Math 107 - Winter 2008
Math: A Practical Art
Section N1: Online

Instructor - Swati Sircar

Blackboard | Basic Information | Requirement | Content | Organization | Grades | Policies

Resources (Handouts & Study sheets) | Weekly Course Plan: Homework + Projects - Day by Day


Basic Information

Office: Room 5335 in Foss Building (5000)
Office hours: M-F 9:30-10:20 @ 5335 or by appointment.

In addition I might be in my office till 2:30. But this is not for sure. Hence, if you can not come during the office hours, make an appointment - i.e. emailing me ahead of time, or letting me know before or after class - to be on the safe side. Also you can call 206-533-6789 (or 6789 from campus phone) to check if I'm there.

Holidays: Jan 21 (Martin Luther King's Day), Feb 18 (President's Day)

Text: Mathematics, A Quantitative Reasoning Approach, 4th Edition by Jeffrey Bennett & William Briggs
Optional: If you want, you may buy the Student Solutions Manual for this book. You may also find the Textbook Site useful.

Math Learning Center: This is a wonderful place to work on this class. There you can get help in terms of tutoring, handouts related to specific topics, old exams & quizzes. You can also check the course website & take print outs from there. Check out their website for location, hours & other details.

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Course Requirements

Who should take this course
Math 107 is a mathematics course intended for liberal arts majors. The students taking this course usually don't intend to take any further math. This is a topics course. I want this class to show you some of the fun of mathematics while at the same time giving you some tools you can use to understand your world. This course involves a lot of reading & writing in English about mathematical topics. We will cover (i) units, (ii) percentages, (iii) mathematics of personal finance, (iv) probability & statistics AND (v) exponential & linear growth. Among other things, you will learn how to compute a car payment, how to make sense of an opinion poll & how to decide if you should buy a lottery ticket. You'll also get a chance to explore a mathematical topic that interests you.

Prerequisites
Math 107 is a college-level mathematics course. To take Math 107, you must satisfy one of the following: Please inform me immediately if you do not meet (or are not sure you meet) the prerequisites!

Things you need to buy
Text:
Using and Understanding Mathematics: A Quantitative Reasoning Approach, by Jeffrey O. Bennett and William L. Briggs, Fourth Edition. We will cover most of Chapters 2 through 9. This textbook is required. You may also find the Textbook Site useful.

The Student's Study Guide & Solutions Manual contains more detailed solutions for the odd-numbered exercises in the textbook. You may find this helpful, but it is not required. I will never refer to this book in class.

Calculator:
You will need a scientific calculator for this class. (In addition to the arithmetic buttons, your calculator must have yx, ex & ln x keys.) You can buy a calculator that does everything you need for about $10. You will not need a fancy graphing calculator. Please choose a calculator that you know how to use!

Other Materials:
You will need some graph paper, preferably 4 squares to the inch & a ruler. You may also need some dice, a deck of cards, a bag of candy, a pack of thumbtacks or other incidentals that will come up during the quarter. The total cost for these materials will probably be about $10.

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Course Content
We are going to cover the following topics this quarter. Be sure to keep up with the material.

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Course Organization

NOTE: You should expect to spend a minimum of FIFTEEN hours a week on this course!

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Course Grade
  • The course will be graded on a linear scale with 90% = 4.0 & 70% = 2.0 with exams etc. having the weight mentioned in the chart below. This extends to 57% = 0.7; any lower % will result in 0.0. 
  • This chart below might change as the quarter progresses. The website will reflect it & I'll announce such changes in class as well.
  • If you do not pass the final exam (with a score of at least 60%), the maximum course grade you will receive is 1.4, corresponding to a D+.
  • Your actual grade might be slightly higher depending on my understanding of your mathematical abilities.

Discussions 20%
Projects 30%
Quizzes 20%
Final 30%
Total 100%

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Weekly Course Plan: Homework + Projects

Week Chapter Homework Project
1 2A, 2B, 2C 2A: odds 1-85, 90
2B: 2, 3, 5, 6, odds 7-97, odd, 105
2C: odds 1-41		 -
2 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D 3A: 2, 3, 4, odds 5-109
3B: 1, 2, odds 3-55, odds 61-67
3C: all 1-5, odds 7-59, 63, 65
3D: all 1-5, odds 7-43		 -
3 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D 4A: all 1-8, odds 9-83
4B: 2, 3, 5, odds 9-57, odds 83-89
4C: all 1-6, odds 7-51
4D: all 1-10, odds 11-63		 Project 1
4 5A, 5B, 5C, 5D 5A: all 2-8, odds 9-59, 67
5B: all 2-5, odds 7-43
5C: all 1-6, odds 7-41, all 50-53
5D: all 4-8, odds 9-35, 39		 -
5 5E, 6A, 6B 5E: all 1-3, odds 7-27, odds 31-39
6A: all 1-3, odds 7-37, 44
6B: all 1-4, odds 5-25 		-
6 6C, 6D, 7A 6C: all 1-5, odds 7-41
6D: all 1-8, odds 9-51
7A: 1, 2, all 4-7, odds 8-65 		-
7 7B, 7C, 7D 7B: all 2-5, odds 7-41
7C: all 1-6, odds 7-39
7D: 1, 2, 4, odds 5-29		 Project 2
8 8A, 8B, 8C 8A: all 1-5, odds 7-29
8B: all 1-9, 11, odds 25-57
8C: all 1-7, odds 9-31 		-
9 9A, 9B, 9C 9A: all 1-5, odds 7-37
9B: all 1-7, odds 9-49, 52, 53
9C: odds 1-47 		-
10 review   Project 3

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