Course Materials/Supplies Needed
INTRODUCTORY & INTERMEDIATE ALGEBRA, WRIGHT (HAWKES LEARNING), ISBN # 0918091977
TEXTBOOK, PENCIL, PAPER
Course Description:
This course is a course in introductory algebra, which includes rational
expressions , inequalities, and quadratic equations, roots . Also
included are properties of real numbers, the straight line, absolute value
equations and advanced factoring.
Educational Outcomes:
After successful completion of this course, the student should be able to solve
problems involving:
1. Exponents
2. Polynomials
3. Factoring
4. Rational expressions
5. Linear equations
6. Functions
Course Content:
Chapter 4 
Straight Lines and Functions
Chapter 5 Exponents and Polynomials
Chapter 6 Factoring Polynomials and Solving
Quadratic Equations
Chapter 7 Rational Expressions
Chapter 9 Systems of Linear Equations I
Note: The instructor may omit certain topics in these chapters.
Withdrawal Policy (with drop date):
If you are unable to complete this course, it is your responsibility to withdraw
formally. The withdrawal request must be received in the
Registrar’s Office by November 13, 2008. Failure to do so will result in
your receiving a performance grade, usually an "F." Students
often drop courses when help is available that would enable them to continue.
Please discuss your plans with your instructor if you feel
the need to withdraw.
If you drop a class or withdraw from the college before the official
drop/withdrawal deadline, you will receive a "W" (Withdraw) in each
class dropped.
STOP BEFORE YOU DROP
For students who enrolled in college level courses for the first time in the
Fall of 2007, Texas Education Code 51.907 limits the number of
courses a student may drop. You may drop no more than 6 courses during your
entire undergraduate career, unless the drop qualifies as
an exception. Your campus counseling/advising center will give you more
information on the allowable exceptions.
Remember that once you have accumulated 6 non-exempt drops, you cannot drop any
other courses with a “W. ” Therefore, please
exercise caution when dropping courses in any Texas Public Institution of higher
learning, including all seven of the Dallas County
Community Colleges.
Class Schedule:
You will be given a calendar at the beginning of the semester that lists when
all Homework assignments and Tests are due. Please
follow this calendar and do not get behind as you are subject to penalties for
late assignments.
SPECIAL NOTE: ALL Homework and Tests must be completed the week before your
final exam. The only thing you are allowed to
take during final exam week is your exam itself.
Evaluation:
|
Homework (Certify)
20% |
A = at least 90%. |
|
Tests: 80% |
B = at least 80% |
|
4 Chapter tests and 1 |
C = at least 70% |
|
Comprehensive Final Exam |
E = at least 60% |
| |
F = less than 60% |
ACCESS CODE
In order to begin work in this class you must have an access code. Your access
code is given to you online by entering the license
number found on the back of the CD sleeve of the software. There is a separate
handout with detailed instructions about getting your
access code using your license number. You cannot begin working in this class
until you have purchased the software and have this
access code.
CLASS TIME
Class time will be spent working on the lessons on the computer. You will work
through each section by going through the instruct,
practice and certify buttons using the computer software program. Here is a
brief overview of those three main components of the
program:
Instruct will do just as it says; instruct you in the material of that section.
There is sound available; the computer will read the text to you
if you have headsets to wear (you will have to insert your cd rom to hear the
sound). It will work demonstration problems and
sometimes ask you to participate in problems.
After the instruction mode you can move to practice. These are unlimited
problems to work for practice. There is a button at the bottom
called “tutor” that you can press at any time to get step by step instruction on
how to complete a problem. I will be in the room at all
times and can give you assistance at any point in time.
Last in each section is certify. This is the component that you will be given a
grade on for your homework. The computer will generate
10-20 problems of which you must correctly answer 80% to get credit for the
section. You will either get full credit or no credit for each
section. The computer will tell you how many problems you must answer to get
credit; this will depend on how many total problems
there are. For example, if there are 10 problems you must answer 8 correctly to
get credit (8 is 80% of 10). You can make as many
attempts as you need to certify in any section. The goal is that you learn the
material before moving on. As long as you certify in a
section (get 80% of the problems correct) you get the full points possible for
each section. If you do not certify in any section you will
get a zero for that section . Students may not skip sections and no test can be
taken until sections listed are completed.
After you certify in each section you will be given a certification code. You
should save this code onto a floppy disk or a thumb drive
and print out the certificate. This code must then be registered into my grade
book in order for you to receive credit for it. You must
register your code on or before the due date to be considered on time, no matter
when you completed the lesson. Details on how to
register certification codes are on the same handout as how to get your access
code.
You will be given a calendar that gives the due dates for each section and when
the practice tests and tests will occur. Late work will be
penalized according to the following schedule.
