Math
for the Liberal Arts
Math 1101
Fall 2004
Instructor: Jim Leslie Office:
L 247 Phone:
651-450-8630
e-mail: jleslie@inverhills.edu or jim_leslie@hotmail.com
Website:
faculty.inverhills.edu/jleslie
Office
Hours: MWF
Help
is also available in the
Required Text: Excursions in Modern Mathematics, 5th
Edition, by Peter Tannenbaum. You will need a scientific
calculator.
Course
Description:
This course is designed to give non-mathematicians an appreciation of
mathematical ideas and the power and utility of mathematical skills in the
modern world. Topics will be selected
from: voting and weighted voting systems, fair division and apportionment;
routing, minimum network and scheduling problems; mathematical growth and math
finance; descriptive statistics and data analysis; basic probability and normal
distributions.
Prerequisites:
Recommendation
based on the results of the Inver Hills Assessment Inventory or a grade of a C
or better in Math 0096/0099.
Course
Objectives:
Upon
successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:
1)
Determine different election methods and how groups
make decisions based upon the method chosen.
2)
Determine fairness and how competing claims on property
are resolved in a fair and equitable way.
3)
How seats in a congress might be apportioned.
4)
Be able to determine the fastest route to accomplish a
task.
5)
Be familiar with the Fibonacci sequence, the Golden
Ratio, and how the two are related.
6)
Understand different methods to efficiently, organize,
schedule, and manage data.
Important
Dates:
August
26th, Classes Begin
Last
day to add/drop seven calendar days after the start of class
September
6th, No classes
September
29th, Student Success Day
October
21-23, No classes
November
12th, No classes
November
25th - 27th, Thanksgiving
December
1st, Last day to withdraw
December
20th,
Grading
Policies:
1.
There will be four exams each worth 100 points.
2.
Homework and quizzes will be graded and combined to be worth 100
points. Homework will be due on the
first day of class in each week unless there is an exam that week in which case
it will be due at the time of the exam.
Each week’s homework assignment should be accompanied by a cover
page. The cover page should have the
following 4 things:
a. The date you worked on the
assignment,
b. What you did, i.e. the
sections covered, reading or studying,
c. The time you spent doing
this activity.
d. Comments: These can pertain to the assignments,
mathematical applications that you see or use outside of class, or just general
concerns about life.
Each section should be labeled clearly with section,
page number and problems. Late homework
will receive a score of 50% for one day/class period late and a zero after that
at the discretion of the instructor.
3.
The final exam will be comprehensive.
It will be worth 100 points and may be used to replace your lowest exam
score as well.
4.
Do not cheat. Any Cheating will
result in a zero on that test or quiz.
Other actions may be taken at the discretion of the instructor.
Grading
Scale:
A 90-100
B 80-89
C 70-79
D 60-69
NC Below 60
Make-up
Policy:
There
will be no make-up quizzes or exams unless prior/ASAP arrangements are
made. Excused exams for which no effort
to contact me was made will be given a score of at most 70%.
Other
Policies:
Turn
off cell phones in class.
Be
on time. It is very disruptive to those
around you if you come in late.
Be
in class. It is extremely difficult to
succeed in a mathematics course if you are not in attendance.
Be
courteous.
You
are responsible for what happens in class whether you are in attendance or not.
“Whether
you think you can or you can’t, you’re right.”
“If
you continue to do what you have always done, you will continue to get what you
have always gotten.” Byron Davis
Students
with special needs should see me or Tim Boyer, the Director of the Disability
Services Office. The number there is
651-450-8628.