Course Information – Precalculus, Spring 2005

Grades: There is a total of 600 points in this course. Homework counts 75 points, weekly workshops 75 points and 5 quizzes 100 points. There will be an  mid-term exam worth 150 points, and the final exam counts 200 points. The final exam is a 25-question common final exam.

A normalization process based on the common final exam is used to determine the number of each letter grade given in a section The Department of Mathematics decides on an A range, A- range, B+ range, etc. for the final exam. Each instructor then gives the same number of A’s A-‘ s , B+’s etc., that his section earned on the final exam. The assignment of the letter grades is based on a student’s total score (a number between 0 and 600). For example, if in a particular section there are 8 A’s, 4 A-‘s , 3 B+’s, etc., on the final, the 8 students with the highest total score receive an A, the next 4 an A-, and so on.

Studying Guide: This course requires at least 6 hours of work per week outside of class. It is absolutely essential that you read the textbook. There will be times when you will have to learn topics that will not be discussed formally in classroom. It is very important that you try all the homework problems on your own. Collaborative work on the homework is helpful only after you have made a solid effort to do the problem individually. Each person must write up his own work independently. Careful work on the homework is the most important factor in your learning.