LANGARA COLLEGE COURSE OUTLINE

MATH 1170 Precalculus Mathematics

Instructor: Dr. Csilla Tamás Office: B019n How to reach me:

E­mail: ctamas@langara.bc.ca (preferred) Phone: 604­323­5729 Office Hours (tentative):

Mondays/Wednesdays: 10:30­11:25am Mondays/Wednesdays: 2:30­3:25pm Tuesdays/Thursdays 4:30­5pm or by appointment (email me)

Course Materials Textbook: Precalculus: Functions And Graphs by Swokowski and Cole (10th ed.) Optional: Student’s Solution Manual

Announcements and course information: will be posted on MyLangara at http://luminis.langara.bc.ca/

About the course: This is a one­term pre­calculus course which is intended to lead into the "full­speed" calculus sequence starting with MATH 1174, MATH 1171 or MATH 1173/1183. It includes a review of algebraic functions and their graphs and a solid coverage of exponential and logarithmic functions as well as trigonometry and trigonometric functions, including inverse trigonometric functions. This course is not tied to the high school curriculum, but is designed to be a fast­paced review of many topics encountered at high school. The material is covered in greater depth, with an emphasis on speed and proficiency of algebraic manipulations, problem­solving and practical applications. The objective is to up­grade existing knowledge to the level required for calculus.

Prerequisite: C+ grade or higher in Principles of Mathematics 12, or permission of the department (based on the MDT Process), or completion of MATH 1152 with a "C­" grade or higher. (Please see the instructor immediately if you suspect you are in the wrong level of math.)

Grades: Your grade will be calculated from homework assignments, quizzes, two term tests and the final exam. The grades will be assigned according to the following distribution (subject to departmental policy (see http://www.langara.bc.ca/mathstats/policies.htm#grades):

Overall percentage Final grade ≥ 96 A+ ≥ 85 A ≥ 80 A– ≥ 77 B+ ≥ 73 B ≥ 68 B– ≥ 63 C+ ≥ 58 C ≥ 53 C– ≥ 48 D <48 F

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Class structure and policies:

• Attendance: I won’t be taking attendance. In the event that you must miss a class, call or email me before the missed class. If you do this then you will not be penalized if we should have a quiz or some other activity that contributes to our mark distribution.

• Homework will be assigned each class (posted on myLangara) and is collected at the beginning of the class when it is due. Late assignments will not be accepted. The attached assignment sheet contains problems for practice that you do not need to turn in. Answers to even questions will be posted on MyLangara.

• Quizzes will be given weekly in class; they will cover material discussed the previous week. No make­up quizzes will be given. A missed quiz will be counted as zero unless you contact me before class with a substantiated reason for your absence.

• Midterms: There will be two scheduled midterms. Midterms are to be written when scheduled, unless a medical certificate is provided, or there is some other acceptable reason for your absence. You must contact me before the exam date, unless the absence is due to an emergency. No make­ up midterms will be given. The difficulty of the questions will range from a level similar to what is on the quizzes and homework, although more challenging problems may also appear. Solutions will be posted on myLangara.

• Final: A compulsory two­hour Final Exam will take place in the final exam period. The date and time will be announced near the end of the term. You must make yourself available during the final examinations period (December 5­15). I will not re­schedule final exams. Any conflicts should be directed to General Office, Room B234. Please read the Final Examinations section in the Langara College Calendar for proper procedures.

• Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated. Any incidents will be dealt with according to College policy (refer to Code of Academic Conduct at http://www.langara.bc.ca/about­ langara/policies/student.html).

Exam dates and mark distribution:

Assignments: ongoing 5% Quizzes: ongoing 15% Term Test 1: October 9 20% Term Test 2: November 13 20% Final Exam: TBA 40%

Notes to students:

• The weightings associated with the final exam, tests, etc are on your course outline. • Consistency in your entire term’s work is required: that is, a student should obtain a grade on

the final exam which is consistent with the grade for the term work in order to be sure of receiving the expected letter grade.

• In multi­section courses, term grades may be adjusted across sections at the end of the term. • The final exam must be successfully completed to pass the course. • You need to achieve at least a B­ in the course in order to advance to MATH 1171, and a C+

to get into MATH 1173/1183.

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Learning Resources available outside the classroom:

• The Math/Stat Activity Centre: L207 (in the new library) A drop­in tutorial centre staffed by department members and/or senior students. In addition to the tutors, the Centre contains a variety of resources, such as micro­ computers, video­tapes and books. A schedule of hours of operation will be posted early in the term. This is a good place to work on homework questions as help is available should you need it.

• My office hours: I am available for help during my posted office hours. If these times do not fit your schedule, please make an appointment for some other time.

• The Library: The reserve desk has a solutions manual for the text. In addition, there are quiet study areas throughout the library, and the second floor has video tapes on various topics that we will study.

• Other information you might find useful:

o For more information about what to expect from the course (and what will be expected from you) see http://www.langara.bc.ca/mathstats/courses/1170/support/about.htm

o More information about the course can be found at http://www.langara.bc.ca/mathstats/courses/m1170/support/index.htm

o The textbook companion site, which includes links to practice quizzes: http://www.brookscole.com/cgi­ wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M20b&flag=student&product_isbn_issn=9780534 999902&disciplinenumber=1

Class Cancellations:

In the event that a class must be cancelled information will be posted in the following designated areas only:

• Registrar’s Office (outside reception­east wall)­“B” building • Opposite the Information Booth (main foyer) – “A” building • On myLangara web page

NOTICES WILL NOT BE POSTED OUTSIDE CLASSROOM DOORS.

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Tentative lecture schedule for MATH 1170*

Week Dates Tuesday Thursday 1 September 2, 4 Introduction; Pretest; 1.1, 1.2, 1.3 1.3, 1.4, 1.6 2 September 9, 11 2.1, 2.2, 2.3 2.3, 10.2, 10.1 3 September 16, 18 10.1, 10.3, 2.4 2.4, 2.5 4 September 23, 25 2.5, 2.6 2.7, 4.1 5 September 30, October 2 4.1, 3.1, 3.2 3.2, 3.3 6 October 7, 9 3.5 4.2, Test I 7 October 14, 16 4.3, 4.4 4.4, 4.5 8 October 21, 23 4.5, 4.6 4.6, 5.1 9 October 28, 30 5.2 5.7 10 November 4, 7 7.1, 7.2 5.3 11 November 11, 13 No class 5.4, Test II 12 November 18, 20 5.4, 5.5 5.6, 6.1 13 November 25, 27 6.2 6.3, 6.4 14 December 2, 4 6.6, Review No class

*Except for exam dates, the above schedule is subject to change.

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More Information About Math1170

This course is intended to prepare you for success in a typical college level calculus course. College and university calculus courses typically proceed quite rapidly compared to high school mathematics courses, and assume that you are comfortable and proficient with all of your high school material. Our goals here are to "fill in the gaps", to improve your facility (comfort and speed), and to deepen your understanding of that material.

We shall be reviewing mostly topics from Math 12, so everything should be at least somewhat familiar. But we will in most cases be "going deeper", so, even in the elementary material, you should be able to find something new to keep you interested. Our main "theme" will be use of the "function" concept, and the graphical representation of functions. After quickly reviewing algebraic functions (including issues such as optimization of quadratics and long­run "asymptotic" behaviour) we'll be having an early first mid­term, after which those who are struggling may want to drop down (without penalty) to Math 1152. After that, we'll review exponentials and logarithms, and spend several weeks on trigonometry and trigonometric functions, including work on solving trigonometric equations and inequalities, and a discussion of "inverse trig functions".

In order for knowledge (in any subject) to be useful, it is important to be able to recognize situations in which that knowledge applies. This course will include a strong emphasis on applications of the mathematics, and there will be many situations in which you have to think for yourself rather than be told exactly the sequence of steps required.

Also, when dealing with an employer or client, it is important to be able to explain your predictions or recommendations in a convincing manner. This means not just being able to follow a correct procedure, but also to say why your answer is correct as well. Your answers will generally be graded for clarity of exposition as well as correctness of result. This may seem like more work, but the "upside" is that it gives a greater opportunity for earning part marks when you don't get all the way to the right answer.(And you will find that it also makes it easier for you to find and fix mistakes in your own work.)

Depth of understanding (and avoidance of error) is generally improved by seeing things from a variety of perspectives, so I will often "confuse" you by showing more than one way of doing something.

All of this may be different from what some of you have experienced in your previous courses, and if so you may find it disconcerting. So be warned! But it is necessary if you are to proceed to a higher level, or even to get any practical future use from what you learn.

Regular attendance and active class participation may be required in order to achieve success in this course. College policies regarding standards of behaviour and procedures for dealing with cases where those standards are violated are outlined in the College Calendar and Student Handbook. It is every student's responsibility to obtain and be familiar with this information.

Finally, with regard to grades, you should realize that the standards for college marks are typically a lot higher than for high school marks, so the marks themselves tend to be lower. Keep in mind that a 'B­' grade in this course is considered adequate for entry into our "full speed" calculus course, Math 1171, for which we require an 'A' in BC's Math 12 (Principles) course. So do not expect to see an increase in your actual marks from what you got in high school. Just maintaining the same letter grade as you got in Math 12 will represent a big improvement!

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