MATH 100 Section 005: Intermediate Algebra

Math 100 is an intermediate level algebra course.

• Students will be able to perform operations on polynomial, rational, and radical expressions.
• Students will be able to solve equations and applications involving polynomial, rational, radical, and absolute value expressions.
• Students will be able to graph linear equations.
• Students will be able to solve linear inequalities and applications involving linear inequalities.
• Students will be able to solve systems of linear equations in two variables and relevant applications.

TEST RULES:  Tests must be taken in the MTLC.

• There are four 75-minute tests and a 150-minute comprehensive final exam. Test dates are listed on the front page of the syllabus.
• You are encouraged to take your tests early:  “Early” means before the close of online registration for that exam.  No registration is needed and no penalties will apply for early tests.  However, no tests will be given at all on Sundays. You may not begin a test if the MTLC is scheduled to close before the end of your full allotted time: usually you must begin by 8pm (7pm for a final exam), or on Fridays by 3pm (2pm for a final exam).
• You must reserve a time in order to take an exam on a test deadline day.  Test weeks are a logistical challenge; you must tell MTLC when you will come, and you must do what you say. The front page of the syllabus lists beginning and ending dates/times for online registration for each exam.  To register online, go to the MTLC website (www.mtlc.ua.edu), select link Test Registration, log in as instructed, select link Register, then choose an available date and time.  You may freely cancel or change your test time while online registration is active.  Be sure to verify your registration: log back in to the test registration site or check your confirmation email message.
• After online registration closes (at 5pm on Friday before the deadline week), you must come in person to the MTLC to register or to change your test time.  You must sign up manually with the instructor on duty; no phone calls or email arrangements can be accepted.  In this case, points will be deducted from your test grade as follows:

10 points if you did not register online

5 points if you change your test time after online registration closes but before your scheduled test time

10 points if you miss your test time and reschedule, or if no open seats remain when you come to register

These penalties are CUMULATIVE.  You may fill out a petition request form to have the penalty waived if you have a valid excuse.

• If you miss a test and your course’s testing period has NOT ended, come to the MTLC to reschedule.  If the testing period is over, see REPLACEMENT POLICY above.
• Arrive on time for your test.  Tardiness will cost you working time on the test.  Bring your ID and pencils with you.  Swipe your ACT card at the MTLC entrance and then follow signs to the back hallway.  Staff will check your ID and give you a personalized test paper (which is your initial scratch paper), then direct you to your seat.
• Absolutely NO ELECTRONIC DEVICES may be active in the testing area.  All cell phones, texting devices, iPods, MP3 players, etc must be turned off and put away before you pick up your test paper.  Use of any electronic device during a test will be treated as academic misconduct. 
• Place all belongings on the floor.  Once you enter the testing area, all review material must be put away. As soon as you are seated, you may begin your exam.  The MTLC will give you additional scratch paper as needed; no other paper is allowed. When you are finished, staff will collect all papers. Warning: do NOT touch the browser’s BACK button, your test will close and you will have to start over.
• ONLY THE CALCULATOR ON THE COMPUTER MAY BE USED ON TESTS.  The only webpage that may be opened during a test is the testing page.  Opening any other website during testing will be treated as academic misconduct.
• An MTLC staff member must be present when your test is submitted for a grade: if it does not store correctly it is at risk for getting LOST.
• You will be allowed to review your test before you leave the lab.  You may not write down any information pertaining to test questions to take with you when you leave the MTLC after an exam.  You may not share any test information with anyone who hasn’t taken the test.  Violators will be charged with academic misconduct.
• During test weeks, the MTLC will be available for studying, reviewing, and or working assignments during normal hours on Sunday, only between 8:15pm and 10pm Monday-Wednesday, not at all on Thursday, and during normal hours on Friday.  The lab will be closed for testing only for the final exam.
• No one may leave the testing area during a test without permission.  This includes getting water and using the restroom.

 

NOTE:  Homework deadline is 3pm and Quiz deadline is 4pm on the expiration date for each section.

Test 1 Period:  Test 1 deadline is Monday 9/19.  Failure to register during the registration week will result in a penalty. See test rules.
Class Meeting	Lab Week	Section	Section  Title	Homework and Quiz Expiration
8/24 Orientation	8/24 –  8/26		Orientation, Prep Work Homework (cannot be dropped)	Thursday 9/1
8/31 Class #1	8/28 – 9/2 Lab week 1	2.5	Compound Inequalities	Thursday 9/1
			Syllabus Quiz must be taken in MTLC	Friday 9/2
9/7 Class #2	9/6 – 9/9 Lab week 2		Lab will be closed Sun. 9/4 & Mon. 9/5 for Labor Day Holiday
		2.6	Absolute Value Equations	Tuesday 9/6
		3.2	Introduction to Functions	Tuesday 9/6
		3.3	Graphing Linear Functions	Thursday 9/8
		3.4	The Slope of a Line	Thursday 9/8
			Registration for test 1 begins at 8am Friday 9/9
9/14 Class #3	9/11 – 9/16 Lab week 3	3.5	Equations of Lines	Tuesday 9/13
		4.1	Systems of Linear Equations in Two Variables	Thursday 9/15
			Test Rules Quiz (cannot be dropped)	Thursday 9/15
			Review for Test 1
			Registration for test 1 ends at 5pm on Friday 9/16

NOTE:  Homework deadline is 3pm and Quiz deadline is 4pm on the expiration date for each section.

Test 2 Period:  Test 2 deadline is Monday 10/10. Failure to register during the registration week will result in a penalty.  See test rules.
Class Meeting	Lab Week	Section	Section Title	Homework and Quiz Expiration
9/21 Class #4	9/18 – 9/23 Lab week 4	4.3	Systems of Linear Equations and Problem Solving	Friday 9/23
9/28 Class #5	9/25 – 9/30 Lab week 5	5.1– 5.6	Factor and Factoring Review Homework	Tuesday 9/27
		5.7	Factoring by Special Products and Factoring Strategies	Thursday 9/29
		5.8	Solving Equations by Factoring and Problem Solving	Thursday 9/29
			Registration for test 2 begins at 8am Friday 9/30
10/5 Class #6	10/2 – 10/7 Lab week 6	6.1	Rational Functions and Multiplying and Dividing Rational Expressions	Tuesday 10/4
		6.2	Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions	Thursday 10/6
		6.3	Simplifying Complex Fractions	Thursday 10/6
			Review for Test 2
			Registration for test 2 ends at 5pm on Friday 10/7

Test 3 Period:  Test 3 deadline is Monday 10/31. Failure to register during the registration week will result in a penalty. See test rules.
Class Meeting	Lab Week	Section	Section Title	Homework and Quiz Expiration
10/12 Class #7	10/9 – 10/14 Lab week 7	6.4	Dividing Polynomials	Friday 10/14
10/19 Class #8	10/16 – 10/21 Lab week 8	6.5	Solving Equations Containing Rational Expressions	Tuesday 10/18
		6.6	Rational Functions and Problem Solving	Thursday 10/20
		7.1	Radicals and Radical Functions	Thursday 10/20
			Registration for test 3 begins at 8am Friday 10/21
10/26 Class #9	10/23 – 10/26 Lab week 9	7.2	Rational Exponents	Tuesday 10/25
		7.3	Simplifying Radical Functions	Tuesday 10/25
		7.4	Adding, Subtracting, and Multiplying Radical Expressions	Tuesday 10/25
			Review for Test 3
			Registration for test 3 ends at 5pm on Friday 10/28
			Lab will close for Study Break on Wednesday 10/26 at 10pm and will reopen at 4pm Sunday, 10/30

     

Test 4 Period:  Test 4 deadline is Monday 11/28.  Failure to register during the registration week will result in a penalty. See test rules.
Class Meeting	Lab Week	Section	Section Title	Homework and Quiz Expiration
11/2 Class #10	10/31 – 11/4 Lab week 10	7.5	Rationalize Numerators and Denominators of Rational Expressions	Friday 11/4
11/9 Class #11	11/6 – 11/11 Lab week 11	7.6	Radical Equations and Problem Solving	Tuesday 11/8
		8.2	Solving Quadratic Equations by the Quadratic Formula	Thursday 11/10
11/16 Class #12	11/13 – 11/18 Lab week 12	8.3	Solving Equations by Using Quadratic Methods	Thursday 11/17
			Registration for test 4 begins at 8am Friday 11/18
11/23 No Class	11/20 –11/22 Lab week 13	9.2	Inverse Functions	Tuesday 11/22
			Review for Test 4
			Registration for test 4 ends at 5pm on Friday 11/25
			Lab will close at 5pm Tuesday 11/22 for Thanksgiving and reopen at 4pm Sunday 11/27

Review for Final Exam:  Comprehensive Final Exam deadline is the week of December 11–16.  Failure to register during the registration week will result in a penalty. See test rules.
Class Meeting	Lab Week	Section	Section Title	Homework and Quiz Expiration
11/30 Class #13	11/27 – 12/2 Lab week 14	10.1	The Parabola and the Circle	Friday 12/2
			Registration for Final Exam begins at 8am Friday 12/2
12/7 Class #14	12/4 –12/9 Lab week 15		Dead Week – Review for Final Exam
			Registration for Final Exam ends at 5pm on Friday 12/9
	12/11 – 12/16		Final Exam week

NOTE:  Studying in the MTLC for the final exam should be done in the week of 12/4 – 12/9.  However, during final exam week the lab will be open for study on Sunday 12/11 only from 4:00pm until 6:30pm.

This course is under the “A, B, C, NC” policy, +/- grades will be given.  The course grade is determined by points earned as follows:

4 Tests        400 points (100 points each)                                   COURSE GRADE SCALE

Final Exam        300 points

Quizzes        156 points (39 points each test period)                    A+    980 – 1003,   A   920 – 979, A-  900 - 919

Homework          72 points (18 points each test period)                B+    880 – 899,   B   820 – 879, B-  800 - 819

Class Attendance          28 points (14 weeks, 2 pts each week)    C+    780 – 799,   C   720 – 779, C-  700 - 719

Lab Attendance          45 points (15 weeks, 3 pts each week)      NC – Below 700*

Survey            2 points

                                                                                               *Students must earn a minimum of 700 points (C-) to get

Total     1003 points                                                                  credit for this course.

If homework or quizzes are missed due to a serious, verifiable circumstance, then make-up work may be allowed. Any student requesting to make up work must within two days of missed work fill out a petition request form in 345 Gordon Palmer with an excuse and supporting documents attached.  If a test is missed due to a serious verifiable circumstance, the zero test score will be replaced with the final exam score (see Replacement Policy).  Students who miss work due to official University business must make other arrangements beforehand.

Every student is required to come to the MTLC at his or her scheduled class time on August 24 and 26th for orientation.

• CLASS MEETINGS: It is required for each student to attend and actively participate in a class meeting every week in the MTLC classroom. The class meetings will be held only on Wednesdays during your scheduled class time except for the first week. The weekly class meetings will begin the week of August 28.  Each class meeting you attend earns you 2 points. You must sign the roll to get class attendance points.  You have to swipe your ACT card when you come to class AND when you leave class.

• WORK POINTS/LAB ATTENDANCE:  Time spent working on math shows a strong correlation with success in the course.  In addition to class attendance, each student is expected to spend sufficient time outside of class to successfully complete each assignment.  Students are not required to be in the MTLC during the scheduled class times on Mondays, but may use the MTLC any time it is open to work on math assignments.  The MTLC is typically open 70+ hours each week and has plenty of computers as well as a staff of instructors and tutors to help individuals as needed.  To encourage and to help ensure success, every student must spend 3 hours in the lab each week for lab attendance points.  Lab attendance is counted from Sunday to Friday each week.  You have to swipe your ACT card when you come to the lab AND when you leave the lab.  The first assignments are due in the week of August 28, so the lab attendance requirement will begin the week of August 28.  For each week that lab attendance is required, you will receive 3 points, for a total of 45 points possible for the semester.

MTLC RULES:

1. The MTLC is a math classroom.  Please be quiet during your visit to the MTLC.
2. You must swipe in with your ID card when you enter the MTLC and swipe out when you leave even if you need a short break. You cannot swipe an ID card other than yours.  Violators will be charged with academic misconduct and reported to the dean’s office.
3. Cell phones, food, drinks (including water), tobacco products, and companions are NOT allowed in the Center.  A cell phone violation will cause your cell phone to be detained until you leave the MTLC.   Your cell phone needs to be out of sight.
4. No work other than mathematics, such as talking, surfing the Internet, playing computer games, typing a paper, sleeping, etc. is allowed in the Center.  Any violation will cause your attendance credit to be 0 for that day and you will be asked to leave the MTLC.
5. The use of a computer in the MTLC is on first-come first-serve basis; no reservation can be made for normal course work.
6. No attendance credit will be given for students who do not have their ACT cards.
7. Please do not hesitate to ask questions in the MTLC. Staff members in the MTLC are there to help you.

All students in attendance at the University of Alabama are expected to be honorable and to observe standards of conduct appropriate to a community of scholars. The University expects from its students a higher standard of conduct than the minimum required to avoid discipline. Academic misconduct includes all acts of dishonesty in any academically related matter and any knowing or intentional help or attempt to help, or conspiracy to help, another student.

The Academic Misconduct Disciplinary Policy will be followed in the event of academic misconduct.

If you are registered with the Office of Disability Services, please make an appointment with me as soon as possible to discuss any course accommodations that may be necessary. If you have a disability, but have not contacted the Office of Disability Services, please call 348-4285 or visit 133-B Martha Parham Hall East to register for services. Students who may need course adaptations because of a disability are welcome to make an appointment to see me during office hours. Students with disabilities must be registered with the Office of Disability Services, 133-B Martha Parham Hall East, before receiving academic adjustments.

In the case of a tornado warning (tornado has been sighted or detected by radar, sirens activated), all university activities are automatically suspended, including all classes and laboratories. If you are in a building, please move immediately to the lowest level and toward the center of the building away from windows (interior classrooms, offices, or corridors) and remain there until the tornado warning has expired. Classes in session when the tornado warning is issued can resume immediately after the warning has expired at the discretion of the instructor. Classes that have not yet begun will resume 30 minutes after the tornado warning has expired provided at least half of the class period remains.

UA is a residential campus with many students living on or near campus. In general classes will remain in session until the National Weather Service issues safety warnings for the city of Tuscaloosa. Clearly, some students and faculty commute from adjacent counties. These counties may experience weather related problems not encountered in Tuscaloosa. Individuals should follow the advice of the National Weather Service for that area taking the necessary precautions to ensure personal safety. Whenever the National Weather Service and the Emergency Management Agency issue a warning, people in the path of the storm (tornado or severe thunderstorm) should take immediate life saving actions.

When West Alabama is under a severe weather advisory, conditions can change rapidly. It is imperative to get to where you can receive information from the National Weather Service and to follow the instructions provided. Personal safety should dictate the actions that faculty, staff and students take. The Office of Public Relations will disseminate the latest information regarding conditions on campus in the following ways:

• Weather advisory posted on the UA homepage
• Weather advisory sent out through Connect-ED--faculty, staff and students (sign up at myBama)
• Weather advisory broadcast over WVUA at 90.7 FM
• Weather advisory broadcast over Alabama Public Radio (WUAL) at 91.5 FM
• Weather advisories are broadcast via WUOA/WVUA-TV, which can be viewed across Central Alabama. Also, visit wvuatv.com for up-to-the-minute weather information. A mobile Web site is also available for your convenience.

 

TEST DEADLINES:                                                                                                 ONLINE REGISTRATION PERIOD   TEST DEADLINES:                                                                                                         ONLINE REGISTRATION PERIOD: Test 1                     Monday                               September 19                                      8am Friday 9/9 – 5pm Friday 9/16 Test 2                     Monday                                October 10                                           8am Friday 9/30 – 5pm Friday 10/7 Test 3                     Monday                                October 31                                           8am Friday 10/21 – 5pm Friday 10/28 Test 4                     Monday                                November 28                                       8am Friday 11/18 – 5pm Friday 11/25 Final Exam          Sunday – Friday                   December 11-16                                 8am Friday 12/2 – 5pm Friday 12/9     Test times available:  Times to be announced in class and through email. Final Exam times available: 8 am, 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 7 pm   (all times may not be available each day) Please read Test Rules of this syllabus for detailed information.

MTLC INFORMATION:                                                                      MTLC location: B1 Tutwiler

HOURS:        Sunday:   4:00pm – 10:00pm                                  MTLC phone:  348-2592

Monday – Thursday:   8:00am – 10:00pm                                   MTLC website:  www.mtlc.ua.edu

Friday:  8:00am – 4:45pm                                                              MTLC closings: Labor Day: Sun. 9/4 & Mon. 9/5

                                                                                                                                           Fall Break: Thursday 10/27 – Friday 10/28

Last day for help in the MTLC will be Sunday 12/11 (4:00-6:30pm)                    Thanksgiving: 5pm Tuesday 11/22 – Friday 11/25      

Lab hours are counted Sunday – Friday.  You must swipe your ACT card and sign in to receive credit for attendance.  NO EXCEPTIONS.

MATH SOFTWARE LOGIN INFORMATION:  (The MTLC sets up the login information for each student.  If you cannot login with this following information, then please come to the MTLC for assistance.)

                                Website:      http://ua.mylabsplus.com

                                Your username:  crimson email address     example:  jksmith@crimson.ua.edu

Your password:     CWID                             example:  12345678

*You will find your current course under the University of Alabama Fall 2011 Term.

WEEKLY HELP SESSIONS:  The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) will hold weekly help sessions in the Club Room at the MTLC.  Check the CTL website (www.ctl.ua.edu) for additional info.  The CTL also has FREE tutors available in Osband Hall.  Call 348-8854 to schedule an appointment.  Additional videos are also available for viewing in Osband Hall.

WORKING FROM HOME: Tests must be taken in the MTLC, but the Math 100 course work (homework and quizzes) can be done on your personal computer.  Internet access is required in order to reach the website where the notes, homework, and exercises are found.  The website is http://ua.mylabsplus.com. If this page ever fails to load, try typing the website rather than choosing it from the dropdown menu. You will login to the website with your own personal login and password as given by the MTLC.  Next, click on your course section.  Select the INSTALLATION WIZARD from the link that appears on the screen on the right. Then follow the instructions on the screen. Students doing graded work from home risk grades not being properly saved.  If grades are not successfully sent from home, or if an assignment does not open correctly at home, the student will NOT be able to make up this work after the expiration date.  No extension will be given to students because of issues with a home computer.  To be safe, work well ahead of the deadlines at home, so that if there is any problem you will be able to go to the MTLC and complete the assignment before the deadline.  The MTLC is open 70+ hours each week and has tutors on staff to help.  EARLY COURSE COMPLETION:  You are encouraged to work ahead of the syllabus deadlines, and to take tests and the final exam early.  Once you have taken the final, you do not need to continue coming to the MTLC to work.  All the remaining attendance requirements are automatically counted for full credit.