ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
COURSE SYLLABUS
SPRING 2016
Course: Math 1914 Precalculus (ACTS Course Number MATH 1305)
Instructor: Susan Jordan
Office: Corley 225
Office Phone: (479) 968-0295
e-mail: sjordan@atu.edu
Website: http://faculty.atu.edu/sjordan/Masuj.html
Office hours: MW: 2 – 4 p.m.
Thurs: 11 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Other times by appointment
Text: Precalculus Essentials, 4th Edition, by Blitzer, published by Pearson Prentice Hall, 2014.
Assessment Methods: Attendance/Participation: 5%
Homework/Quizzes: 15%
Unit Exams: 60%
Comprehensive final exam: 20%
Homework: Homework is an essential part of any math course, and as such, it will be assigned virtually every
day. It is your responsibility to get help on any problems with which you need it. Homework will be discussed in
class, you will be quizzed over it, and it will be graded based on completeness. No late work will be accepted, but
your four lowest homework/quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the semester.
Quizzes: We will have a quiz approximately once a week over previously covered material. In some cases the
quizzes may be taken home and returned the following class period. As with homework, quizzes must be turned
in on the day they are due.
Exams: All exam dates will be announced at least two class periods in advance, and normally, one class period
will be spent reviewing. If you must miss an exam, please notify me as soon as possible, and plan to make up
the test within one week. Only under extremely unusual circumstances will a student be allowed to take more
than one make-up test. Make-up exams are given on Friday afternoons from 2 – 4:30 in Corley 101 unless
other arrangements are made.
Final Exam: The final exam will be comprehensive over all of the material that we cover this semester, and its
date and time will be announced prior to final exam week.
Grading Scale: 90-100%: A
80-89%: B
70-79%: C
60-69%: D
59% and below: F
Attendance Policy: Students are expected to attend class regularly, and should be aware that it will be extremely
difficult to pass this course without regular attendance. After 3 absences, your name will be reported to the
advising center's Early Warning staff. After six absences, you will be dropped from the course with an F* if your
grade is below 60%. It is a good idea to contact the instructor or a classmate if you are absent, to find out what
you missed. You can be very sure that you will have missed something by not being in class! The only absences
which are considered “excused” absences according to Tech’s Faculty Handbook are “absences that result from
participation in officially sanctioned University activities.”
Calculator Policy: A graphing calculator, such as the TI-83 or TI-84, is required for this course. However,
there may be some exams or portions of exams to be completed without the aid of a calculator.
Cell Phone Policy: All cell phones and other electronic devices must be turned off, or turned to silent or
vibrate, and put away during the entire class. The use of cell phones as calculators or for any other reason is
prohibited. If you must take a call or respond to a text during class, you will need to go into the hall to do so.
Cheating/plagiarism: An offense of cheating or plagiarizing someone else’s work may result in anything from a
zero on the assignment or test to expulsion from the course. Please note that while I strongly encourage working
together on assignments, this does not include copying someone else’s work!
Catalog Description: This course is designed to provide additional mathematical background before enrolling
in the calculus sequence.
Prerequisites: High School Algebra I and II, Trigonometry, and a Math ACTE subscore of at least 19, or Math
1113 and Math 1203.
Purpose: The purpose of this course is to provide the student with additional mathematical background
necessary for the calculus sequence.
Material Covered: The following topics will be covered: Functions, Algebraic Functions, Basic
Trigonometric Functions, Exponential and Logarithmic Functions, and Conic Sections.
Materials Needed: In addition to the required textbook, each student should be prepared every day with a
graphing calculator (TI-83 or TI-84 preferred, but not required), notebook paper, and a pencil.
Expectations:
1. Please take notes so that you will be more likely to retain the information covered.
2. Please ask questions if you have them, and answer questions if you are able.
3. Please be courteous and considerate of everyone in the class. This includes having your cell phone and
any other electronic devices turned off or silenced during class.
4. Please make every effort to come to class on time and plan to stay in class for the entire period unless you
have notified me beforehand.
Resources for help:
1. Your instructor: You are always encouraged to get help from me, both in class and outside of class. I will
answer as many questions as time permits each day in class, as well as on an individual basis during office hours
or before or after class.
2. Math Lab: Located in Doc Bryan 247, this lab offers free tutoring to Tech students. It is staffed primarily
with math majors and upper level students. Hours will be announced in class. Just show up with your questions,
or simply come in and work on your homework so that help is available if you run into a problem. You might
find it helpful to meet a classmate there and work on homework together.
3. Classmates or friends: Get to know the other members of your class and form a study group. Two heads
are better than one! If you have a friend or relative who has taken this or a similar course before, they may also
be able to help you.
Homework Assignments
Chapter 1:
1.1: (pp. 150-153): 1-4, 9, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 42, 43, 46-50, 56, 71-83, 85.
1.2: (pp. 168-172): 1, 4, 9-11, 14, 15, 17, 20, 28, 29, 33, 35, 38-40, 44, 46, 48, 49, 52, 53,
55-64, 66, 67, 70, 72, 75, 77, 80, 84, 87, 89, 105, 106.
1.3: (pp. 182-187): 1-3, 7-9, 13, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26, 29, 30, 32, 34, 37, 38, 42-44, 47, 50, 53, 55,
58, 61, 64, 67, 73, 74, 107, 118.
1.4: (p. 199): 1, 4, 5, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 21, 25, 28, 31, 36, 38, 39, 42, 45, 48, 49, 52, 55, 59, 62, 65,
67, 70, 83, 85, 86.
1.5: (pp. 211-213): 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 21, 24, 26-30, 33, 34.
1.6: (pp. 227-230): 17-24, 27, 28, 45, 46, 53-60, 67, 70, 72, 76, 78, 81, 84, 86, 87, 90, 91,
94, 95, 98, 99, 104, 107, 110, 115, 118, 145-148.
1.7: (pp. 242-244): 3-5, 7, 10, 11, 13, 17-23, 26, 27, 32, 33, 37, 40, 43, 46, 49, 52, 55, 58, 60,
62, 64, 67, 68, 70, 74, 75, 78, 80-82, 91, 92, 99.
1.8: (pp. 254-256): 1, 4, 7, 10, 11, 14, 17, 20, 23, 26-38, 40, 41, 46, 47, 49, 50, 68, 69, 76, 81,
91-96.
1.9: (pp. 264-265): 1, 4, 6, 7, 10, 19-21, 24, 31-38, 41, 43, 45, 46, 48, 50, 53, 54, 57, 58, 60, 61,
65-68, 71, 72, 74.
1.10: (pp. 276-279): 1-4, 7, 8, 15, 16, 19-22, 35, 36.
Chapter 2:
2.1: (p. 298): 1-4, 6, 9, 12, 15, 16, 18-21, 24, 27, 29-31, 34, 37, 40, 51, 54.
2.2: (pp. 313-316): 1-4, 9, 10, 13, 14, 17, 18, 23, 24, 27, 28, 31, 32, 39, 40, 42, 43, 45, 46, 49,
52, 57, 58, 61, 64, 67, 68, 100, 101.
2.3: (pp. 330-333): 1, 4, 7, 10-19, 22, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32, 33, 36, 39, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 59,
62, 65, 68, 70, 72, 90-93.
2.4: (pp. 343-344): 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 17, 20, 23, 27, 30, 33, 36, 41, 43, 44, 47, 48.
2.5: (pp. 356-359): 1, 4, 7, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20, 23, 25, 28, 31, 33, 36, 38, 39, 42, 45, 48, 51, 93-96.
2.6: (pp. 377-381): 1, 4, 5, 7, 21, 24, 27, 29, 32, 34, 35, 37, 40, 42, 43, 57, 60, 63, 68, 71, 78, 81, 84,
85, 88, 134-136.
2.7: (p. 391): 1, 4, 7, 10, 19, 22, 29, 32, 35, 38, 43, 46, 49, 52, 53, 61, 62, 69, 70.
Chapter 3:
3.1: (pp. 423-426): 1, 4, 7, 10, 11, 13, 15, 25, 28, 30-32, 35, 38, 41, 44, 53-56, 65, 73, 74.
3.2: (pp. 437-439): 1, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 15, 17, 20, 21, 24, 27, 30, 33, 36, 39, 42, 43, 59, 62, 64, 75,
78, 80, 81, 84, 87, 90, 93, 96, 99, 101-104, 113, 114.
3.3: (p. 449): 1, 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28, 31, 34, 41, 44, 47, 50, 53, 56, 60, 61, 71-73, 77,
79, 80, 83, 84, 88.
3.4: (pp. 461-463): 1, 5, 10, 21-23, 26, 29, 32, 35, 38, 41, 49, 52, 55, 58, 61, 64, 67, 70, 73, 76,
103-107, 109-112, 117, 118.
3.5: (pp. 478-479): 1-10, 12, 13, 15, 17, 18, 21, 22, 25, 26, 29-32, 35, 36.
Chapter 4:
4.1: (pp. 505-506): 1-8, 10, 11, 13, 16, 18, 19, 21-25, 28, 30, 31, 34-36, 38, 41, 43, 46, 48, 49,
52, 53, 56, 57, 60, 63, 64, 66, 68, 69, 71, 72, 74-76, 83, 84, 87-91.
4.2: (pp. 520-522): 1, 4-8, 10, 11, 14, 16, 18-22, 25, 26, 28, 29, 32, 39, 41, 42, 44, 53, 54, 56,
59, 60, 81, 84.
4.3: (pp. 533-535): 1-4, 21, 22, 27, 28-30, 32-36, 39, 40, 53-56, 58, 59.
4.4: (pp. 548-549): 1, 4, 6, 7, 9-11, 16-20, 25-27, 32, 41, 43, 54, 56, 60, 67, 68, 81, 82, 85, 86, 99102.
4.5: (pp. 568-569): 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 17, 21, 24, 28, 31, 34, 35, 38, 40, 44, 45, 48, 53, 55, 61-64.
4.7: (p. 598): 1, 4, 7, 8, 11, 12, 19, 24, 27, 30, 33-36, 43, 44, 47-50.
Chapter 6:
6.1: (pp. 690-691): 1-4, 7-12, 15, 16, 33-35, 38, 43-47.
6.2: (pp. 699-701): 1-3, 6-10, 15, 16, 20, 21, 24, 25, 28, 30, 41, 42, 50-52.
Assignments on Conic Sections will be handed out in class.
Important Dates:
January 18 (Monday)—Martin Luther King Day holiday
February 29 (Monday)—Midterm
March 19-27—Spring Break
April 15 (Friday)—Last day to drop courses with a “W” or change from credit to audit
April 25 (Monday)—students follow regular Monday class schedule
April 26 (Tuesday)—Last day of class--students follow regular Wednesday class schedule
April 27 (Wednesday)—Reading Day—no class
April 27 – May 3—Final Exams