Syllabus for Math 111, Section C, AUTUMN 2012
Website:
www.math.washington.edu/~nichifor/111F12.htm
Read & bookmark this site – it contains useful course information, and will be updated weekly
Instructor: Dr. Alexandra Nichifor (office: Padelford C-326, directions on class website)
E-mail:
nichifor@uw.edu (please specify “Math 111”, your name, and quiz section)
TAs:
Anh Huynh (trunganh@uw.edu) & Rebecca Uhlman (uhlmanr@uw.edu)
Text: “Mathematical Applications for the Mgmt, Life, and Social Sciences” by Harshbarger/Reynolds.
 There is a custom, loose-leaf edition of the textbook, entitled "Applied Mathematics for Business", which
you can purchase at the University Book Store. (We'll use Chapters 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 for Math 111 and the
remaining chapters for Math 112.) The text comes bundled with an access code for Webassign, the online
homework system that we use for this course.
 If you do not want a hard copy of the text, you may just purchase a Webassign access code (including an
electronic copy of the text) at: http://www.cengagebrain.com/shop/isbn/9781285181813
Webassign: Either way, you must have a Webassign access code. Webassign offers a two-week grace period
during which you may access your homework without entering an access code. Your access code will work for both
Math 111 and Math 112.
Other Required Materials:
 a clear plastic ruler (bring to lectures and exams)
 a scientific calculator which is non-graphing and non-programmable (for ex: TI-30XIIs, TI-30Xa, or
Casio FX-300MS.) Graphing calculators or any other electronic devices are not allowed on exams!
 Supplementary Reading for the first two weeks of the course (print off the class website)
 A packet of lecture graphs (print it from our class website & bring it with you to lecture)
 The graphs appearing in the homework related to the Supplementary Reading. You can either print all of
these out at once from our website, or one-at-a-time from the Webassign homework.
Course Objectives: In this course, you will study the use of graphs, algebra, and functions, as they relate to the
fields of business and economics. This class will also prepare you for a follow-up course in the application of
calculus to business and economics, namely Math 112.
Grade Breakdown: Your grade will be made up of the following components:
Homework
15%
Participation
5%
Midterm I
22%
Midterm II
22%
Final Exam
36%
A conversion table (percentage to grade point) is available on the class website, under “Grading Scale”.
Homework: Homework will be assigned, submitted, and graded in Webassign and will be due most
Tuesday and Thursday nights by 11 p.m. See the class schedule for details. You will have a portion of each quiz
section to ask your TA questions about the homework due that night.
Participation (Group Activities and Test Prep): A part of most quiz sections will be dedicated to either working in
groups on a problem-solving activity or practicing working old exam problems individually. The purpose of group
activities is to get you to articulate your ideas and questions in small groups and discuss the material with each
other. The purpose of the individual test preparation problems is to give you a chance to practice working actual
exam problems in a test-taking environment. For each group activity and test prep problem, you will receive a
participation score of 0, 1, or 2 pts. To get full credit, you need to be on time, do the work, and stay the duration.
There are no makeups for participation, but you may miss up to two quiz sections without penalty to your grade.
Exams: There will be two midterm exams and a final. On any tests, to get full credit on a problem, you must
show all steps in your solution, and you must explicitly use the methods learned in class. It is not enough to
write down the final answer, even if it happens to be correct. Work done in your head cannot receive credit,
because the grader has no way to verify whether the process you used is correct or not.
During the exams, you will be allowed to use a non-graphing calculator, your ruler, and one handwritten & doublesided 8.5’’×11’’ sheet of notes. Other electronic devices will not be allowed (no cell phones, laptops, iPods, etc).
You may not share a calculator or a note sheet with another student on an exam. Cheating will not be tolerated.
Exam dates are as follows (save these dates!):
Midterm I
Thursday, October 18 in your quiz section (50 min)
Midterm II
Thursday, November 15 in your quiz section (50 min)
Final Exam
Saturday, December 8, 5-7:50pm, room to be announced
Important Tip: Start your sheet of notes early and add items to it as you work on your homework and run across
formulas or concepts which you need to remember. Keep it neat and organized!
Make-up midterms will not be given. If you have miss a midterm due to serious, unavoidable, and documented
circumstances, contact me ASAP with your documentation and your final exam will be weighted more heavily to
account for the missed midterm.
Academic Conduct: All work is expected to be your own. Submitting another person's work as your own or
copying work from another student on homework or an exam constitutes cheating. Further, allowing someone to
copy your work is also considered cheating. The consequences for allowing another student to copy your work on
homework or an exam are the same as for the student doing the copying. Changing the answers on an exam and
asking for a regrade constitutes blatant cheating.
If you are accused of cheating, you have the right to a hearing before the university's Committee on
Academic Conduct. If you are found guilty of academic misconduct, then in addition to any sanctions imposed by
the Committee, you will receive a 0 on the assignment in question.
Resources:
•
The Math 111/112 Study Center (in the basement of Communications, room B-006) is a useful place for
students to study, in groups or individually. The MSC will open for the term during the second week of classes. The
center is staffed by TAs and instructors. See www.math.washington.edu/msc/m111.php for operating hours and
your TA’s office hours.
•
The University of Washington is committed to providing access, equal opportunity and reasonable
accommodation in its services, programs, activities, education and employment for individuals with disabilities. To
request disability accommodation, contact the Disability Services Office at least ten days in advance at: 206-5438924 (Voice), 206-543-8925 (TTY), 206-616-8379 (FAX), or uwdss@u.washington.edu.
•
The Student Counseling Center holds academic skills workshops on a variety of topics such as stress
management, test anxiety and time management to help you succeed. If any of these is an issue for you, check out
their schedule of workshops at http://depts.washington.edu/counsels/services/workshops/workshops.html
HOW TO DO WELL IN MATH 111:
For most students, doing well in this class requires about 10-15 hrs of individual work each week, outside
of the classroom. No matter how easy or clear things appear (or not) when presented in class, quiz section, MSC, or
while working with a friend, you need to be able to explicitly solve problems on your own and in a limited
amount of time during the exams. The way to achieve this is to study the material and methods of the class, to
keep a good sheet of notes, and to practice, practice, practice lots of problems on your own.
It’s very important that you attend class regularly, do the work as soon as it’s assigned, and that you ask for
help on (and then practice extra) any kind of problem or topic that is not clear.
This class has lots of homework. You are expected also to read the textbook/supplementary reading and
study the examples provided there. The homework you do is not an end in itself, but simply a tool for becoming
proficient. Your mastery of the material is judged mostly based on your exam performance. However, without
being serious about your homework and your attendance, you will likely not do well in this class.
This is a work-intensive, but enjoyable class. I hope you do well and have a good time.
Tentative Course Schedule for Math 111C - Autumn 2012
Final Exam: Saturday, December 8, 5-8 pm
Week
1
Monday
Tuesday
September 24
September 25
Intro & 2 kinds of
speed (supp. 1-2)
Intro and
Group Activity
October 1
2
3
4
More graphs and
costs (Supp. 9)
October 15
§1.6 applications
October 22
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
October 4
October 3
October 11
§1.1 Linear
Equations and
Inequalities
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
HW due: Supp 8-9
October 17
October 18
Midterm I
October 16
Review/Practice
HW due: §1.1-1.3
Review/Practice
October 23
October 30
6
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
HW due: §2.3
§5.1, 5.2 exponential
& logarithmic fcts
November 12
November 13
Review
HW due: §1.6
§2.3 Applications
October 31
§4.2 linear
programming
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
HW due: §2.2
November 1
Hwk Q&A
Test Prep
HW due: §1.5, 4.1
October 12
§1.2, 1.3 Linear
Functions
October 19
§2.1, 2.2 Quadratics
October 26
§2.3 More Applications
November 2
§4.2 linear
programming
November 8
November 7
§5.3 applications
November 14
Review
HW due: §5.3
November 9
Hwk Q&A
Test Prep
HW due: §5.1, 5.2
§5.3 applications
November 15
Midterm II
November 16
§6.1 simple interest
and arithmetic
sequences
November 19
November 20
November 21
§6.1, 6.2 compound
interest and
geometric sequences
Midterm Return
TA Q&A
HW due: §6.1
§6.2 Compounding
and APY
November 22
--HOLIDAY--
November 27
November 28
November 29
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
HW due: §6.2
§6.4 Present value
of annuities
Hwk Q&A
Test Prep
HW due: §6.3
December 5
review
December 6
review
§6.3: Future value of
annuities
October 5
AC/AVC/SDP/BEP
(supp. 8)
October 25
October 24
November 6
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
HW due: §4.2
November 26
10
September 28
October 10
October 29
9
Functional notation,
translating (Supp 5)
HW due: Intro to
Webassign
Hwk Q&A
Test Prep
HW due: Supp 6-7
§1.5,4.1 systems of
linear equations &
inequalities
--HOLIDAY--
September 27
October 9
§2.2 Quadratics &
diff. quotients
8
Friday
MR/MC (supp. 7)
5
7
Going backwards,
ref lines, other rates
(supp. 3-4)
Thursday
Hwk Q&A
Test Prep
HW due: Supp 5
Midterm Return
TA Q&A
HW due: §2.1
November 5
September 26
October 2
Hwk Q&A
Revenue/Cost/Profit
Group Activity
MR/MC (supp. 6-7)
HW due: Supp 1-4
October 8
Wednesday
November 23
--HOLIDAY--
November 30
§6.5 loans and
amortization
December 4
11
December 3
catch up/review
Hwk Q&A
Group Activity
HW due: §6.4, 6.5
December 7
review
Note: The graph below is on the first page of the “Graphs for Lecture” package, available on the class website.
Please print the entire package and bring it with you to future lectures. You will use it during lecture only – it is
NOT part of your homework.