Office: 314 Boyd

Office Phone: 678-839-4125

Office Hours: Monday 10:00-12:00, 3:15-4:15

Wednesday 10:00-12:00, 3:15-4:15

Thursday 1:00-2:30, 4:00-5:30

or by appointment

Email: ssykes@westga.edu

Prerequisite: MATH 2853 and 3003

TEXT: NONE, although course readings will be distributed during the semester.

LEARNING OUTCOMES: At the end of this course, a student should be able to demonstrate:

An understanding of the properties of the integers, rational numbers, real numbers and complex numbers.
An understanding of the formula for solving a quadratic of cubic equation
An understanding of the Euclidean algorithm for integers and polynomials.
A basic understanding of the concepts of rings, fields and groups.

TESTS: There will be exams on Monday, September 18, Monday, October 23 and Monday, November 20. Each will count 100 points towards your final grade.

FINAL: The final is Friday, December 8 at 11:00-1:00. It counts 200 points towards your final grade and will be comprehensive.

HOMEWORK: Homework will be assigned each week and collected the following Wednesday. Each assignment is worth 10 points. You will lose 2 points for each day it is late. You may count a maximum of 140 points towards your final grade.

BOARDWORK: You will be expected to go to the board and do work during the semester. Each time you go to the board, you will be scored for mathematical correctness (6 points) and style (4 points). Style includes speaking while you are at the board. You will lose points for not working on problems or taking part in activities assigned during class. At the end of the semester, your points will be totaled and scaled to 80 points based on other people’s scores.

WAC REQUIREMENT:

1. You are responsible for keeping a journal during the semester. Each week, you should make an entry in your journal about the key concepts discussed in class that week. You should include definitions of key terms in your own words and the key formulas discussed and how to use them. You should bring the journal to class every day and occasionally, I will check them. Some checks will be to see if you have done the entry and others will be to check the correctness (including grammar and spelling). This will count 30 points towards your final grade in the class.

2. You will write a 4-6 page paper on how this class relates to the typical high school math program. Pick one or more topics that we have or will do and explain the relationship between this topic and what is taught in high school. Include examples in your explanations and be as specific as possible. The rough draft is due on Monday, November 6 and will count 15 points towards your final grade. The final paper is due on Monday, November 27 and will count 35 points towards your final grade.

GRADES: Your grade will be determined based on the following formula

TESTS 300 points

FINAL 200 points

HOMEWORK 140 points

BOARDWORK 80 points

WRITTEN WORK 80 points

TOTAL 800 points

POINTS GRADE

720-800 A

640-719 B

560-639 C

480-559 D

0-479 F

If you ever have any questions or suggestions, feel free to come by my office at any time. I will definitely be there during my office hours, you can just stop by. You can also stop by or call to see if I am there at other times.