Russell Conwell Center
Temple University
Summer Bridge Math Program
Summer 2006
Course Syllabus
Course: Summer Bridge Math Program
Course Title: Introduction to College Math III
Time: 9:00-10:30 am
Place: SZ308
Instructor: Worku T. Bitew
Instructor’s Office: Mathematics Department, Wachman Hall, 515
Instructor’s Email: frework@temple.edu
Instructor’s Phone: 215-204-6514
Office Hours: TBA
Prerequisites: Temple University Math Placement Exam
Textbook: John J. Schiller, College Algebra and Trigonometry, Kendall/Hunt Publishing, 3rd
Edition
Course Goals: The primary goal of this course to equip students with the necessary skills to be
successful at their required math courses. Some of the material will be a review of material
students have already encountered. In these cases, the focus of the classes will be on developing
a deep understanding of the underlying concepts and their relation to other, more advanced,
concepts. Also students will learn techniques to perform operations and apply these skills
without the aid of a calculator. Special attention will be paid to graphing equations by hand.
The remainder of the material is information that students may not have seen in the past but will
be necessary for upcoming courses.
The secondary goal is to help students develop an effective approach to learning mathematics.
Because building understanding of concepts is predicated on the acquisition of earlier concepts
and proficiency with certain skills, a greater degree of vigilance is needed to stay on top of
material. Frequently, the introduction of new concepts can be confusing or the material might be
complicated. Because of the rapid pace of college math courses, it is important to overcome this
confusion as quickly as possible. To do this, students will learn how to ask questions of tutors,
instructors, CAs and peers as well as to search for and locate outside resources.
Topics Covered: This course will begin with a review of Linear and Quadratic equations.
Functions and functional notation will be discussed taking special note of the special properties
of inverse functions --demonstrated by the exponential and logarithmic functions. The final
topic will be Trigonometric functions and their properties. A mastery of these topics will prepare
students for Math 85.
Course Grading: 3 Exams will count for 20% each, Homework will count for 30% and the
lowest grade of the 4 Exams will count for 10%.
Exam Dates:
Exam 1—July 17th
Exam 2—July 24th
Exam 3—July 31st
Exam 4—August 7th
Attendance Policy: Attendance is mandatory. Regular attendance is one of the keys to success
in any mathematics course.
Course Material Details: All students will receive a problem set at the beginning of Summer
Bridge. Students are required to bring the problem set with them to each class. (The problem
sets are taken from the textbook the instructors are following.)
Week 1:
7-5-06: Base Line Test (This will be the final from M74.)
7-6-06: Intro to College Math, Discussion of Placement Exam and a Review of Basic Properties
of Linear Equations (2.1-2.2)
7-7-06: Applications of Linear Equations and Inequalities (with a review of Mid-point And
Distance Formulas) (2.3 –2.4)
Week 2:
7-10-06: Equations of Straight Lines & Systems of Linear Equations (2.5-2.6)
7-11-06: Quadratic Equations (3.1)
7-12-06: Complex Numbers (3.2)
7-13-06: Equations reducible to Quadratics & Quadratic Inequalities (3.3-3.4)
7-14-06: Applications of Quadratic Equations & Inequalities & Review for Exam 1 (3.5)
Week 3:
7-17-06: Exam 1 (Linear Equations/Systems of Linear Equations/Quadratic Equations)
7-18-06: Functions (4.1)
7-19-06: Polynomial Functions (4.2)
7-20-06: Rational Functions (4.3)
7-21-06: Algebraic Functions & One-to-one and Inverse Functions (4.4-4.5)
Week 4:
7-24-06: Exam 2 (Functions)
7-25-06: The Exponential Function and Its Graph (5.1)
7-26-06: The Logarithmic Function and Its Graph (5.2)
7-27-06: Properties of Logarithms (5.3)
7-28-06: Applications and Exponential and Logarithmic Equations (5.4)
Week 5:
7-31-06: Exam 3 (Exponential and Logarithmic Functions)
8-01-06: Angles and Their Measurement & The Trigonometric Functions (6.1-6.2)
8-02-06: Solving Right Triangles
8-03-06: The Law of Sines
8-04-06: The Law of Cosines
Week 6:
8-07-06: Exam 4 (Trigonometric Functions, Law of Sines and Law of Cosines)
8-08-06: Trigonometric Functions with Real Domains & Graphs of Trigonometric Functions
(7.1-7.2)
8-09-06: Amplitude, Period and Phase Shift & Inverse Trigonometric Functions (7.3-7.4)
8-10-06: The Basic Identities & Parting Words about College Math.
8-11-06: Students will complete their Post-Bridge Placement Exam and then return to their
instructors to receive their final grade.