VICTOR VALLEY COLLEGE SYLLABUS, FALL 2012
BASIC MATH SKILLS, MATH - 10 (Connect Math), 3 UNITS
INSTRUCTOR:
Mr. Thomas Gummo
(MrG)
EMAIL:
thomas.gummo@vvc.edu
SECTION
TIME
ROOM DAYS
41110
02:20 – 03:45
21 – 155 T/TH
41117
03:55 – 05:20
21 – 156 T/TH
41138
05:30 – 06:55
21 – 156 T/TH
NO Office Hours – Part Time Instructor
SPRING CALENDER:
FALL Term Begins – August 27
Labor Day Holliday – September 3
Drop without “W” – September 9
Drop with “W” – October 12
Veteran Day Holliday – November 12
Thanksgiving Holliday – November 22 - 23
Fall Semester Ends – December 15
STATEMENT OF ACCESS: Students with special needs are encouraged to meet with instructors to discuss the opportunity for academic accommodation and be
referred to disabled student program and services per Administrative Procedure (AP 3440).
Attendance Policy: (Class attendance is not a measure of performance or proficiency. Whether a student is just physically present in the class is not a valid basis for
grading. Reference Title 5 Section 55002 of the California Code of Regulations: (A) Grading Policy. The course provides for measurement of student performance in
terms of stated course objectives and culminates in a formal, permanently recorded grade based upon uniform standards in accordance with section 55758 of this
Division. The grade is based on demonstrated proficiency in the subject matter and the ability to demonstrate that proficiency, at least in part, by means of written
expression that may include essays, or, in courses where the curriculum committee deems them to be appropriate, by problem solving exercises or skills
demonstrations by students.)
You are strongly encouraged to get tutoring or go to the Math Success Center, study in groups, and see me for help outside of class. All of these
are free! Students that get help outside of class are typically much more successful than those that do not. Regular Math Success Center hours
are: Monday-Friday 9:00 AM – 5:30 PM (starting the second week of class). The Math Lab is located in building 42 (the Academic Commons).
Outside of these those hours, please go to the information booth at the east end of the Tech building to sign in for tutoring help.
Prerequisite: Placement as determined by VVC assessment test.
Textbook: Basic College Mathematics 2nd Edition by Miller, O’Neill, Hyde
(Costs are the best that I know at this time.)
NOTE: This is a CONNECT MATH based class. There is no way to game the system. Buy CONNECT MATH!
Choice #1: Purchase CONNECT MATH online for about $80.00, tax included. Electronic access to text included.
Choice #2: Purchase CONNECT MATH from VVC bookstore for about $109.60. Electronic access to text included.
TO LOG INTO CONNECT MATH for the first time:
1. Go to: http://www.connectmath.com and click on the "SIGN UP NOW!" link located near the top of the page.
2. Enter the course code MQULC-RNERD (for all three sections)
3. Verify you have selected the correct class: basically Fall 2012, Mr. Gummo, and VVC.
4. If you have an access code purchased at the Campus Bookstore, enter it.
Otherwise,
Click on “PURCHASE AN ACCESS CODE ONLINE” link and purchase the access code.
5. Continue with the registration process until your account has been set up successfully. After you complete your account set up,
you will be logged into CONNECT MATH.
To ensure that you get up and running, a 2-week financial aid code is available for this course: 0EC5C-61E5F-9217C-737EC. Note
that it does not give add an additional two weeks to your course. You will need to purchase the course BEFORE the end of the two
weeks.
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In a way, this is a “bookless” class. While lecturing, I will refer to exercises within the text, but no homework will be required from
the text, only from CONNECT MATH (see below). You have access to the book electronically to help you study for this class. You will
not be required to have a copy of the text with you at class meetings.
My Class Notes and this Syllabus can be found at: http://www.vvc.edu/academic/mathematics/gummo.shtml or go to the VVC Web
Site’s Math Department’s Part-Time Instructor page, select my link and then select “More Info”. Notes were done for my use during
class; there are typos and mistakes, use at your own risk. I recommend that you print out the notes and bring them to class. This
way you can concentrate on the lecture and just add little notes as needed.
Course Description: This course covers the basic operations applied to whole numbers, fractions (including mixed numbers) and
decimals. Prime factorization, least common multiple, ratio and proportion, similar triangles, averages; graphs and tables, square
roots, the Pythagorean Theorem, measurement, operations on signed numbers and solutions of simple linear equations are also
covered. This course will not apply to the Associate Degree.
Student Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of the course the student can:
1. Add, subtract, multiply and divide whole numbers, fractions and decimals.
2. Solve percentage problems.
3. Find the perimeter and area of basic polygons.
Classroom Policies (in no particular order):
1. Tests and Final (about 30 - 33 questions) are based primarily on material presented in lecture and CONNECT MATH material.
YOU ARE REQUIRED TO HAVE A SCANTRON (fifty questions on each side – green or brown). 10% will be deducted from your test
score for no SCANTRON. NO calculators, notes, or “cheat sheets” will be allowed for Tests. On test days, NO EXTRA time will be
allowed to complete them. No cell phones or electronic devices will be allowed on your desk during exams. Students are expected
to complete all tests during class on the dates and times scheduled. No make-up or re-take TESTS will be given.
2. Class starts exactly at the scheduled time. Do not bring friends, children or your mother to class. Students will sign the
attendance roster at the start of each day (your job, NOT MINE). Any student coming in late is tardy and will not be allowed to sign
in. Students leaving early will also be removed from that day’s roster. Turn off cell-phones, beepers, and iPods type devices during
class time.
3. Do not hesitate to ask questions in class or after the lecture. There will be about 15 minutes at the end of each class available for
you to ask questions. Use this time wisely.
4. Academic honesty is expected of all students at all times!! College procedures with respect to probation, suspension or expulsion
will be followed in CASES OF CHEATING.
5. You are required to attend class every day. Failure to attend first day will have you dropped and someone on the wait list will
be added. After 3 hours of absence (TWO class periods) you CAN be dropped. Missing 2 tests, you WILL be dropped from this
class. It is your responsibility to keep your enrollment status current. Your grade will be an “FW” if you stop attending without
officially withdrawing. Students who have not created a Connect Math account by September 11, 2012 will be dropped.
6. Grading Policies: Grades will be based on Chapter Tests, CONNECT MATH Homework, Class Participation, and a cumulative Final
Test (which counts as two tests). Any test not taken will be regarded as a zero.
Event
Participation
Chapter Tests
Homework
“Final” Test
Percent of Grade
5
50
30
15
Number
22 Lecture Days
6 Tests*
64 assignments
1 Final**
Grade Percent
A
90.0 - 100
B
80.0 - 89.9
C
70.0 - 79.9
D
60.0 - 69.9
F
0.0 - 59.9
*One low test score will be dropped. **Final is mandatory. No Rounding.
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7. It is expected that you have a minimum 2 hours of homework for each hour in classroom (about 6 hours per week is normal, so
102 hours over the 16 weeks is minimum). CONNECT MATH homework is done online. HW is based on problems from each section
in the book and matches the sections covered during the lectures. When you select Assignments, all the assignments will be
displayed along with their due dates. Homework is due on TEST Day. LATE homework will not be accepted. PERIOD. The
computer will not allow you to work on homework after 07:00 PM on test days. Practice is a vital component in learning
mathematics. Students are to read each section in the e-book and do the assigned work. Videos for each section in the course may
be found in two places: first, by choosing the Resources tab at the top of your Connect window, or second by going to
http://www.millerhelp.com (choose the green book with the mosaic turtle on the cover). You may take each homework assignment
as many times as you wish, (only have to redo missing problems) and only the highest grade for each assignment will be recorded.
70% or higher is required to advance to next assignment
8. This course requires a reliable computer and Internet access. Smart Phones are NOT UP to the task of this course. Please ensure
your computer is in good repair at the start of the semester. It is suggested that before any major assignments, the computer be rebooted to clear any memory caches which may cause issues. While documented outages may occur, it is the student's responsibility
to meet all deadlines in this course. At the start of the semester, please go to www.connectmath.com/downloads and install the
latest versions of many key plug-ins and movie players. If you ever find your computer running slow, sometimes the cause may be
too many versions of Java running in your system. If this is the case, go into your Control Panel, uninstall both Java and Aleks. Then
go to the download page mentioned above and re-install Java first, followed by Aleks. This will solve many of the issues that
students typically face.
9. Proposed Schedule
Week
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
Date
Aug 28
Aug 30
Sep 4
Sep 6
Sep 11
Sep 13
Sep 18
Sep 20
Sep 25
Sep 27
Oct 2
Oct 4
Oct 9
Oct 11
Oct 16
Oct 18
Oct 23
Oct 25
Oct 30
Nov 1
Nov 6
Nov 8
Nov 13
Nov 15
Nov 20
Nov 22
Nov 27
Nov 29
Dec 4
Dec 6
Dec 11
Test / Lecture / HW
Intro & Connect Math
1.1 to 1.3
1.4 to 1.6
1.7 to 1.8, Review
Test Ch 1 & HW
2.1 to 2.3
2.4 to 2.6
3.1 to 3.3
3.4 to 3.5, Review
Test Ch 2 - 3 & HW
4.1 to 4.3
4.4 to 4.6
5.1 to 5.2
5.3 to 5.4, Review
Test Ch 4 - 5 & HW
6.1 to 6.3
6.4 to 6.6
7.1 to 7.3
7.4 to 7.5, Review
Test Ch 6 - 7 & HW
8.1 to 8.3
8.4 to 8.5
9.1 to 9.4, Review
Test Ch 8 - 9 & HW
10.1 to 10.2
Thanksgiving Holliday
10.3 to 10.4
11.1 to 11.2
11.3 to 11.4, Review
Test Ch 10 - 11 & HW
Review
Dec 13
Final Test
Sections 6.7, 9.5, 11.5, and 11.6 will not be covered or tested
For example, lecture days will cover the sections listed: 1.1 to
1.3 will cover sections 1, 2, and 3 of Chapter 1.
HW – Home Work is due, i.e., all the sections of the tested
chapters are due on test day by 07:00 PM, after that, no HW
will be accepted – PERIOD,
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10. Outline of Textbook:
Basic College Mathematics by Miller, O’Neill, and Hyde
Chapter 1 Whole Numbers
1.1 Intro to Whole Number
1.2 Addition of Whole Numbers and Perimeter
1.3 Subtraction of Whole Numbers
1.4 Rounding and Estimating
1.5 Multiplication of Whole Numbers and Area
1.6 Division of Whole Numbers
1.7 Exponents, Square Roots, and the Order of
Operations on Whole Numbers
1.8 Problem-solving Strategies
Chapter 2 Fractions and Mixed Numbers: Multiplication
and Division
2.1 Intro to Fractions and Mixed Numbers
2.2 Prime Numbers and Factorization
2.3 Simplifying Fractions to Lowest Terms
2.4 Multiplication of Fractions and Applications
2.5 Division of Fractions and Applications
2.6 Multiplication and Division of Mixed
Numbers
Chapter 3 Fractions and Mixed Numbers: Addition and
Subtraction
3.1 Addition and Subtraction of Like Fractions
3.2 Least Common Multiple
3.3 Addition and Subtraction of Unlike Fractions
3.4 Addition and Subtraction of Mixed Numbers
3.5 Order of Operations and Application of
Fractions and Mixed Numbers
Chapter 4 Decimals
4.1 Decimal notation and Rounding
4.2 Addition and Subtraction of Decimals
4.3 Multiplication of Decimals
4.4 Division of Decimals
4.5 Fraction as Decimals
4.6 Order of Operations and Application of
Decimals
Chapter 5 Ratio and Proportion
5.1 Ratios
5.2 Rates
5.3 Proportions
5.4 Applications of Proportions and Similar
Figures
Chapter 6 Percents
6.1 Percents and Their Fraction and Decimals
Forms
6.2 Fractions and Decimals and Their Percent
Forms
6.3 Percent Proportions and Applications
6.4 Percent Equations and Applications
6.5 Applications Involving Sales Tax,
Commission, Discount, and Markup
6.6 Percent Increase and Decrease
6.7 Simple and Compound Interest (Not
Covered)
Chapter 7 Measurement
7.1 Converting U.S. Customary Units of Length
7.2 Converting U.S. Customary Units of Time,
Weight, and Capacity
7.3 Metric Units of Length
7.4 Metric Units of Mass and Capacity and
Medical Applications
7.5 Converting Between U.S. Customary and
Metric Units
Chapter 8 Geometry
8.1 Lines and Angles
8.2 Triangles and Pythagorean Theorem
8.3 Quadrilaterals, Perimeter and Area
8.4 Circles, Circumference, and Area
8.5 Volume
Chapter 9 Introduction to Statistics
9.1 Tables, Bar Graphs, Pictographs, and Line
Graphs
9.2 Frequency Distributions and Histograms
9.3 Circle Graphs
9.4 Mean, Median, and Mode
9.5 Introduction to Probability (Not Covered)
Chapter 10 Real Numbers
10.1 Real Numbers and the Real Number Line
10.2 Addition of Real Numbers
10.3 Subtraction of Real Numbers
10.4 Multiplication and Division of Real
Numbers
10.5 Order of Operations
Chapter 11 Solving Equations
11.1 Properties of Real Numbers
11.2 Simplifying Expressions
11.3 Addition and Subtraction Properties of
Equality
11.4 Multiplication and Division of Equality
11.5 Solving Equations with Multiple Steps (Not
Covered)
11.6 Application and Problem Solving (Not
Covered)
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