MATH 2000 — Syllabus

MATH 2000WI1: Introduction to Higher Education, FALL 2012

Section 1:  MW 12:45pm--2:00pm (Goodwyn 222),   Course ID (CRN #):  1562

 

INSTRUCTOR

Yi Wang, Ph.D., Associate Professor
Auburn University Montgomery

Department of Mathematics

School of Sciences

Room 213B, Goodwyn Hall

Email:  [email protected]

Homepage: http://sciences.aum.edu/~ywang

Phone: 334.244.3318

Office Hours: MW:9:40am--10:40am, or by appointment.

WAC intern: Heather Pierce ([email protected])

           

 PREREQUISITES: MATH 1610 or an equivalent course.

 

TEXT: Kevin Houston, How to Think Like a Mathematician   ISBN-13: 9780521719780.   

CALCULATORS:  All students are recommended to have a graphing calculator; the TI-84 (TI-83) is recommended. If you own some other graphing calculator, it is your responsibility to find out how to perform the required operations on it. Please bring the calculator to all class meetings and exams. You may use the calculator for each test, but you will be required to show all work for the tests and if you rely on the calculator for solutions, you will get zero credit. You are here to learn calculus and the calculator will be used only as an aid. A calculator with CAS is prohibited and using such a calculator will be considered as cheating and may jeopardize your student status.

 

COURSE DESCRIPTION:

The major goal of this course will be to prepare the undergraduate mathematics major for success in the junior and senior level mathematics courses which require

 students to write mathematical proofs. Therefore developing proof techniques and strategies and writing a mathematically sound proof, with a focus on the following topics, will constitute a large portion of the class.  In the meantime, reading is also an important component of the course.

Topics to be covered are: basic logic, basic set theory, functions and relations, Equivalence relations and partitions, number systems, cardinality, well ordering

 and the axiom of choice.

COURSE OBJECTIVES:

• Prepare the undergraduate mathematics major for success in junior and senior level mathematics courses;

• prepare students for mathematical   writing in the general sense;

• teach students the steps involved in making a rigorous mathematical argument;

• educate students in the use of the mathematical typesetting language Latex.

·       WAC Statement: This writing-intensive course is in partial completion of AUM’s 5-course WAC program requirement.
Writing Across the Curriculum: This course is a writing intensive course and will satisfy one of the two required content writing intensive courses that mathematics majors need to have in order to graduate. As such there will be a great deal of writing in this course. Many short writing homework assignments will be given where students will be required to write a number of proofs.    In addition, all students will have a writing project where a topic of significantly more depth than the standard homework writing assignment is considered. It is expected that the students will write a short paper over such a topic agreed upon by the instructor and the student.  It is expected that this projects will  go through multiple drafts. There will be a peer-review component with feedback, multiple drafts, and instructor feedback before a final paper is turned in for assessment.

WThe Typesetting system Latex: Latex is an open source typesetting system that is mainly used by mathematicians and engineers to write mathematics. Students will be introduced to Latex and will be expected to complete all assignments using Latex.

 This course will use Blackboard http://bb9.aum.edu. Syllabus, Class announcements, homework assignments, weekly schedule and updated grades will be posted on Blackboard. On-line quizzes within BlackBoard may be offered.  It is the students’ responsibility to check the information posted on BlackBoard . I will also post from time to time some studying resources such as old exams on BlackBoard .

 

HOMEWORK/QUIZZES/WORKSHEETS:  It is imperative that you do the homework. If you have trouble with the assigned problems (or any others in your book) then see me ASAP. Please work as many problems as you can (even beyond the assigned list if possible). The bottom line is that if you want to learn some mathematics, the only way to do this is by “getting your hands dirty” working problems.  The collected Homework/Quizzes/worksheets will be averaged for part of your overall grade. Sometimes in-class Quiz will be given without notice in advance.

 

LAST DAY TO  DROP/RESIGN CLASSES: Wed.,  Oct. 24, 2012.

 

EXAMS: There will be two in-class   tests and one final.  The final exam is comprehensive.  Being absent from the Final Exam results in a grade of FA. You must prove to the instructor’s satisfaction that your absence was unavoidable, in order to take a makeup Final Exam.

 

GRADES: Here is a breakdown of the Homework/quizzes/worksheets/tests/final:

                                                     Homework writing assignments, (may include quizzes) ….30% 

                                                     Journal...............10% 

                                                     Test 1…………10%

                                                     Test 2…………10%

                                                     Final………..…20%

                                                    Topic paper.........20%
                                      

 

            If you get the following percentage you will receive

                                                        >=90..................………A

                                                        >= 80 and <90………..B

                                                        >=70 and <80………...C

                                                        >=60 and <70….……..D

 

Grades in the course will reflect students’ demonstrated attainment of course objectives. I reserve the right to adjust these ranges downward or make appropriate scaling if necessary due to excessive difficulty of assignments or tests. Borderline cases will be considered according to the attendance, grades of all three mid-exams and the grade of the final by the discretion of the instructor.  

 

STUDYING RESOURCES:

• There are 30 class meetings (each of 100 minutes), plus the final exam period .

• FREE TUTORING HELP: Students can go to the Learning Center, 325 Moore Hall, 244-3470, for free tutoring help for this course by appointment.   Additional tutoring services are available in the Instructional Support Lab, 203 Goodwyn Hall, 244-3265.

• Book Companion Website: http://www1.maths.leeds.ac.uk/~khouston/httlam.html                                                          

SOME IMPORTANT POLICIES IN THIS CLASS: 

HOW TO SUCCEED THIS COURSE?

In addition to my effort, your efforts are indispensable. 

(1) Except extreme cases, attending class only is far less sufficient to succeed (pass? ) the course. Let alone occasionally attending class.

(2)  To get a grade C, one is advised to spend at least 1 hour (depending on your background in mathematics) for each lecture hour in reviewing the lecture notes, doing the examples in the lecture notes and in the book, and doing some homework problems.

(3) To get a grade B, one is advised to spend at least 1-2 hours for  each lecture hour in reviewing the lecture notes, doing the examples in the lecture notes and in the book, and doing most of the  homework problems.

(4) To get a grade A, one is advised to spend at least 1-3 hours for  each lecture hour in reviewing the lecture notes, doing the examples in the lecture notes and in the book, and doing almost all the  homework problems.

 

I would suggest you to write down your objective grade for this course, and commit your effort to this milestone of your life goal. Again, I wish you succeed.

My objective grade for this course is                         . I will commit         hours for each lecture hour to study the course materials. 

 

GUIDELINES OF HOW TO CALCULATE YOUR FINAL GRADE:

1. The overall score is calculated according to the contributions from quizzes/homework/worksheet (40%), two mid-exams (10% each),  final(20%) and topic paper (20%).
2. All raw scores are converted to percentage to participate in calculating and comparison. The maximum percentage is 100% for any given quiz or exam.
3. A missed quiz is scored as 0 for that quiz.   Finally, the average percentage of all the quizzes are calculated for the points of the quiz part. 
    

4. The grade of the final can be  used to replace  the worst grade of the two mid-exams if it’s higher.

The policy of this class is to encourage students who are diligent in this course and therefore any one who is serious about his/her study can take advantage of ONE opportunity to improve their grades.  

APPEALS: After final course grades have been submitted, you may appeal your final grade. As a first step, you would make a written appeal to the instructor of the course.

CLASS ATTENDANCE AND ENVIRONMENT: Perfect or near-perfect class attendance is important for students to gain and demonstrate competency in course concepts and skills. Students are expected to accept responsibility for class attendance and to complete in-class work assignments and examinations as scheduled by the instructor.

            Please be courteous to your fellow students and the instructor at all times. For example, do not converse with other students, read the newspaper, or sleep during the lecture. Do not pack up earlier than scheduled dismissing time.

Cell phones have to be set to silent (or preferably be turned off). If you have to answer a cell phone call during class, please quietly leave the classroom and move to a location where your conversation does not disrupt any class in progress.

Children should not be brought to class, except in emergency circumstances and only with the permission of the instructor.

Food, drinks, or gum should not be brought into the classroom.

AUM prohibits smoking in campus buildings. If you smoke, you may only do so outside the buildings.

PLAGIARISM: Plagiarism or cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. You can discuss solutions with classmates, but cannot copy (totally or partially) someone else’s solution or allow someone else to copy your solution. You will receive an ”F” in the course if you are caught.

DISCIPLINE AND ACADEMIC HONESTY. The policies of the Student Discipline Code apply. You are advised to familiarize yourself with these policies, which can be found in the current edition of the AUMANAC.  Please, adhere to the standards of academic integrity stated in the AUM Catalog.

SPECIAL SERVICES.
It is the policy of Auburn University Montgomery to accommodate individuals with disabilities pursuant to federal law and the University’s commitment to equal educational opportunities. It is the responsibility of the student to inform the instructor of any necessary accommodations at the beginning of the course. If you qualify for this service, please contact either the AUM’s Center for Disability Services (CDS) located in Library Tower, Room 706 (Phone: 334-244-3632, Fax:334-244-3907, TDD: 344-244-3754) or me for the corresponding referral.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

Material presented in this course may be protected by copyright law.    

 

Disclaimer: The right of interpretation of this syllabus solely belongs to the instructor.