Math 142: Trigonometry and Analytic Geometry
Section XW: self-paced extended education class
Spring 2005
Instructor: B. Wagner
Phone: 707-476-4207
Fax: 707-476-4424
E-mail: math142x@math.iastate.edu
WWW: http://orion.math.iastate.edu/wagner
Course homepage: http://orion.math.iastate.edu/trig/sp/xs05
TOPICS: Trigonometric functions and their inverses, solving triangles, trigonometric identities and equations, graphing, polar coodinates, complex numbers, standard equations of lines and conic sections, and parametric equations.
PREREQUISITES: Satisfactory performance on the math placement exam, two years
of high school algebra, one year of high school geometry, or enrollment in Math 140.
TEXTBOOK: Precalculus, 7th edition, by Michael Sullivan, published
by Prentice Hall, 2005, with Study Pack (includes Student Solutions Manual, CD Lecture
Series, and access code for the Prentice Hall Tutor Center), ISBN #0131517503.
Textbook packages will be available through the Iowa
State University Bookstore online at http://www.isubookstore.com
or by telephone at 1-800-478-0048.
(As another option, you may buy a used copy of the
6th edition of the textbook if you want. Homework assignments will be available for
both editions. If you decide on this option, you should also buy the Student Solutions
Manual for the 6th edition.)
COURSE STRUCTURE: This combined section of Math 141-142 will operate as a
self-paced, web-based course with no formal lectures, offered through the Extended
and Continuing Education office.
Unit Exams: The course is divided into 9 units which you will have to complete consecutively. A detailed syllabus and directions for the completion of each unit will be given on the course website (see the Detailed Schedule page for Math 142). Instruction for each unit will be provided by readings from the textbook, homework problems from the textbook, and supplementary material available online and via CD-ROM. To complete the unit, you must take the Unit Pretest and the Unit Exam.
Final Exams: There will also be one Trigonometry Final Exam after unit 6, and one Analytic Geometry Final Exam at the end of the course. However, this last exam is not comprehensive. See the Detailed Schedule page for the sections covered by each exam.
All graded exams are taken over the World Wide Web, and the Unit Exams and the Final Exams must be taken in the presence of a designated proctor (see the proctor instructions for details). However, you can take the Unit Pretests and take practice Unit Exams from home or anywhere else on the web. See the Online Testing page for specific details and rules concerning online exams.
There will be deadlines imposed for the completion of each unit, as well as deadlines for the two Final Exams, but in all other respects you will be able to work at your own speed. Thus, depending on your background and workload, you may be able to proceed quickly through the course.
GRADING:
|
Unit Pretests |
45 point (5 points each) |
|
Unit exams |
180 points (20 points each) |
|
Trigonometry Final Exam |
100 points |
|
Analytic Geometry Final Exam |
75 points |
|
85-100% |
A |
|
72-84% |
B |
|
60-71% |
C |
|
50-59% |
D |
AVAILABLE HELP: Personal help will be available both from the instructor via
email and fax, and through the Prentice
Hall Math Tutor Center. Additional advice and help resources are given on the
Help page.
IS THIS COURSE FOR ME? This course may be appropriate for some students, and
perhaps not for others. A student taking this course must be self-motivated and must
actively seek help when needed. The course may be especially beneficial for students
who have learned the material before and just need a review, and also for students
who are simultaneously taking Calculus. Students who have trouble learning in a large
lecture format may also benefit from this approach. Students who have never taken
trigonometry may find the usual in-class format a better choice, but even in this
case exceptionally self-motivated individuals should be able to take the self-paced
version. The eLearner
web site has some helpful information for students planning to take a course on the
web.
This self-paced class has run for several years, and it has worked well for most students, especially those who followed the study guidelines and did not fall behind schedule. You may be interested in some grade distributions and comparisons from previous semesters of Math 141 and 142.
USE OF CALCULATORS: A good graphing calculator is required. The calculator
must be able to do parametric plots in addition to usual plots of functions, and
should be able to solve equations numerically (i.e., find intersections of curves).
My own recommendation for this course is the TI-83+, which is an excellent, easy-to-use
calculator that meets these requirements. However, many other calculators also meet
the above requirements and will work fine in this course.
DISABILITIES: Any student who feels that s/he may need an accommodation based
on the impact of a disability should contact
the instructor as soon as possible. The student will also need to obtain a Student
Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form from the Disability Resources (DR) office
(515-294-6624). Every effort will be made to meet accommodation requests. However,
because this course uses online assessment exclusively, some types of accommodations
may not be possible. In addition, no retroactive accommodations will be provided.
