TITLE: (Honors) Mathematics for Liberal Arts
CREDITS: 3 credits
TERM: Fall 2012
CLASS TIME and ROOM: Thursdays 4:00 - 6:50pm; Room AD 104
TEXT: The Heart of Mathematics 3rd edition, Burger and Starbird, Wiley (2010)
PROFESSOR: Dr. Warren Wm. McGovern
OFFICE & PHONE: HC 162 MSC & 6-8028
E-mail: warren.mcgovern (AT) fau.edu ; http://home.fau.edu/wmcgove1/web/
OFFICE HOURS:
Thursdays 2:00-4:00pm
Thursdays 7:00-8:00pm
Mondays 12:30-2:00pm
Wednesdays 12:30-2:00pm
others by appt.
PREREQUISITES: MAT 1033 or MGF 1106 or MAC 1105.
SATISFIES: Gordon Rule-mathematics, computational.
CONTENT: The course description from the Course Catalog follows. Financial mathematics, linear and exponential growth,
history of mathematics, elementary number theory, voting techniques, graph theory. This is a General Education course.
I plan on taking about fun things that take place in real life and their connections to mathematics. I also plan on showing some movies
that have mathematical themes.
One of the main goals of the class is to impart a sense of mathematical beauty to the students.
CLASS STRUCTURE: The class will be mostly run in a lecture style format although the instructor encourages discussions and questions concerning the material. Some days will be used for collaborative efforts. A detailed list will be kept on Blackboard and my webpage. Though the homework will only occassionally be collected and graded (if at all), the student is expected to do all the problems as this will aid in the student's understanding of the material.
ATTENDANCE POLICY: Regular attendance is expected. If a student misses a class meeting it is his/her responsibility to obtain the class notes either from another student or from the instructor during regularly scheduled office hours. All exams will be taken as scheduled, unless prior arrangements are made, with at least 48 hours of advance notice. I and only I have the right to agree to giving a makeup exam.
GRADING: There will be a mid-term examination and a final examination. The mid-term will take place during the regurlarly scheduled class time on the following date. While the final exam conforms to the schedule set by the university.
| Date | Day | Event |
|---|---|---|
| October 25th | Thursday | Mid-Term Examination |
| November 29th | Thursday | Final Exam 4:00am-6:30pm |
EVALUATION: Throughout the course the student will have opportunities to gain and lose points.
The most common examples of gaining points (but not limited to) are through the exams, extra-credit problems, and class participation.
The most common examples of losing points (but not limited to) are not taking an exam, an unsatisfactory attendance record, and not being prepared for
class discussions. At the end of the semester if the student's (net) point total is greater than or equal to
90% of the total possible number of points then the student will have earned an A.
The rest of the grades are as follows 80%-90% B, 70%-80% C, 60%-70% D, below 60% F.
I will use blackboard to post scores, but Blackboard is not the official gradebook for the course.
Collaboration and the Honor Code: Students at Florida Atlantic University are expected to maintain the highest ethical standards. Academic dishonesty, including cheating and plagiarism, is considered a serious breach of these ethical standards, because it interferes with the University mission to provide a high quality education in which no student enjoys an unfair advantage over any other. Academic dishonesty is also destructive of the University community, which is grounded in a system of mutual trust and places high value on personal integrity and individual responsibility. Harsh penalties are associated with academic dishonesty. For more information, see http://www.fau.edu/regulations/chapter4/4.001_Honor_Code.pdf.
STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES: In compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), students who require special accommodations due to a disability to properly execute coursework must register with the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) located in Boca Raton - SU 133 (561-297-3880), in Davie - MOD I (954-236-1222), in Jupiter - SR 117 (561-799-8585), or at the Treasure Coast - CO 128 (772-873-3305), and follow all OSD procedures.
DISCLAIMER: The instructor reserves the right to change/alter/add/delete any statement from this syllabus in hopes of creating a more enjoyable/equitable course.