Math 150 is a web-based course with the materials ranging from linear equations and inequalities to discrete probability . All sections are self-paced. You do most of the studying and test-taking on your own, following the instructions offered through the course web site. All homework assignments/exams are open to students when the semester starts. You may do/take them as early as you want. The due dates are various (See the Weekly Lesson Plans). You do/take them online in MyLabsPlus.
Each student has been assigned to a section, and each section has an official meeting time. During the first week the TAs will use that time to give an introduction to the course and get everyone signed up for MyLabsPlus. It is highly recommended that you show up at your scheduled time the first week. We will show you how to log into the main web site for this course, and show you around. Before you go, read the file Getting Started. If you can't make it at the scheduled time, go at one of the other times (see schedule).
After the first week, we will run the section meetings as office hours. A TA will be in the lab and lecture on the materials if there is demand, or help you one-on-one. At high-demand times before exams, we may have extra TAs there. You can attend any section meeting, but it is up to you whether you want to show up or not (or show up several times).
We don't sign people into sections that the registrar shows as full. You can sign up for any section that has space available, and attend at a different time if you want.
We will not let anybody join the class after Monday of the third week. That will give the students at least 4 days to get caught up with all assignments up to that point. There will not be any signups after that date, and no extensions for students adding late. (The details are given in the FAQ file.)
In the first three weeks of the classes, only Dr Pan sign the drop slips. After that, all TAs can also do it.
The course coordinator is Jun Pan. The TA coordinator is Kevin Palmowski . The TAs are Diana Hay, Josh LaGrange and Xavier Martinez. Click on the "Instructors" heading for more information about your instructors.
Dr Pan handles everything computer-related: web site, online exams, score keeping, as well as other requests: adds and drops, disability accommodation, deadline extensions, etc. The TAs answer questions about the mathematical materials, and simple questions about problems with your computer and the course web site.
You need two things for this class: a textbook and an access code. The access code is absolutely essential. The book is recommended. You may use an e-book, so you could get by without a printed book.
The access code comes included with a new textbook. If you buy a used book, you have to buy the access code separately, either from the ISU bookstore or online.
You will need an access code to do all of the assignments. If you are waiting for financial aid to come through, you can use a temporary access code. Details are given in the file Getting Started.
The book is Barnett/Ziegler/Byleen, Finite Mathematics for Business, Economics, Life Sciences and Social Sciences, second custom edition for Iowa State University. ISBN: 978-1-256-31008-5.
The ISU custom edition is a shortened version of the edition 12 of the full book. If you get a copy of the full book elsewhere, you can use that, you just won't be able to sell it back to the bookstore. If you have a copy of the 11th edition, you can also use that. No very big difference on materials between the two editions, but there are bigger changes in the exercises.
You need a way to do calculations in this class. A calculator would be the easiest; it does not have to be graphing. A calculator with some statistical functions is more useful than a graphing calculator in this class. Some problems in the assignments say to use a graphing calculator, but you don't really need one. You can almost do them in your head. If you truly have to solve an equation with a graphing calculator, Excel may be a good replacement.
You can also use the Excel spreadsheet as a calculator during homeworks and on exams. We won't teach you Excel in general, but we will show you how to do specific calculations related to the course topics. You could get by with Excel and/or the simple calculator built into Windows (under Programs -> Accessories).
You can do your homework on any computer anytime anywhere the internet is available, but you can take exams only in one of the Math computer labs.
We will be covering parts of appendix A (review of algebra), and chapters 1 through 8 and 11. The main topics are
You will find the details in the weekly lesson plans, which is a very important document guilding your study of the course. Strongly suggest you read the corresponding topics in it before you do your homework or take an exam.
Your final grade is based on your overall percentage. We add up all points from homeworks and exams, and convert that to a percentage. At the end of the semester, we add up to 2% of extra credit. Homework assignments make up 40% of your score, exams 60%. Details are given in the Grades.
Each assignment has a due date (see weekly lesson plans) . Make sure you stay ahead of the deadlines. We will only grant exceptions for verifiable and unforeseeable circumstances. foreseeable means: if you know beforehand that you will be out of town for a sports meet or a military training, or anything elso, you have to work ahead. Verifiable means: if you get sick, be prepared to back it up with a doctor's note.
If you cannot finish an assignment on time, ask Dr Pan for an extension as soon as possible. For foreseeable events, that means before you leave town. For other events, that means as soon as possible afterwards. Even with the flu you can still send email.
The first two homework assignments have a deadline, but you can actually complete them until the end of week 3. That is for the benefit of students who add the class late. Don't get used to it, that only works for the first three assignments.
The course coordinator reserves the right to handle requests for make-up assignments on an individual basis. Usually we go by the rules below, but there is no guarantee that we always will.
If you get sick or otherwise are unable to complete an assignment, and you contact us as soon as you know about it, we will usually give you an extension without requiring further documentation (doctor's note or whatever). We may impose extra consequences if your problem is due to procrastination (see next paragraph). The second time you need an extension, be prepared to back it up with proof.
We reserve the right to impose further consequences on make-up assignments, such as limiting an exam to one try instead of three, forfeiting the 1% possible extra credit for homeworks or exams, or other conditions. You can expect this if you "forget" to complete an assignment, or you wait several days to contact us, or if you procrastinate and wait until shortly before the deadline and run into snags.
Homeworks are done in MyLabsPlus from any computer. There are three kinds of homeworks: regular homeworks, Excel homeworks, and practice exams.
There are 12 regular homeworks. Each of them contains 20 problems, worth 2 points each. The problems can be done and re-done in any order, independently of each other.
The first one is a special Homework 0 about course policies, which will quiz you on items in the syllabus (and some of the documents referenced there). If it is in the syllabus, you are supposed to know about it, and this HW 0 will make sure of that. You cannot do any other assignment (except HW 1) until you have finished HW 0 with a 100% score. That is not as harsh as it sounds: you can repeat each question individually until you get it right.
You have all sorts of help available during the regular homeworks: you can call up an online version of the relevant textbook section, you can ask for a solved similar problem, you can ask to be walked through the problem step by step. Some problems have videos attached.
If you use one of the helps, or if you type in the wrong answer 3 times, you need to click on Similar Problem for a new version of the same problem. You can repeat each problem until you get it right. It is only the last score that counts for each problem. The system does not even save any earlier scores.
There is really no excuse not to get 100% credit on all the homework, except that you didn't spend the necessary time on it. As an extra incentive, you will get 1% extra credit if you complete all the regular and Excel homework problems with at least an 80% score.
Also read the Homework section in the FAQ web page.
There are 4 Excel homeworks. They each contain only 1, 2 or 3 problems (usually multi-part), and are worth 15 points each. These problems are too big to solve by hand; you have to use technology.
The intention is that you will do those problems using Excel. We will teach you in class how to do that, and there are also Excel tutorials (can be found in the Weekly Lesson Plans ) to teach you. However, we have no way of checking what you actually use. Some of them could be done with a graphing calculator, or by other means. Either way, you will need some kind of technology.
The Excel tutorials are only for learning how to use Excel. You don't have to turn them in.
Practice Exams are different from homeworks in several respects: You don't have any of the help functions available, and you don't get feedback until you are done with all questions. You are limited to 3 tries, and there is a time limit. Many students have reported that the first exam was a shock to the system, so we put in some practice exams.
The practice exams are a bit shorter (10 questions instead of 12), but otherwise identical to the real exams. You can take them from any computer. The password for all practice exams is "practice".
Practice exams only carry a small amount of credit (10 or 20 points each), but you have to try them at least once. You cannot take an exam until you have taken the corresponding practice exam at least once and get at least 10% of credit. Practice Exams are counted as part of the homework scores for the grades, but they are not counted towards the extra credit for passing all homeworks at the 80% and up level.
There are four exams and the final exam. This is where most of the credit for this class comes from. You have 3 tries for each. Don't waste them.
The recommended procedure is this:
Don't wait until the last possible moment to take the exam. There may be lines outside the labs (if too many people are procrastinating), or you may run into computer problems or other snags.
There are a lot more things you should know about the exams. This is all written up in the Exam Policies, but you don't need to read that until you get ready to take the first exam, several weeks into the course.
A common complaint from students is "I have basically the correct answer, but in a slightly different form than the computer wants. Can I get credit?".
The short answer is this: if your answer is truly correct, just in a different format, contact Dr. Pan and request a review. If your answer is only approximately correct, or has a typo in it, you will not get credit. The long answer is given in the FAQ file.
Before you contact Dr. Pan, ask yourself whether your anwer is truly correct. Sometimes the answer has multiple fields to be filled in. If one of them is wrong, the whole answer counts as wrong. (Yes, we would like partial credit here, but we don't have this option). Correct is not the same as approximately correct. 0.25 is the same as 1/4, but 0.33 is not the same as 1/3.
Also read the problem carefully for statements like "enter the answer as a fraction", or "enter the answer to 3 decimal places", and check that you did that.
When you ask, make sure to include all details: which homework or exam? If it is an exam, which of your multiple tries? Which questions? Your name and section?
If you need help with the materials, you can go to any lab meeting and ask a TA there. Check the Schedule before you go.
The line of students waiting for office hour help has gotten quite long a few times, usually right before an exam. In such cases, the TA holding the office hour has the right to impose rules that guarantee that everybody gets a turn within a reasonable time.
The TA may work with students in groups, he/she may set up some students to work on something together while he/she helps other students, he/she may limit the time for each student to 5 minutes (after which a student would have to go to the end of the line and wait their turn again).
The course coordinator also has office hours, but those are not for help with the math materials. Contact Dr Pan with any questions or problems involving the course web site, online assignments, or grades. She also handles the questions, such as signing an add/drop slip, giving permission to make up an assignment, or other special arrangements.
If you have a documented disability and require accommodations, you should obtain a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) from the Disability Resources office (Student Services Building, Room 1076, 294-6624 or TDD 294-6335, disabilityresources@iastate.edu or accommodations@iastate.edu). Please contact your Math 150 course administrator early in the semester so that your learning needs may be appropriately met.
More information about disability resources in the Mathematics Department can be found at http://www.math.iastate.edu/About/AccommodationPol.html.