Math 313

Math 313, Topics in Elementary Mathematics II
(12:55-2:10 PM WF in LA-03)

Final review: Here is the review sheet I promised. My office hours next week will be 10-12 Mon, 12/11 and 2-4 Tue, 12/12. The final exam is 12:55-2:55 on Wed, 12/13 in LA-03. As usual, no books, class notes, and calculators will be allowed. You will be allowed a standard 3.5" by 5.5" handwritten cheat sheet (both sides).

To motivate you to study hard, I will compute your total score in the class the following way. I will add up all your scores prior to the final exam according to the formula already announced. Then I will weight the final by the percentage that you are missing from 100%. Finally, I will curve the class and assign letter grades. This is called a resurrection final and it allows everyone in the class to achieve 100% by scoring 100% on the final.

Here is an example of how this works. Let's say Lisa Simpson has done well throughout the semester and her HWs, hourly exams, and other assignments add up to 70% out of the possible 80%. This is 30% away from 100%. She does well on the final too and scores 90%. Her total score in the class is 70%+30%(90%)=97%, which certainly earns her an A. Bart Simpson on the other hand has not been doing well. His HWs, hourly exams, and other assignments only add up to 30% out of the possible 80%. But Bart gets his act together and scores 90% on the final, just like Lisa. Bart's total score in the class is 30%+70%(90%)=93%, which is at least an A-, possibly an A.

This system still rewards Lisa for her good performance throughout the semester. Suppose Lisa and Bart don't do so well on the final and both score only 50%. Then Lisa's total score in the class is 70%+30%(50%)=85%, while Bart's is 30%+70%(50%)=65%. While both Lisa and Bart can get an A by doing well on the final, every point Bart misses hurts his grade more than a point that Lisa misses. So Lisa can be confident about getting a reasonable grade in the class even if she doesn't do so well on the final because she already proved herself to be a good student. Bart doesn't have that comfort.

Solution to 14.4.1

Some links related to the state of math education in the USA:

Third International Mathematics and Science Study
Highlights from TIMSS 2003
Take a test that uses questions from the TIMMS study
Programme for International Student Assessment
Generate your own comparison of the effectiveness of math education among the states
For Math Students, Self-Esteem Might Not Equal High Scores, from the Washington Post
Two articles from the Notices of the American Mathematical Society on math education in California: The Math Wars I, The Math Wars II

Exams: Here is an approximate grading scale for the first exam. That the scale is approximate means it makes no sense to stress about grade boundaries. I don't record letter grades in the grade sheet. I record your numerical score. At the end of the semester, I use your scores to compute your total score according to the weights on the syllabus. Then I curve the total scores to assign letter grades. So at this point, it is more meaningful to look at the grading scale as a continuous scale, rather than a scale with discrete jumps between the letters.

A 36-
B 27-35
C 20-26
D 11-19
F 0-10

Here is a similarly approximate grading scale for the second exam. Exam solutions are further down this page.

A 43-
B 34-42
C 24-33
D 10-23
F 0-9

Office hours:

5:30-7 Wed
3-4 Thu
2:15-3:15 Fri

Syllabus: Here is the syllabus.

Blackboard: This class is also on blackboard.

Homework: The homework is due at 5:30 PM on the due date in the envelope on my office door.

Assigned	Due	Read	Exercises
9/1	9/8	11.1	11.1.2, 3, 5a-f
9/8	9/15	11.2, 3	11.1.15 11.2.4-6
9/15	9/22	11.3	11.2.8, 9, 11
9/22	9/29	11.4-6	11.3.2a, 3, 11, 12
9/29		11.4-6	No new homework
10/6	10/13	12.1,2	11.4.2 (you need not justify a-d, but carefully justify e and f), 8 (just show the details of your computation, you need not justify). Start planning your individual project (see details on the syllabus). By Fri 10/13, you should know what you are going to do and when. Reports on the project will be due 11/15.
10/13	10/20	12.2-4	12.1.3 12.2.3, 5
10/20	10/27	12.5, 13.1,2	12.3.3, 4a-f
10/27	11/3	13.3-5	13.1.1 13.3.2, 4
11/3			No new homework. Prepare for the exam.
11/8		13.5, 14.1	Homework holiday. There is no homework this week. Take a break after the exam and enjoy the long weekend.
11/17	12/4	14.2-6	For those of you that didn't make it to class today, I've put the survey I promised last time in an envelope on my office door. Please, do your best to fill it out and return it to me or to the Math 313 envelope outside my office by next Wed (11/22). 14.1.2 14.2.8 14.3.9

Individual project: Your individual project report is due by 5:30 PM on 11/15. Your report should be 1-2 pages and should cover the following:

Where you did your project: name and address of the school
Who you worked with: name and contact info (phone number, e-mail) of the teacher you helped
What you did
Brief reflection on what you learned from your project

Group project: Your group projects will be due on 12/6. You will do the project in groups of two. The syllabus says that you'll have to give a presentation, but we won't have time for this. I'll ask you to hand in a brief report instead. You will hand in one report per group. The reports should be 2-5 pages and should cover:

The name and contact info (phone number) of the 5-8th grade student you worked with
The description of the math problem you had the student solve
The solution of the problem that the student gave
Your critique of the student's solution
A brief account of what you learned from the project

Extra credit assignment: Here is the description of the extra credit assignment you may turn in to boost your grade. The assignment is worth up tp 15% of your grade and will be due 12/6. That's the same day the group projects are due. Don't leave them to the last moment.

Write an exam on Chapters 11-13 in the textbook. The exam should be comprehensive and should be designed well enough to separate an A student from a B student, a B student from a C student, etc. It should be 75 minutes long. Make sure to indicate on the exam what the student taking the exam is allowed to use (such as a calculator, class notes, textbook , etc). It's up to you what you allow, but be clear about it. Also, indicate on the exam how many points each exercise is worth. Again, this is up to you. You may include an extra credit exercise if you wish.
Write a solution set for your exam.
Ask a friend from the class to take your exam. (You can trade favors by taking each other's exams.)
Grade the exam. Record both the numerical score and assign a letter grade you think is appropriate.
Turn in all of the above on the due date.
I will grade your exam and your solution set for accuracy. How your friend did on your exam and how well you graded their work will not affect your grade. But do your best grading anyway because you'll learn from it.

Exam solutions:

First hourly exam pdf
Second hourly exam pdf
Final exam pdf

Resources:

The Learning Center now has tutors who can help you with math either on a regularly by appointment or on a walk-in basis

Useful links:

www.mathworld.com is an encyclopedia of math definitions and theorems.
planetmath.org is another encyclopedia of math definitions and theorems.
the California Mathematics Content Standards is a list of topics covered in K-12. I assume that you know all this material. If you don't, find a way to review or learn it.
TheMathPage covers many topics taught in high school math. You can use it to review what you should already know.
S.O.S. Math-Algebra focuses on high school algebra. Again, good for reviewing.
College Algebra at West Texas A&M also focuses on algebra. It says college algebra, but don't be fooled, that's really a misnomer for high school algebra.
ClassZone covers math taught in junior high school. It goes without saying that you should know this material inside out if you want a degree that allows you to teach it.

Some scholarship opportunities for prospective teachers: