Martin-Gay; and
Math Study Skills, 2nd edition, by Alan Bass
**Instructor copies are available from Jane Gondek or Vicki Bethke.
ECC’s custom MyMathLab course ISBN: 1269429159
From the Bass book:
Study Skills: Cover Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 10, and 11, or equivalent activities or resources.
Chapters 3, 6, and 7 are optional. Chapter 11 is recommended before the first
exam.
Additionally, to address the objective “Identify available campus resources to assist
math students”, a campus resources “scavenger hunt” or similar activity is required.
**Several study skills resources are available on the Mth099 course page in the
Math Department Handbook.
** These Study Skills Outcomes are optional in this course
From the Martin-Gay book:
Chapter 1:
Cover all of Chapter 1. You may want to use Section 1.1 as an overview of the study
skills units to follow.
Chapter 2:
Cover all of Chapter 2.
Chapter 3:
Cover all of Chapter 3. Additionally, section 9.4 is recommended at the end of this
chapter.
Chapter 4:
Cover all of Chapter 4, except Section 4.4. Section 4.5 covers applications of systems
of equations, including 2 and 3 variable systems. You will not be covering 3 variable
systems so be mindful of this in section 4.5 when choosing your examples and
homework problems.
Chapter 5:
Cover all of Chapter 5, except Section 5.7.
Chapter 6:
Cover all of Chapter 6, including the Integrated Review (pp. 409-412). The
Integrated Review is a combination of all factoring techniques and strengthens
students’ factoring abilities outside the context of a given section.
Chapter 7:
Cover all of Chapter 7.
Chapter 8:
Cover all of Chapter 8.
Chapter 9:
Cover all of Chapter 9. You may omit the material in section 9.4 on systems of linear
inequalities. (Section 9.4 is recommended at the end of chapter 3).
Chapter 10:
Cover all of Chapter 10. Be sure to cover the Distance and Midpoint formulas.
Chapter 11:
Cover all of Chapter 11, except Section 11.4.
Chapter 12:
Cover Sections 12.3 and 12.4. Sections 12.1 and 12.2 are optional.
Chapter 13:
Section 13.1 is optional.
Less is More: You will likely have more time in class to explore the course material. While some
additional topics (i.e. exponentials and study skills) were included in the new MTH 096/098/099
sequence, the primary goal of the rewrite wasn’t to add more topics, but rather the goal was to
remove overlap. This allows for more time with each topic in class, thereby providing opportunities
for greater depth of learning, which will give the students a richer, more meaningful understanding
of algebra.
Completing the Square: This particular skill is one that students struggle with, but they are
expected to be familiar with in College Algebra. Emphasis should be placed on this topic.
Calculator Usage: Given that this class combines MTH 096 and MTH098, you may find that you
need to shift your calculator usage policies during this course. It is generally expected that a
significant portion of the assessment instruments from the Basic Algebra portion of the course
should be administered without the use of calculators, particular pertaining to operations with
signed numbers, fractions, and decimals. Graphing calculators should not be used in sections
pertaining to graphing linear equations or systems of equations. However, given the nature of the
material in MTH 098 and that most transfer level mathematics courses (here at ECC or otherwise)
incorporate graphing calculator usage into the curriculum, you might consider using and/or
requiring this technology for your class. Some topics into which you might incorporate graphing
calculator usage include (1) verifying solutions of systems, (2) analyzing characteristics of functions,
(3) comparing graphs of functions, (4) analyzing the visual impact of scaling and (5) collecting
tabular data. If you are considering requiring it, be mindful that this is an additional cost to the
students. There will be some physical calculators in the Math Lab and TI-Smartview is available on
all Math Lab computers for student use in that room. Note that Cell phones (as calculators) are
banned on formal assessments for security reasons.
Publisher Resources:
A list of available digital instructor resources for the Martin-Gaye book is available here:
http://www.pearsonhighered.com/educator/product/Beginning-Intermediate-Algebra-PlusMyMathLab-Access-Card-Package/9780321729361.page
*you will need to request a signon from Pearson to access the instructor resources
A list of available digital instructor resources for the Bass book is available here: www.alanbass.com
Last updated: August 2015 by C. Deterding