The Course
This course covers the basic nuts and bolts of Functions and Analytic Geometry: Lines, Parabolas, Circles, Trig Functions,
Exponential and Logarithmic Functions. There will be a heavy emphasis on Mathematical Modeling and Applications. This means
there will be a lot of long, multipart story problems. If you want a good grade in this class, you should expect to spend
about 12 hours a week on homework. You will need a scientific calculator.
Grades
Your grade is determined by how you do relative to the class as a whole. Grades will be based
on total points earned.
There are 300 possible points:
- Homework--50
- Quizzes--50
- 2 Midterms--50 points each
- Final--100
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Homework
We will be using WebAssign for homework.
WebAssign
You can log in to WebAssign here. This will require your UW Net ID. (Your UW Net ID is the part of your university email address before the @ symbol.) The password to log in is your UW Net ID password.
You must be enrolled in the course in order to get access to the homework on WebAssign.
You will need to purchase an access code before the grace period ends. You can purchase an access code on the WebAssign website after logging in.
Quizzes and Exams
- There will be a 20 minute quiz every Thursday, except for the weeks of the exams. These will usually cover the
homework from the preceeding week. They will be very similar to the homework problems. The TA's will grade
them and return them to you the following Tuesday. The quizzes are closed book/closed notes.
There are no make up quizzes, but I do drop your lowest quiz score.
- There will be 2 midterm exams. They
will be given on Oct. 19 and Nov. 16. They are 50 minutes long
and will be in Quiz Section. You must bring a Photo ID to all exams.
- The final exam
will take place on Saturday, December 9 from 5:00 to 7:50pm in the Physics/Astronomy Auditorium. We are split into two rooms: A102 and A110. We'll work out the details later.
Note that this is not the day and time listed in the final exam schedule.
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Rules for taking exams
- You are allowed to use one handwritten 8.5 by 11 sheet of notes.
- A TI-30X IIS calculator is allowed on quizzes and exams.
- There are no make-up exams. If you have a compelling and
well-documented reason for missing a test, speak to the professor about it.
Quiz section
On Tuesdays and Thursdays you will meet with a Teaching Assistant in a smaller group.
This gives you a chance to get more of your homework questions answered. Most
weeks there will be a quiz on Thursday. The midterm exams will be held in Quiz Section.
The TA's are:
| |
| Sections | Name | Office | Email |
| AA & AB |
Mark Bennett | PDL C-8F |
mbenn13 'at' uw.edu |
| AC & AD | Nico Courts | PDL C-404 |
ncourts 'at' uw.edu |
|
Text
UW Precalculus
2016 Edition: A first course in problem solving
D.H. Collingwood, K.D. Prince and M. M. Conroy.
Available at the University Book Store.
You can download a free PDF version of the text here.
Calculators
There is a required calculator for Math 120. It is the Texas Instruments TI-30X IIS which can be purchased from many places for well under $20. The UW Bookstore carries orange ones, which they will buy back at the end of quarters, but any color is acceptable for Math 120.
You should show all work not doable on a scientific calculator.
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