Course: Math 1914 (Precalculus)
Instructor: Donna Sherrill
Office: Corley 246
Office Phone: 964-0853 e-mail: dsherrill@atu.edu
ARKANSAS TECH UNIVERSITY
DEPARTMENT OF MATHEMATICS
COURSE SYLLABUS
Fall 2009
Text: Precalculus, Fourth Edition, by Faires and DeFranza, published by Brooks/Cole, 2007.
Assessment Methods: Attendance/Participation 5%
Homework/quizzes: 15%
Four or Five 100-pt. Exams: 60%
Comprehensive final exam: 20%
Homework: Homework is an essential part of any math course, and as such, it will be assigned roughly every day. It is your responsibility to get help on any problems with which you need it. Homework will be discussed in class and collected randomly and graded based on completeness. Late homework will not be accepted, but I will drop your three lowest homework grades at the end of the semester. Note that some sections will require more than one day of instruction, so the assignments listed below will occasionally be broken up over two class periods. You will be given more detailed instructions about assignments each day in class.
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. Your lowest two quiz grades will be dropped at the end of the semester.
Exams: All exam dates will be announced at least two class periods in advance, and when possible, 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 . Make up tests will be given on Friday afternoons from 2 – 4 pm in
Corley 231.
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. The grade on the final exam will replace your lowest test score, if this is beneficial to your final grade.
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 the course without regular attendance. If four or more classes are missed, the student may be dropped from the course with an F* for excessive absences.
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 84 preferred), notebook paper, graphing paper and a pencil.
Expectations:
1. Please ask questions if you have them, and answer questions if you are able.
2. Please be courteous and considerate of everyone in the class. This includes having your cell phone turned off and put away during class . NO TEXTING ALLOWED IN CLASS! It also includes arriving for class on time and staying in class for the entire period.
Last day to drop: November 19
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. You may also call me or e-mail me, and I will try to help you through one of these channels. This is especially helpful for those of you who are not on campus during my office hours. You may also schedule an appointment outside of my regular office hours if your schedule requires it.
2. Math Help Room: The math help room is located in Corley 231, and offers free tutoring to Tech students.
It is staffed with upper level math students and math instructors. 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
1.2 (pp. 12-13) : 1, 2, 6, 8, 8, 9, 12, 13, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 27, 28, 30, 31, 34, 35, 37, 39, 41, 44,
45, 47, 49, 51, 52, 53, 61, 62, 64, 65, 68, 76
1.3 (pp. 19-21): 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 11, 13-15, 18, 20-23, 25, 26, 28-31, 33, 34, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 44-46, 49-51,
56, 57, 61
1.4 (pp. 27-28): 1-10, 14, 15, 17, 20, 25, 26, 30, 31, 35, 36, 39-42, 44
1.5 (pp. 34-35): 1, 4, 5, 8, 11, 14-16, 19
1.6 (pp. 49-52): 2-10, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 22, 24, 25, 27, 30, 33, 36, 37, 39, 43, 48, 51-55, 58, 66, 67
Test 1: Tuesday, September 8
It is my sincere hope that all of you will be successful in this class as well as all of your classes, but if you find that you are failing this class or another class, the last day to drop a class is Monday, November 26.
I hope that together we will have a great semester!!