MATH 190-02, Spring 2011

Quick links:


Course information:

Instructor: Jake Wildstrom
Office: Natural Sciences Building 231
Primary office hours: Monday 12:30–13:30, Thursday 11:00–12:00
Secondary office hours: Monday 15:00–16:00, Wedensday 14:00–15:00 or by appointment
Phone number: (502)852-5845 (x5845)
E-mail: dwildstr@erdos.math.louisville.edu
Lecture: MWF 09:30–10:45 in Natural Sciences Building 110
Prerequisites: Appropriate placement score or equivalent coursework.
Description: MATH 190 normally prepares student for MATH 205. Advanced topics in algebraic and rational expressions, factoring, exponents, and radicals; theory of equations and inequalities; functions. Analytic geometry, trigonometry.
Special notes: Credit may not be received for both MATH 190 and any of MATH 111, MATH 112, or ENGR 190. MATH 190 is a general education course and may not be taken pass/fail.
Textbook: Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus by James Stewart, Lothar Redlin, and Saleem Watson, fifth edition.
Learning Goals: In this class, we will learn to construct and manipulate functions, specifically polynomial, rational, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions. This course fulfills a General Education requirement in Mathematics. One goal of the course will be to practice and develop critical thinking skills. Key elements of critical thinking include: identifying the question or problem, developing an abstraction or model, and drawing practical conclusions based on theoretical analysis.
Responsibilities: You are responsible for attending class on a regular basis and maintaining comprehension of the scheduled class objectives for each day. You are expected to be active participants in class, and to attend quizzes and examinations. Assignments are provided for your benefit and you are expected to work on them for your own benefit in order to grasp concepts for the course.
Special needs: Any scheduled absence during a quiz or examination, or any other special needs, must be brought to my attention during the first week of class. Unscheduled absences will be handled on a case-by-case basis, with exceptions generally made only for documented emergencies.
Calculators: Calculators are unnecessary for any in-class work, and may not be used on quizzes or examinations. Calculators will also be unnecessary for most homework problems, but may be used at your discretion. For any calculation more complicated than simple arithmetic, you are expected to show your work.
Honesty: There are many resources available to help you succeed in this class, including consultation during office hours, secondary textbooks, and cooperation with other students. It is important, however, that all papers handed in be the result of your individual comprehension of the course material. Duplication of others' work is both a disservice to your own education and a serious violation of the university's academic honesty policy.
Grades: Homework is ungraded and is provided for study purposes. Quizzes will be based on the homework problems, and will account for one-sixth of your grade. The three midterm examinations will each be worth one-sixth, and the final examination is worth one-third. A 90% overall guarantees a grade of A–, 80% guarantees a B–, and 70% guarantees a C–.
Changes: The syllabus is subject to change. Changes will be announced in class and updated online.

Course schedule

This schedule is tentative and may not reflect our progress at any particular time in the class; treat this as a rough guide only.

Week Monday Wednesday Friday
1
January 10
Sections 1.1–1.5
January 12
Sections 1.6, 1.7, 1.8, 1.10
January 14
Sections 2.1, 2.2
Add/drop day
Quiz #1
2
January 17
MLK holiday
January 19
Sections 2.3, 2.4
January 21
Section 2.5
Quiz #2
3
January 24
Section 2.6
January 26
Sections 2.7, 2.8
January 28
Section 3.1
Quiz #3
4
January 31
Section 3.2
February 2
Section 3.3
February 4
Exam #1
5
February 7
Section 3.1
February 9
Section 3.2
February 11
Section 3.3
6
February 14
Section 3.4
February 16
Section 3.5
February 18
Section 3.6
Quiz #4
7
February 21
Section 4.1
February 23
Section 4.2
February 25
Section 4.3
Quiz #5
8
February 28
Section 4.4
Withdrawl day
March 2
Section 4.5
March 4
Section 5.1
Quiz #6
9
March 7
Section 5.2
March 9
Section 5.3
March 11
Exam #2
10
March 14–March 18
Spring break
11
March 21
Section 5.4
March 23
Section 5.5
March 25
Section 6.1
12
March 28
Section 6.2
March 30
Section 6.3
April 1
Section 6.4
Quiz #7
13
April 4
Section 6.5
April 6
Section 7.1
April 8
Section 7.2
Quiz #8
14
April 11
Section 7.3
April 13
Section 7.4
April 15
Exam #3
15
April 18
Section 7.5
April 20
Section 11.1
April 22
Section 11.2
16
April 25
Section 11.3
April 27
No class
April 29
Final exam, 08:00–10:30

Schedule of assignments

Boldface problems are particularly advanced and will test problem-solving skills beyond the core of the course material.


Return to Jake's teaching.

Valid HTML 4.01 Transitional