Mathematics 1070
Fall 2011
Instructor: Kelly A. MacArthur
Class Time and Place:8:35 – 9:25 a.m.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays in JTB310
Office Hours: Mondays 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m., Tuesdays 2:00-5:00 p.m,
Wednesdays 2:00 -4:00 p.m., Fridays 2:00-5:00 p.m. or by appointment.
Office Location: JWB226
Office Phone Number: 581-6837
E-mail address: macarthur@math.utah.edu
Website: www.math.utah.edu/~macarthu
Text: The Basic Practice of Statistics
by David S. Moore, 5th edition. ISBN-13:978-1-4292-0121-6,
ISBN-10: 1-4292-0121-5
Prerequisite: Completion, with a grade of C or better, of Math1010 or Accuplacer CLM score of 50 or better.
Computer Lab: also in the T. Benny Rushing Mathematics Student Center, Rm 155C.
M – Th 8 a.m. – 8 p.m.
F 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Link to computer lab
Grading: The grades will be calculated as follows:
Homework 30%
Midterm 1 20%
Midterm 2 20%
Final Exam 30%
Course Description: The important topics used in
making inferences from data will be presented and
illustrated. As well as material on descriptive statistics,
estimation of the mean, or of the proportion, in one or two
populations, simple linear regression, and one-way analysis of
variance are covered. (This course meets the QB requirement.)
Teaching Philosophy: I believe strongly that
mathematics, at its core, is the art/experience/science of
problem solving and pattern recognition. It is inherently a
creative process, one to be struggled with, repeated, and
enjoyed. The process requires imagination, persistence,
courage, processing time, and ultimately produces experiential,
mathematical skill. It is from this perspective that I teach.
I'm not as concerned with the destination, i.e. the answer, as I
am about the journey of problem-solving and mathematical
exploration since it is exactly the entirety of the journey that
creates the answer. And, self-confidence and mastery are then
natural by-products of the mathematical journey.
Weekly Homework:
- I will collect homework during the first class of each week.
All of the homework assigned the previous week is due at that time.
- Each chapter of homework will be worth 50 points.
- You will get half credit if you DO every
problem assigned. The other half credit will be determined by
grading (For correctness) a few problems at random per chapter. I will
NOT be grading all of it for correctness, so it is your responsibility to
make sure you understand the problems and their solutions. This
is basically motivation for you to do the homework because that is
the only way to survive a math class. (Please notice that there
is no way to get an A in this course if you choose not to do any of
the homework. On the other hand, turning in all of the homework
can help your grade substantially.)
- The homework is to be turned in according to the following
instructions:
- The homework set MUST be stapled together with the
corresponding cover sheet as the first page. (I will
provide the cover sheets in class.) A homework set turned
in without being stapled together or without a cover sheet
will not be counted!! It will be returned to you without
being graded. You can staple it with the cover sheet and
turn it in the following week to be graded...but it will then
count as a late section! Please do not come to class hoping
that I or someone else will have a stapler. Be
prepared when you arrive.
- To get full credit for the homework, you MUST show all your work!
If you turn in just the answers, with no work shown, you will get
a 0 score for that chapter. If this happens three times, you will
no longer be allowed to turn in homework for any credit!!!
- I will accept 4 late homework chapters, up
to two weeks late, throughout the semester for full credit.
I will not accept homework more than two weeks late. I
accept these late homework chapters to allow for illness,
oversleeping, hectic schedules, etc. Do not ask for special
favors with regard to the homework policy, unless the
circumstances are extraordinarily severe, because my response
will not be in your favor. Also, it is not necessary nor
recommended that you tell me why your homework is late.
This policy is meant to be flexible enough to cover all reasons
and so I don't get calls and emails every week with your personal
drama stories.
- I only collect homework during the first class of the
week!! If you need to turn in homework late, you will have
to do so on the first class of the week (one or two weeks after
its due date). This is the only time and location that I
will accept homework. If you slide homework underneath my office
door, I will throw it away without looking at it.
You are responsible for knowing these policies. Please take it seriously because the flexibility listed here is literally all there is.
WebCT: I will put your grades online on WebCT.
You can get there easily from the main University of Utah website www.utah.edu.
(There's also a link from my website.) To log in, you use the same student id
and password that you use for Campus Information System. I do my best to
update the grades on a regular basis and keep everything accurate.
However, I would advise you to check your grades often to make sure there
were no data entry mistakes. I'm always happy to correct any mistakes I've
made. You just need to let me know about them.
Calculators: You may find it helpful to have a scientific calculator.
I do not have any preference regarding which calculator would be most useful,
so you're welcome to choose for yourself. I will allow calculators on some
exams and not on others, depending on the material and whether or
not I think a calculator is necessary. This will be discussed more in class
with each test. No cell phone calculators will be allowed.
Grading Scale: Although I'm not philosophically opposed to curving
grades, I find it's rarely necessary. The grade scale will be the usual:
A (93-100), A- (90-92), B+ (87-89), B (83-86), B- (80-82), C+ (77-79),
C (73-76), C- (70-72), D+ (67-69), D (63-66), D- (60-62), E (0-59).
If I do need to curve the grades, I will simply shift everything down
by a few points (whatever is necessary).
Other Policies: Due to experience, I have decided to make some
additional policies regarding my classroom administration and grading.
- There will be no retakes of exams ever. Your score is
what you get.
- You may take an alternate exam if you talk to me about it first
and explain the extenuating circumstances that make it necessary.
Needing to work, babysitting your siblings, oversleeping, or needing
more time to study do not pass as acceptable reasons to inconvenience
me. Getting in a car crash or your mother's death, on the other
hand, is sufficient reason to request to take an alternate exam. But,
it is 100% your responsibility to communicate with me as soon as is
possible, before the exam occurs (or as soon as possible).
Talking to me after the problem will be sufficient reason
for me to allow you to get a zero on that test. I reserve the right
to make alternate exams more difficult than the scheduled exam.
- I will demand respectful behavior in my classroom. Examples of
disrespect include reading a newspaper or magazine in class, social
chatting with your friend in class, text-messaging your buddies during
class or cuddling with your girl/boyfriend in class. If you choose to
be disrespectful during my class, I can guarantee I will take action
to terminate your disruptive behavior.
- There will be no cursing nor negative ranting (for example,
“math sucks”) on any written work turned in. The penalty
for such things on your written work will be a zero score on that
assignment or test!
- You need to have a valid email address registered with Campus
Information System. I will regularly send emails to the class and will
hold you accountable for receiving that information. If you have
troubles receiving my weekly emails, you can (1) check to make sure
your email address at Campus Information System is correct, (2) make
sure my emails are not going directly to your junk mail folder, or
(3) contact the webmaster at Campus Information System.
- If you have crisis-level extenuating circumstances which require
flexibility, it is completely your responsibility to communicate with me
as soon as possible. The longer you wait to communicate with me, the
less I can and am willing to do to help.
- If you have questions about any exam grade, or you want
to appeal the grading of the exam, you must bring it to me within one
week of the exam. After that, you will have to live with whatever
grade you got.
- Please make sure you do your best throughout the semester and come
talk to me if you need further study strategies. I will NOT offer
any extra credit at the end of the semester or any other way for you
to improve your grade at that time. If you ask me toward the end of
the semester if I'll make special arrangements for you to improve
your grade by some means, I will automatically deduct one percentage
point from your overall grade, just for asking the
question!!
- If you cheat on any homework, project, quiz or
exam, I will automatically give you a zero for that
grade. Depending on the severity of the cheating, I
may decide to fail you from the class. In all cases of
cheating, I will also report the incident to the Dean of
Students.