Math Fall 2008

Greetings. Here is information about your instructor and the course.

Please send me [pfeinsil@math.siu.edu] an email structured as follows:

  1. Subject: Math 139

  2. Name
  3. Class
  4. Major
  5. Last Math Class Taken
  6. Book read
  7. Movie seen
  8. Pets

I will use the return address to notify of solutions posted, study sheets, worksheets, etc.

For any email you send me, please use the subject line: Math 139. Thanks.

Here is information regarding calculators and cell-phones:

CALCULATOR AND CELL-PHONE POLICY

The use of a scientific calculator will be permitted on examinations for this course; however, calculators or computers with graphic, word-processing, symbolic manipulation or programming capabilities will not be allowed for this exam. The use of books, notes or other resource materials will not be permitted during exams except as specifically allowed by the instructor.

Cell-phones must be turned off or silenced and must be put away during class.

 

GRADES

Grades are based on a 600-point system.

  1. Approximately every 3-5 weeks will be an Exam, four in all, worth 100 pts each.

  2. The Final Exam is worth 200 pts.

  3. If you qualify, you can use the final, scaled as 100 pts, to replace your lowest hour exam (see below).

  4. The hour exams account for 400 points out of the 600.

  5. HomeWork, assigned (approximately) daily, is graded on a 2-pt scale:

    2 is acceptable, 1 is fair, 0 is unacceptable.

    2: assignment carried out in a manner consistent with passing the course
    1: assignment counts, but has too many errors
    0: assignment is late or half or more of the assignment is incorrect or missing

    Attendance is counted daily.

    An official University excused absence will be excused as no day missed.
    A medical excuse counts as half-day missed. Please bring an invoice or similar to verify.

    Attendance counts as follows, the value indicates points added to your exams total:

    Days MissedValue
    0-3+10
    4-70
    8 or more-10 times
    total days missed

    Note, e.g., that if you miss 8 days, 80 points are subtracted from your exams total, 9 days, 90 points off, etc.

  6. The Final is 200 points. First, you must make a grade of at least 40 on every hour exam.
    Then you are considered for the replacement option:

    If you miss no more than 4 classes and average at least a score of 1.5 per homework assignment, you will be entitled to the following replacement option:

    If half the final exceeds your lowest exam score then
    it (the final/2) replaces it (the lowest exam).

    In that case, the Final would account for 300 out of the 600 points, otherwise it makes up 200 out of 600.

--->> Exam scores are curved according to an approximate Gaussian distribution problem-by-problem.
--->> So the score you receive on each exam is already scaled according to a 90-80-70-60 rating.

Final grades are based on 90-80-70-60 percent of the total of 600.