MESSAGE: 5/12

The course is over, the final grades are in!

The final exam did not turn out that great - you can see the solutions and statistics on the 'Scores and Solutions' page.  In spite of this, most people got the final grade they expected, if not better.

I enjoyed teaching the course!  Special thanks to the people who regularly participated in class discussion!

Everyone have a great summer!

MESSAGE: 5/2

Exam 6 is due Monday at 4PM.  You will able to pick the exam up on Tuesday.  Solutions to exam 6 will be posted on Tuesday.

Here is the schedule for office hours during finals week:

Day	Time
Mon	10:00 - 4:00
Tue	10:30-4:00
Wed	9:00 -10:30 and 2:00 - 4:00
Thu	9:00 - 10:30

MESSAGE: 4/24

Exam 5 turned out well, the second best so far (in class I listed 39 as the average incorrectly - that was the median - the correct number is 35.6).  Solutions are posted.

The plan for the rest of the semester is as follows: next week we will work over sections from chapter 6.  On Friday, the last day of classes (5/2), you will get a take-home exam (which counts as exam 6) that you will turn back in on Monday.  I will grade it and you can pick it up on Tuesday in order to have it back before the final exam.  The final exam will cover everything from the course, so you may find feedback from exam 6 useful.  Check the link at left to see the time of our final exam.

On the take-home exam you may consult your book and notes, but you are not allowed to work with anyone else.  If I discover that the work on this exam is not your own, I will take points off.

MESSAGE: 4/21

Exam 5 is scheduled for tomorrow, 4/22.  It will cover sections 3.5 and 4.1-4.4.  Recall that for analyzing rational functions it is enough to cover the points covered in class (you will be told what to do exactly on the exam), rather than everything the book asks you to do.

MESSAGE: 4/14

Exam 4 turned out well - the scores are best so far.  Soutions are now posted.

Next chapter's homework is posted, as is the schedule for the final exam.  Follow the links at left.

Our next exam is coming soon, most likely Tuesday of next week.

MESSAGE: 4/8

Update on exam 4: it is still scheduled for Thursday, 4/10, but it will only cover sections 3.1-3.4.  You will be tested over 3.5 on the next exam.

MESSAGE: 4/3

Exam 4 is scheduled for Thursday, 4/10.  It will cover chapter 3.  Right now, we have covered up to 3.3, we should have enough time in three classes for the next two sections and homework questions.

MESSAGE: 3/28

Exam 3 didn't turn out that great.  The problems weren't very hard and the exam was only over a few sections, so what happened, guys?  See the 'Scores and Solutions' page for the stats and solutions to the exam.

Chapter 3 homework has been posted.

MESSAGE: 3/26

Exam 3 is on Thursday, 3/27.  It will cover chapter 2.  Calculators will be allowed.

MESSAGE: 3/13

We are at the end of chapter 2 so we will have an exam the week after spring break, most likely Tuesday.  If you have some time during spring break, make sure you look over the chapter - a lot of you sure could use some better scores on exams.  Review problems for chapter 2 are now posted.

Solutions to exam 2 have been posted on the 'Scores and Solutions' page.

MESSAGE: 3/7

The second exam turned out miserably even though I thought it was pretty straightforward. If you are continuing to get poor scores, you should rethink how much time you are putting into this course and increase it.  A lot ot the things we are doing may seem easy but require a fair amount of practice to master.

Anyway, I decided to let everyone get additional points by solving the the last page for homework and turning it in by Monday 3/10.  I will give you half credit of the total 12 points possible on that homework.  Thus, this is an opportunity to get up to 6 extra points toward your exam.  If you got most of the points on the last page - and this affects only three people in the class -  I indicated other problems for you to solve and turn in as homework (there is a box around the problem number - look for it.)

We just started chapter 2.  Homework for this chapter is posted and previous homework has been moved.  Scores have been updated and solutions to exam 2 will be posted once you turn in the homework for additional points.

Our third exam that was to be next week has been moved to the week after spring break.

MESSAGE: 2/24

The second exam is scheduled for Tuesday, 3/4.  It will cover sections 1.1-1.8 with the exception of 1.6.  Problems, as usual will be like those done in class and given for homework.  In order to have the exam at a convenient date (next Tuesday), we had to push it back, so we will have time to start the next chapter this week (but that chapter will not be on the exam).  In addition to the homework problems, you may find some review problems from the end of the chapter useful - they are listed on the homework page.

MESSAGE: 2/11

The first exam turned out lousily!  You can check the scores and see the solutions to the exam on the 'scores and solutions' page.

I don't think the problems were hard at all - they were all like the ones given on homework.  From lack of questions over homework I am getting the feeling that many people are not spending enough time with it.  Therefore, if you got a bad grade on this exam, you will have to make sure you increase your effort.  The problems we do are not difficult, but they do require practice in order to have proficiency.  Also, don't forget that coming to class is to your advantage - I am noticing very spotty attendance from some people.

Homework for chapter 1 is posted.  At this point, you are responsible for 1.1 and 1.2.  Old homework has been moved to the 'old homework' page.




 

MESSAGE: 2/4

Our first exam, covering chapter R, will be on Friday, 2/7.  Problems on it will be like problems given for homework and done in class.  You can find some suggested problems for review on the homework page - they are selected from the review pages of chapter R.  No calculators will be allowed on the test.  Make sure you know all the formulas we had in class (square of a binomial, difference of squares, cubes,etc.)

On Thursday we will go over homework for R.8 and R.9 and do some review for the test.





 

MESSAGE: 1/24

Make sure you look at homework in R.5 for Monday and every time you are asked to do it.  You will have a better idea of what is going on in class if you have attempted the problems before we do them in class.  I realize that this section is mostly computation, thus somewhat tedious, but it is important to practice a lot of problems in order to get proficiency in computation.  You will definitely need it later in the course.

Our first exam will be the week after next and will cover chapter R.






 

MESSAGE: 1/17 (SCROLL DOWN FOR PREVIOUS MESSAGES)

Homework is posted through the end of chapter R.  You should look at the homework once we cover the section in question in class. You are welcome to work on it in advance as well.  At the moment of writing, you should have done R.1 and R.2 and should be working on R.3 this weekend.







 

MESSAGE: 1/13

Welcome to the course!  Not much is here yet, but you can look around and click on the links at left to familiarize yourself with the layout.  The most important links are highlighted.