Course Syllabus
Math 118 Section 1
Spring 2011
Course: This is a course covering the basic elements of trigonometry that will be needed to succeed in a calculus course. The course is only one unit and so will meet for a third of the semester. We will start Wednesday, September 8 and the last day of class will be Friday, October 8.
Workload: Expect to spend at least 6 hours per week outside of class working on this course. Many students will require more time than this to keep up. Also be aware that the workload may vary somewhat from week to week.
Reading: Reading your textbook is essential to success in this class. Reading assignments will be included with homework assignments and must be completed before the lecture on that topic. Read slowly with a pencil and paper in hand. Try to fill in missing steps as you read. Always try to work out examples before you read text solutions. You will be expected to be ready to discuss the material you read in class, and this will be part of the participation portion of your grade.
Participation: Each student is expected to be a productive member of the class. This means you should expect to attend each class period and be prepared to discuss the material. Excessive absence or unpreparedness will result in deduction of points in this area. Participation will be worth 25 points of your final grade.
Homework: Besides the reading homework mentioned above, there will also be written exercises assigned from the book and elsewhere. You are allowed and indeed encouraged to work on your homework with other people, however what you turn in should be your own understanding of how to do the problems and should not just be a copy of someone else's work. Copying someone else's work (whether it is another student's or a published solutions manual) is plagiarism and will be dealt with as such. Your homework will be expected to be neat, clear and complete. Make sure to show all your steps and it should be clear how to get from one step to the next. The lowest homework grade will be dropped, which means absolutely no late homework will be accepted . The homework for the course will be worth 50 points of your total grade.
Quizzes: There will be 3 short quizzes during the course. The date of each quiz will be announced ahead of time. Each quiz will be worth 15 points.
Exams: There will be 1 hour-long midterm exam on Friday, Febuary 18. The material this exam will cover will be announced on the website and in class at least a week ahead of time. Make-up exams will not be given. If you have a legitimate excuse you may use your final exam score to make up for missing exam scores. The exam will be worth 100 points.
There will be a comprehensive 1 hour final given on Monday, March 7 at 11:15 AM. The final is worth 150 points.
Learning Outcomes: Learning outcomes for this course include the following:
Calculator: A TI-83 or TI-84 is recommended for the course. You may use another calculator provided you know how to use it. You may, however, not use any calculator that does symbolic calculus (for example a TI-89 or TI-91). See me if you have questions whether or not your calculator is compliant.
Disability: For accommodations due to a disability please contact me within the first 2 weeks.
Academic Honesty: Cheating and plagiarism are in violation of USD's academic integrity policy and are taken very seriously. Make sure you are aware of this policy. See http://www.sandiego.edu/honorcouncil/integrity.php for more information.
Grading: A tentative grading scale is as follows:
| Range | Grade | Range | Grade | Range | Grade |
| 93%-100% | A | 90%-92% | A- | ||
| 87%-89% | B+ | 83%-86% | B | 80%-82% | B- |
| 77%-79% | C+ | 73%-76% | C | 70%-72% | C- |
| 60%-69% | D | 0%-59% | F |
This scale may be lowered if it is deemed to be unfair.
Getting Help: If you are falling behind in this class please see me immediately. This class moves quickly and you will find yourself helplessly lost if you fall too far behind. For day-to-day help, see me in my office hours or work with another student in the class. There is a free math tutoring center in Serra 310 open M-F 10am-5pm and Su-Th 7pm-10pm. For more information see: http://home.sandiego.edu/~pmyers/mathlab/index.htm. Also lists of individual paid tutors are available in the mathematics department. If you cannot come to my office hours, you can make an appointment with me as well.
Have a Good Semester!