Home, 12/8 (Last message)


The course is over and the final grades are in! You can view the overall class statistics, as well as all exams and their solutions on the "scores and docs" page.

Exam 5 scores dipped somewhat, probably the product of the end of the semester and not having spent enough time on some of those trigonometry problems. Final exam statistics always take a beating because the best students don't take it.

I greatly enjoyed teaching this course, and you were my best Algebra and Trigonometry class in recent memory (no E's)! Special thanks go to everyone who was active in class - your participation made it more productive and fun!

Have a restful break!


Home, 12/1


The final exam is scheduled for Tuesday at 10:30 [corrected] in our usual classroom. Recall that the final exam is optional, and serves as an opportunity to improve your grade, should you decide to do so.

The final exam, which is comprehensive, will have 6 pages (as opposed to our usual 4 pages) and will consist of problems quite like the ones we have had on the previous exams. Thus, the best way to study for the final exam is to make sure you can do all the problems we had on the past five exams. For further practice, work on the sample final or rework the joysheets. Solutions to all of our exams and joysheets are in the "scores and docs" section.

I will send your grade by email by Sunday noon. If you need to see me during finals week, my office hours are Monday: 9:00-1:30, Tuesday: 9:00-10:30. Let me know if you cannot make these times.

Good luck on finals!


Home, 11/29


Update on exam 5: it will cover sections 6.5, 7.1-7.4 (thus, 7.5 is excluded). The revised list of problems is:

Exam 5: 3, 4    Exam 6: 1-7,11


Home, 11/21


Exam 5, covering sections 6.5, 7.1-7.5 is scheduled for Friday (12/1) of next week. Check out the following problems on sample exams:

Exam 5: 3, 4    Exam 6: all

The formulas that appear on sample exam 6 will also be printed on our exam.

After exam 5, you will receive your grade by email by Sunday noon, so you can decide whether to take the final exam (scheduled for Tuesday, 12/5 at 10:30).

On Monday after Thanksgiving we move on with some new material.

Have a good Thanksgiving break, but don't forget trigonometry - you will need it the following week!


Home, 11/17


Exam 4 turned out reasonably well, but not the best we've had so far. It seems word problems always depress exam results. Good news? Exam 5 will probably have none.

Homework in sections 6.5 and 7.1 (we are skipping 6.6) will be discussed on Tuesday, after we cover section 7.1 on Monday. MyMathLabs from those sections are due on Wednesday.


Home, 11/10


Exam 4 is scheduled for Wednesday, covering sections 5.4-5.6, 6.1-6.4. Check out the following problems on sample exams:

Exam 4: 3-6, 12-15     Exam 5: 1, 2, 5-7, 9-11

On Monday, we will have an in-class joysheet over sections 6.3 and 6.4. The take-home version will be due on Wednesday.


Home, 11/3


Today, we started the section on trigonometry. On Monday, we finish 6.1 and 6.2, and discuss their homework on Tuesday, with MyMathLab due on Wednesday.

Joysheet 9 is due on Monday. I anticipate our next exam to be during the week after next.


Home, 10/27


After exam 3, relax a little. We continue with section 5.4 on Monday. I have assigned some MyMathLab homework for it, it is due on Wednesday.

The grade computer has been updated to reflect the structure of the grade in this course. Check it out!


Home, 10/20


Exam 3 is anticipated for Friday, covering sections 3.4, 3.5, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1-5.3. Check out the following problems on sample exams:

Exam 3: 5, 6, 8-10    Exam 4: 1, 2, 7-11

On Monday, we will finish discussion of section 5.2 and then discuss homework from 5.1. Homework from 5.2 will be discussed on Tuesday. MyMathLabs for 5.1 and 5.2 are due on Tuesday.


Home, 10/14


Exam 2 turned out reasonably well, although it wasn't as much of a success as exam 1. Yup, material is getting harder, and more practice will be needed to repeat those high grades.

Joysheet 7 was handed out in class on Friday and it is due Tuesday. If you would like yours before Monday, get it here!

On Monday, we continue our discussion of sections 4.1 and 4.2. If you would like to get ahead, I expect we will be discussing homework over those sections on Tuesday, with MyMathLab due Wednesday.


Home, 10/4


On Monday, we will discuss homework over review JIT sections 21, 22 and 23. MyMathLab homeowork over these sections is due on Tuesday for JIT 21 and 22, and Wednesday for JIT 23.

Have a good fall break!


Home, 9/29


On Monday, we finish discussion of quadratic functions applications and discuss homework from section 3.3. MyMathLab homework for 3.3 now has a new due date: Monday.

Joysheet 6 was distributed today and is due Monday (so I can return it to you on Tuesday). If you did not get it in class, find it here in the usual place.

Exam 2 is scheduled for Wednesday, covering sections 2.1-2.5 and 3.1-3.3 (only optimization problems from 2.1). For sample problems, check out:

Exam 2: 1-5, 8abc, 9      Exam 3: 1-4, 7, 11, 12

On Joysheet 5, quite a few points on the first problem were lost on just not following directions, especially on problem 1. Check out the solutions to see what you may have missed.


Home, 9/22


MyMathLab homework for sections 2.4 and 2.5 is due on Sunday. Joysheet 5 was handed out today and is due on Tuesday, with no in-class Joysheet 5, since we already had one this week and will have another one next week.

On Monday, we start discussion of section 3.1.


Home, 9/15


Exam 1 turned out really well - A was by far the most common grade! Don't let up, however, as future exams cover more challenging material.

Sections 2.2 and 2.3 have been assigned for homework discussion on Monday, their MyMathLabs due on the same day. I anticipate an in-class joysheet on Tuesday.


Home, 9/8


Sections JIT 13 and 15 have been assigned for homework discussion on Monday, their MyMathLabs due on the same day.

Joysheet 3 is due on Monday, find it on these pages if you did not get one.

Exam 1, covering sections 1.1-1.6 and 2.1 (except for optimization problems in 2.1) is scheduled for Wednesday. As you prepare for the exam, it is useful to look at and practice on old exams I have given - there are sample exams on the "scores and docs" page. For exam 1, check out:

Exam 1: all problems;     Exam 2: 6, 8de

A good test of preparation is to try to do a full exam (say sample exam 1) in 50 minutes, which is our allotted time.


Home, 9/1


Sections 1.5, 1.6 and JIT 18 have been assigned for homework discussion on Tuesday. Their MyMathLabs are due on Wednesday. Check out solutions and statistics of Joysheet 1 on the "scores and docs" page.

Let's start thinking about our first exam - it will be given week after next.

Free tutoring information has been updated with this semester's schedules.

Have a nice Labor Day break (no school on on Monday)!


Home, 8/25


Joysheet 1 was handed out on Thursday and is due Monday. If you have not received yours, get it under "joysheets." In-class joysheets are not graded and you can find their solutions on the "scores and docs" page. Check your work against these solutions, and you will get useful ideas on how to work on the graded joysheets.

MyMathLab for section 1.2 is due on Monday, and a batch of homework is due tonight.


Home, 8/19


Due to the eclipse we will not have class on Monday. Take care when watching the sun - you still want to be able to work on homework after the event - and enjoy!

Sections JIT.14 is assigned for homework and we will discuss it on Tuesday, after which we continue with section 2.2. Recall that the list of problems assigned can be found under "homework" - it is not necessary to do all the problems in a section.

If you are among the few that have not done so already, sign up for MyMathLab. The first assignments are due on Friday, and you should not wait until the last moment to work on them.


Home, 8/15


Welcome to the course! Look around to familiarize yourself with the layout of these webpages. To get to other pages, click on "choose..." and select the page: the most often-used pages are near the top of the menu. All documents (homework assignment, solutions to exams, etc.) can be found at the "scores and docs" page. Links to often-used documents (homework, joysheets) are at the bottom of the list.

Since you are already here, now may be a good moment to sign up for MyMathLab. See the instructions on the "mymathlab" page.

These pages will get more content as information becomes available (homework and joysheets have not yet been posted, for example).  Check back often: useful information is provided in the "home" section (which you are reading), typically updated weekly.