Math 3680.002: Spring 2014
Meets: MW 3:30-4:50 in Curry Hall, Room 203.
Instructor: Professor John Quintanilla
Office: GAB, Room 418-D
Office Phone: x4043
E-mail: jquintanilla@unt.edu
Web page: http://www.math.unt.edu/~johnq/Courses/2014spring/3680/
Office Hours: MW 12:30-2:30, or by appointment. I'm fairly easy to find, and you're welcome to drop by outside of office hours without an appointment. However, there will be occasions when I'll be busy, and I may ask you to wait or come back later.
Online Help: Click Ask Your Teacher near the top of each Enhanced WebAssign homework assignment and then follow the prompts.
Required Text: Probability & Statistics for Engineering and the Sciences, by J. L. Devore. There are two options for purchasing this text. The second option is cheaper; however, this only provides temporary online access to the textbook, so that you would neither be able to use a physical hard copy of the book this semester nor permanently add it to your bookshelf after completing the course.
· Bundle: Text + Enhanced WebAssign + Start Smart Guide for Students + Enhanced WebAssign Homework with eBook Printed Access Card for One Term Math and Science. ISBN 978-1-111-65549-5. Can be purchased for $186.99 from www.cengagebrain.com. Can also be purchased at the UNT Bookstore (price not available at this time).
· eBook + Enhanced WebAssign. ISBN 978-1-285-85804-3. Can be purchased for $65 from www.cengagebrain.com.
Strongly Recommended: Lecture notes for the semester can be purchased from Eagle Images Print Center (located in the first floor of Stovall Hall; the front entrance of Stovall Hall faces Highland Street) for $18.95.
Technology: You will be expected to bring to class --- including exams --- either a laptop computer with a spreadsheet program (such as Microsoft Excel or Open Office Calc) or else a calculator that can perform multiple statistical functions. In class, I will demonstrate how to use Microsoft Excel and a TI-83 Plus to perform various statistical functions. If you have some other kind of calculator, you are welcome to ask me before or after class about how to use its statistical functions.
Course Description: Descriptive statistics, elements of probability, random variables, confidence intervals, hypothesis testing, regression, contingency tables.
Prerequisite: Math 1710 and Math 1720 (may be taken concurrently).
What You Should Do Immediately
Please read the Enhanced WebAssign handout, distributed on the first day of class, for instructions about how to enroll yourself in the appropriate section of Math 3680. You will need the Class Key Code given at the top.
Click here for further instructions about getting started with Enhanced WebAssign.
I strongly encourage you to get started with Enhanced WebAssign as soon as possible. If you delay, you run the risk of unforeseen technical problems that could prevent you from completing the first assignments (both due on Friday, January 17, with a bonus possible if submitted by January 15).
While Enhanced WebAssign is required for the course, it is my understanding that, at the start of the semester, you have a 14-day grace period to use Enhanced WebAssign for free. After this grace period, a code must be entered to continue to use Enhanced WebAssign.
Course Topics
The following chapters and sections of the textbook will be covered according to the projected schedule below. Dates may change as events warrant.
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Student Responsibilities
- Student behavior that
interferes with an instructor's ability to conduct a class or other
students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not
be tolerated in any instructional forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable
behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may
refer the student to the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities to
consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The
university's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional
forums, including university and electronic classroom, labs, discussion
groups, field trips, etc.
- You should read over
this syllabus carefully, as I will hold you responsible for the
information herein.
- Students will be
expected to read the chapters carefully, including the examples in the
book.
- Students will be
responsible for obtaining any and all handouts. If you are not in class
when handouts are given, it is your responsibility to obtain
copies.
- You should begin working
now.
Frequent practice is crucial to the successful completion of a mathematics
course. Cramming at the last minute will certainly lead to failure.
- WARNING: If you are in academic
trouble, or are in danger of losing your financial support, or if your
parent or guardian is expecting a certain grade at the end of the
semester... start working today. I will refuse to listen to any pleas at
the end of the semester. You will receive precisely the grade that you earn.
Grading Policies
You may find the advice of former Math 3680 students helpful.
The following schedule is tentative and is subject to capricious changes in case of extracurricular events deemed sufficiently important to the upper administration.
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Cooperation is encouraged in doing the homework assignments. However, cheating will not be tolerated on the exams. If you are caught cheating, you will be subject to any penalty the instructor deems appropriate, up to and including an automatic F for the course. Refer to the following university site for the official policy with regards to academic dishonesty: http://vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm.
Attendance is not required for this class. However, you will be responsible for everything that I cover in class, even if you are absent. It is my experience that students who skip class frequently make poorer grades than students who attend class regularly. You should consider this if you don't think you'll be able to wake up in time for class consistently.
The grade of "I" is designed for students who are unable to complete work in a course but who are currently passing the course. The guidelines are clearly spelled out in the Student Handbook. Before you ask, you should read these requirements.
Exam Policies
- I expect to give exams
on the days shown above. However, these are tentative dates. I will
announce the exact date of each exam in class.
- You
will be expected to bring to class --- including exams --- either a laptop
computer with a spreadsheet program (such as Microsoft Excel or Open
Office Calc) or else a calculator that can
perform multiple statistical functions. I strongly encourage you to recharge the battery of your laptop or
calculator the night before the exam. Also, if you’re bringing
your laptop, you may wish to also
bring a power strip, as electrical outlets are not plentiful in the
classroom.
- After exams are returned
in class, you have 48 hours to appeal your grade. I will not listen to any
appeals after this 48-hour period.
- I will not drop the
lowest exam score; all will count toward the final grade.
- Students missing an exam
for unauthorized reasons will receive 0 (zero) points on the exam.
Students will be required to provide official written verification
of any authorized absences.
- The Final Examination
will be comprehensive in the sense that problems may come from any of the
sections that will be covered during the semester.
- The grade of A signifies
consistent excellence over the course of the semester. In
particular, an A on the final is not equivalent to an A for the course.
- You may choose not to
take the final examination, under the following rules:
- If your course average
before the final is 93.00 or higher, you will be given an A for the
course.
- If your course average
before the final is between 83.00 and 92.99, you will be given a B for
the course.
- If your course average
before the final is between 73.00 and 82.99, you will be given a C for
the course.
- If your course average
before the final is between 63.00 and 72.99, you will be given a D for
the course.
- If your course average
before the final is less than 63.00, you will be given an F for the
course.
The idea of this policy is that, if you are comfortably
above the cut-off between grades at the time of the final exam, then you can
receive the higher grade without taking the final. However, if you are too
close to the cut-off, then you need to take the final to earn the higher grade.
·
I
reserve the right to test and quiz you on problems which are generalizations of
material covered in the class and/or in the text. In short, the problems may
not look exactly like the ones in the book.
- Everything that I say in
class is fair game for exam material. You will be responsible for
everything unless I advise you to the contrary.
Homework Policies
- All homework assignments
can be logging into www.webassign.net.
o
Each
part of each exercise can be attempted up to 10 times. In other words, you
could submit answers to part (a) of Exercise #1 up to 10 times, and then you
could move on to attempt part (b).
o
Your
last submission will count as your final answer.
o
You
can save your work without using a submission.
o
Some
exercises will use randomization. In other words, it’s possible that
every student will have slightly different questions with accordingly different
answers.
- Due dates
o
Homework
will be due every Friday at 11:59 pm.
o
A
5% bonus will be awarded to students who complete their homework more than 48
hours before the due date.
o
If
requested no more than a week after the original due date (i.e., by the
following Friday at 11:59 pm), it is possible to receive an automatic extension
on homework through Enhanced WebAssign. Any work done
after the automatic extension can be submitted for half credit as long as it
completed within 24 hours of the request.
- When computing grades, I
will drop the two lowest homework grades before computing the
homework average. Therefore, in principle, you could get a 100% homework
score and also not turn in two assignments during the semester. I have
this policy in case you get sick, a family
emergency arises, etc., during the semester. You will still be responsible
for the material in such assignments during the examinations.
- With the exception of
the automatic extensions noted above, I will not give extensions on
homework assignments (called manual
in Enhanced WebAssign), nor will I accept late
assignments.
Note to TNT Students
- If you’re pursuing
secondary teacher certification through Teach North Texas, then you may be
aware that you will be required to construct a preliminary teaching
portfolio in EDSE 4500 (Project-Based Instruction) and a final portfolio
during your final semester of student teaching. Section 2 of this
portfolio will ask you to demonstrate your knowledge of your content
field. You may find that some of the assignments may naturally become
artifacts toward part of this task, and so I encourage you to keep your
work after the semester is over to make the eventual construction of your
portfolio easier. You may even want to write (and save for later) a brief
reflection on the artifact you select, rather than try to remember why the
artifact you chose was important once you reach EDSE 4500.
- The specific indicators
in the portfolio related to knowledge of mathematical content are as
follows:
- Reflect on one or more
artifacts in which you state a mathematical theorem or conjecture and
apply both formal and informal mathematical reasoning to the same
conjecture.
- Reflect on one or more
artifacts that show your ability to describe a mathematical concept that
can be represented in multiple ways and articulate the connections
between its representations in clear, expository prose. Where relevant,
identify appropriate technology for exploring the concept and explain
limits the technology may place on the knowledge acquired.
- Reflect on one or more
artifacts that show your ability to generate a model of a natural
phenomenon or describe an already existing model and evaluate how well
the model represents the situation, including consideration of the risks,
costs, and benefits of the alternatives.
- Reflect on one or more
artifacts that show your ability to identify a topic in your subject area
and describe its connection with prerequisite topics, future topics, and
other subjects.
- Reflect on one of more
artifacts that show how you bring out the historical and cultural
importance of your subject material, its contribution to large ideas, and
its significance in today’s society. Include a specific lesson plan
that incorporates the general history and cultural context of modern
science or of mathematics as these fields have evolved.
- Just to be clear: the
above is a suggestion for TNT students. This is NOT a course requirement
for Math 3680.
Final Note
The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at http://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323.