MATH 130: MATHEMATICS IN ACTION
SYLLABUS - SPRING 2014
Professor: Matt Zaremsky
When and where: MWF 12:00-1:00 in LH 02
Office: LN 2237
Phone: (607)-777-2380
Email: zaremsky at math dot binghamton dot edu
Office hours: MWF 1:00-2:00 in my office.
Webpage: http://www.math.binghamton.edu/zaremsky/14S Action.html
(If you don’t want to type all that in, just google “matt zaremsky” and you will surely find my webpage.)
Any emails regarding the course must be directed to the Head TA first . In particular, any questions about tests or grades must be directed to the Head TA . (Any grade appeals will be considered only within one week after the assignment was returned. It is your responsibility to check your grades in Blackboard.)
Head TA: Richard Behr
Office: LN 2253
Email: behr at math dot binghamton dot edu
Office hours: MWF 2:30pm-3:30pm
1.
Textbook
2.
Course objectives
The goal of this course is to provide students with an experience in quantitative reasoning and data analysis through mathematical modeling of some real life problems including a hands-on approach.
Further emphasis will be on illustrating the importance, relevance, and currency of mathematics in the modern world. The topics covered include: voting methods, weighted voting systems, apportionment, fair division, counting problems, probability, measuring populations, statistics, normal distributions, and statistical inference.
3.
Blackboard
It will be possible for you to see your grades in Blackboard. I will also post the slides presented during classes in Blackboard. There will be no other use of Blackboard.
All announcements will be made on the webpage and not on Blackboard. This also applies to the homework assignments.
Date : March 11, 2014.
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2 MATH 130: MATHEMATICS IN ACTION SYLLABUS - SPRING 2014
4.
Discussion sections
Discussion sections are for you to ask questions on past homework problems and material covered in class. Every week, there will be a 15 minute quiz which should be easy if you have done the previous homework assignment. The students are mostly in charge of dictating what will be discussed in discussion section so I strongly encourage you to come prepared with questions!
The discussion sections are divided among the following TAs. You have to go to your assigned section, but you may attend any TA’s office hours including the head TA’s ones and mine listed above.
• Ashley Culpepper
Office hours: T 12:00pm-3:00pm in LN2408B
Email: culpepper at math dot binghamton dot edu
Sections:
(1) Section A04, T 4:25-5:50 in S2 243
(2) Section A08, R 4:25-5:50 in AA G21
• Joseph Mennuti
Office hours: WF 3:30pm-5:00pm in LN2408B
Email: mennuti at math dot binghamton dot edu
Sections:
(1) Section A01, T 8:30-9:55 in LN G208
(2) Section A05, R 8:30-9:55 in LN G335
• Jason Mifsud
Office hours: W 2:30pm-3:30pm and R 11:30am-1:00pm and F 9:00am-9:30am in LN2408B
Email: mifsud at math dot binghamton dot edu
Sections:
(1) Section A02, T 8:30-9:55 in FA 209
(2) Section A06, R 8:30-9:55 in AP G15
• Theodore Ofner
Office hours: TWR 9:00am-10:00am in LN2408B
Email: ofner at math dot binghamton dot edu
Sections:
(1) Section A03, T 4:25-5:50 in SL 310
(2) Section A07, R 4:25-5:50 in FA 247 [Beginning March 20, the room will move to SW 323]
5.
Exams
There will be three tests during the semester and one final exam during the final week. The 3 tests will be given in class (not in your discussion section). See the webpage for the schedule.
No books, notes, calculators or cell phones are allowed during exams. You can only use a pen or a pencil.
6.
Quizzes
There will be a 15 minute quiz every week. These quizzes will be given by your TA during your discussion section.
The material for quizzes will be similar to the previously assigned homework assignment.
No notes, books, calculators or cell phones are allowed during quizzes. You can only use a pen or a pencil.

MATH 130: MATHEMATICS IN ACTION SYLLABUS - SPRING 2014 3
7.
Homework
There will be one homework assignment due at the beginning of your section each week. Each assignment will consist of 3 to 5 questions from the exercises in the book. Though you are not required to turn in all of the exercises in the book, I encourage you to do them all. Your TA will only grade one or two random problems from the homework each week so it is important that you complete the whole assignment in order to get credit for it.
The homework assignment will be posted every week on the webpage.
8.
Make-up policy
• There will be no late homework accepted for any reason whatsoever.
• There will be no makeup quizzes and a missed quiz will receive a score of zero. If you miss a quiz due to a university excuses reason, alert me immediately (via email) and be prepared to provide appropriate documentation. The grade for that quiz will be computed as the average of your other quiz scores. Also, in general, the lowest quiz grade will be dropped (see “Grading policy” below).
• If you miss an exam due to exceptional circumstances you should contact me as soon as possible, no later than 24 hours after the test is given.
• To be eligible for a makeup test you must provide an original document which excuses your absence such as a doctor’s note or a police ticket. I will take the document from you. The document should be issued to you on the test’s day. For example, if you missed a test on
Friday, you should provide me a doctor’s note from Friday.
• Any makeup exam will be scheduled within 1 week from the missed test. If you know in advance you’ll need a make-up exam, notify me at least a week in advance.
• In general, any discussion of make-ups and/or dropping missed quizzes should happen via email; there are so many students in this class, it’s very hard to remember every in-person conversation I have with every student.
9.
Grading policy
The final counts 30%, test 1 15%, test 2 15%, test 3 15%, quizzes 15% and homework assignments
10%. The lowest quiz score will be dropped. I guarantee that 93% will be an A, 90% will be an A-,
87% a B+, 83% a B, 80% a B-, etc. I also guarantee that 60% or above is a pass.
10.
Academic honesty
Needless to say, absolutely no cheating is permitted. Any cases of cheating will be subject to investigation by the Academic Honesty committee of Harpur College. You’ve been warned.
11.
Copyright policy
It is prohibited to distribute the course materials without instructor’s permission.
12.
I have to put this here for some reason
Students in M courses will demonstrate competence in an area such as calculus, symbolic logic, the logic of computers, the logic of deductive and inductive reasoning, or probability and statistical inference.