Math 50C: Instructor's Syllabus
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Official Course Outline
The official course outline for College Algebra, including content, objectives, and student learning outcomes, can be viewed online via the following link:
Prerequisite Classes
Math 50B (or equivalent) with a grade of "C" or better
Instructor's Schedule
The following link contains a copy of my schedule, including office hours.
Note: These are "official" office hours. However, I will make myself available whenever I can. Please do not be afraid to ask for help at any time as I am always eager to help.
Office Location and Phone
- Physical Science building PS114A
- Office phone: (707) 476-4222
Cancelled Classes
Those driving long distances to attend classes are advised to call (707) 476-4210 before driving to the CR campus. Choose #5 from a menu of choices. You will then be advised of any cancelled classes for the day in the Physical Sciences complex (math/science). Thus, you can avoid the frustration of driving to campus, only to find that your class has been cancelled.
My email address is: David-Arnold@redwoods.edu
myCR
Click the myCR icon that follows. This will initiate contact with myCR. Click the Account tool, then the Modify Details button. Change your password. Be sure to write down your login name and password for future reference. Next, click the Profile tool and enter any information you wish to share. Don't enter things like phone numbers that you wish to keep private.
Once you login to myCR, locate your math class and take some time to find out what is provided. Then read the "Welcome Message" in the Discussion Board and reply to to the "Welcome Message" thread. In the future, use the Discussion Board to discuss issues and problems you are having with your class.
Getting Help
Help is available in many forms.
- Your instructor is always available for help in PS114A when he isn't teaching class or attending a meeting. Take advantage.
- There are two great study rooms in the Physical Sciences building where the "math geeks" hang out, PS119 and PS116. If you study in these rooms during your break, it is highly likely that there will be people in there who might kindly answer a question or two. Just remember that they have their own studies as well and don't overly monopolize their time.
- The Academic Support Center (ASC) in the library provides individual and group tutoring. You need to check in at the ASC desk and make an appointment to meet with a tutor.
- The "Mathlab" resides along the windows in the ASC. You must first go to registration (Forum Building) and register for Math 52 to make use of the mathlab. You can either register for 1/2 unit or a full unit.
- If you register for 1/2 unit, you must complete 22.5 hours in the mathlab. This amounts on average to 1.5 hours per week.
- If you register for 1 unit, you must complete 45 hours in the mathlab. This amounts on average to 3 hours per week.
After you complete the registration process at Registration, proceed to the Mathlab which is located in the Academic Support Center (ASC) of the Learning Resource Center (LRC). There will be an instructor there who will give you an information page, and a contract to sign.
Comprehensive information on the Mathlab is available at the following link:
You can find a list of instructors who work in the Mathlab (Math 52) and a schedule for the hours that Mathlab is open at the following link.
Math 52 Instructor Schedule and Hours
The mathlab is not a great place to get personal, extensive, one-on-one tutoring (you should make an appointment with an ASC tutor for that), but it is a great place to work on your homework and get quick help when you are stuck. People work on their homework, then raise their hand when stuck, and tutors come by as soon as they are available. Tutors are trained to jump around from student to student, hopefully not taking too much time with each question, so its likely that you can get quick attention as you need it.
Classroom Environment
It is expected that everyone involved in this class, teacher and students alike, will act in a manner conducive to providing a comfortable environment for learning, a classroom where students feel free to ask and answer questions without fear of embarrassment or ridicule.
It is important to stay on task when class is in session. Hence, conversation not pertaining to the subject at hand should be taken outside the classroom.
I understand that students will have to get up and leave the room for various reasons and I also understand that students will arrive late from time to time. However, courtesy requires that you enter and leave as quietly as possible, without disturbing discussion or lecture.
It is essential for student success to maintain a good environment in the classroom. If you have any personal difficulties with the learning envrionment in the classroom, please visit me in my office to discuss them.
Textbooks
The Mathematics Department continues to be concerned with the rising prices of textbooks. Consequently, students in Math 50C do not have to buy a text. You may check one out from the College of the Redwoods library or, if you must, you can purchase online. For more information, the following link has detailed discussion and instruction:
Obtaining a textbook for Math 50C.
Reading the Textbook
It is important that you read and work the examples in the textbook before attemping the exercises. Many students will work the process in reverse. That is, they begin working the exercises, then if stuck, they page back through the narrative in the text seeking a similar example to the exercise on which they are working. This is not a recommended approach to the study of mathematics.
Computing Resources
The Eureka campus houses computing facilities for its calculus students. They are located in the physical sciences building, rooms PS110 PS116. There are a number of powerful software packages on the machines in this room that will aid in the study of calculus. See your instructor for login name and password.
When you login to the computer, open up the Explorer or My Computer. The H: drive is mapped to your personal space on the server. You should see your login name on this folder. Double-click this folder to open it and reveal several more folders: Desktop, Documents, Library, Movies, Music, Pictures, Public, and Sites.
- You should not be downloading music, movies, or pictures, so don't use those folders.
- The Library folder is used by programs. You probably won't need to use this.
- The Desktop folder is for files on the Desktop.
- Anything you put into the Public folder is just that, it's "public" and anyone can see it. This is a great way to share files with a lab and/or project partner.
- The Sites folder is your personal web page repository. Browse to http://msemac.redwoods.edu/~loginname/, where you replace loginname with your personal login. For example, I would enter http://msemac.redwoods.edu/~darnold/. You are not to use this folder for building a personal web site. Offenders of this policy will lose all computing privileges. You should only use this site to create materials specifically requested by your instructor.
- The Documents folder is where you should put all of your work. This folder is secure and the files in this folder cannot be read or written to by anyone but you.
- Computer Lab Information: A nice summary of information for our computer labs is available in the document Math Computer Labs.
Computer Lab -- Code of Conduct
Please see Computer Labs --- Code of Conduct for a set of rules and guidelines for computer use and maintaining decorum in the study rooms available in the physical sciences building.
Transferring Files to and from the Department Server
Along with your username and password, which allow you to log on to computers in the Math/Science/Engineering computer labs and print your class assignments, you are granted some file storage space on the Math department's file server, MSEMac, which allows you to save files files and access them at school as well as at home. Using the server to store and back up your class files will help ensure that you are always up-to-date on your assignments, will let you work on projects in multiple places, can guard against computer failure, and lets you transfer files from campus and back without needing a memory stick.
The process for connecting to MSEMac is different for Macs and PCs (the former is somewhat simpler). If you have a Mac, please read our guide to connecting to MSEMac for Macs, and if you have a PC, please read our guide to connecting to MSEMac for PCs.
Calculators
Most of our computation and plotting will be done with Matlab. Whatever graphing calculator you currently own will be sufficient for your needs in this course.
One important issue is the TI89 graphing calculator, which does symbolic calculation, including differentiation and integration. It is my position that you should be able to both integrate and differentiate without the use of this calculator. Therefore, it is essential that you show all steps on your homework when performing any integrations to receive full credit for your work.
Matlab
Matlab is a powerful software package created by the engineers at the Mathworks. Matlab software can be installed on several platforms, including Linux, Mac OS X, and Windows XP.
If you do not have a computer capable of running the Matlab software, then you can take advantage of the computing power located in rooms Ps110, PS116 and PS118. Matlab is installed on each of these machines for use by students in multivariable calculus.
You can also purchase the student edition of Matlab 7 at
Please check
to see if your system has adequate hardware to run this release of Matlab. This kit includes the Matlab software, the Symbolic Toolbox (an interface to Maple), and Simulink, powerful engineering modeling and design software. The kit also contains a version of the Image Processing and Signal Processing toolboxes, as well as other assorted toolboxes.
Quizzes
Over the years, I have become more and more frustrated with the approach that students take in their studies. Typically, when students know an exam is coming up, they put on hold studies in their other classes to "cram" for the upcoming test. This is perfectly understandable and I freely admit that I did much the same thing when I was a student.
However, this is really not a good way to learn. Often, students are frustrated to find themselves behind in their other classes as they stuggle to prepare for an exam. They are unable to participate in lectures and they cannot follow the material in class because they are sections behind in their work. This is also frustrating for the teacher as he often winds up talking to himself during lecture.
Consequently, every week or two, you will be given a set of problems in the form of a take home quiz to work on. You will be given approximately 5-7 days to work on your solutions. You will be required to write out an honor pledge stating that the work on the quiz is your own. The honor pledge is to be stapled to the top of your work.
Homework
Homework will be assigned daily and will be due the next class meeting. Each homework will be assigned a grade ranging from 0-10 points, bases on completeness, the following of directions, and the quality of work.
It is essential that students keep up with the homework on a daily basis. Each time you come to class without your homework, you are not prepared to take part in the class at a level geared to your success. Therefore, students are encouraged to hand in homework on time. However, I am acutely aware of the responsibilities that many students have to deal with outside the classroom. Consequently, I do allow a "grace period" of one class period for late work. That is, if you hand your homework in by the next class period, I will still accept the assignment. However, there is an automatic 2-point deduction for late work. Homework later than one class period will not be accepted.
If you are experiencing difficulty getting your homework in on time, or if you know an upcoming event will interfere with getting your homework in on time, please discuss this with your instructor. We can possibly make some arrangment to help facilitate the completion of your work.
In order to facilitate the recording of homework scores, students are required to place their name in the upper right-hand corner of their homework assignment and staple the pages together with a single staple in the upper left-hand corner. On the first line of the of the first page of your homework, please write down the assignement number, the pages that encompass the assignement, and list each exercise number assigned. For example, the first line of your homework might read:
Assignment #12, Page 150, #1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 23, 45
Projects
All students are required to complete a term project which I like to call "The Special Plane Curves Project." I would encourage you to work in pairs because that way you can share the workload with your partner. However, I will allow you to work alone if you prefer. Groups of three or more are not allowed.
Each student or student team will pick a "Special Plane Curve" to study and present to the class on the final examination meeting.
A Sampling of Sources
An excellent online source can be found at:
http://www.xahlee.org/SpecialPlaneCurves_dir/specialPlaneCurves.html
Another nice source is:
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Curves/Curves.html
Mathworld at Wolfram is another nice site:
http://mathworld.wolfram.com/topics/PlaneCurves.html
The above is just a sampling of some of the excellent sources you can find on the internet. Use your favorite search engine to find additional sources of information.
Of course, there are some excellent texts on the subject. One of my favorites is A Book of Curves by E.H. Lockwood. I have a copy I keep in my office, but this is an excellent book to own, particularly if you are considering a career in mathematics. Another nice source is Robert C. Yates' Curves and their properties. Again, I keep a copy of this in my office. A search of the CR or HSU libraries might also turn up additional gems.
Presentation
Student teams will be required to present their work during the final examination meeting in front of their peers. It is expected that you make use of some sort of presentation software to prepare "slide" for your talk. You should also include the use of mathematical software packages (such as Matlab or Geometer's Sketchpad) in your presentation.
Paper
Student teams are required to present a paper with all of their mathematics and graphics which will be posted online. I will allow a variety of formats. You can work in HTML, or Latex, or Word. You use PDF format if that appeals. See me for help in making your decision. Note: Latex is the preferred instrument of mathematicians and scientists for publishing their work. Any time invested in the learning of Latex is an investment in your future. I will be happy to help anyone who is interested in using Latex to publish their work.
The Geometer's Sketchpad has a feature that allows you to post dynamic sketches as Java applets on the web. This is very easy to do and has been a popular and fun part of the Special Plane Curves project over the years.
You can see samples of past student work at:
http://online.redwoods.cc.ca.us/instruct/darnold/CalcProj/Index.htm
The project will be worth 100 pts towards your final grade.
Grades
To determine your grade in the class, points from homework, quizzes, and the Special Plane Curves project will be totaled, then curved to determine a final grade in the class.
When Problems Arise
Should problems arise during the semester, always contact your instructor to let me know what's going on. That's the only way I can help.
The Syllabus is Subject to Change
As instructor, I reserve the right to make adjustments to the syllabus should things not proceed as smoothly as expected. However, in general, I do not anticipate making changes.