Course Syllabus

Jump to Today

MATH 104B - 1003, 1004, 2004 (Summer 2021)

Instructor Information:

Name:  Michael Greenwich

Communication Preference: Students enrolled in the class should contact me using the Inbox in CSN's Canvas. Do not contact me by phone. 

CSN EMail Address: michael.greenwich@csn.edu

IMPORTANT NOTE:  You may contact me at the CSN email address given above if Inbox on CSN Canvas is unavailable and urgent.  Again, no phone.  Any email received without your name and course/section runs a significant risk of being treated as SPAM and may be automatically deleted (which does not happen on Inbox).  Student emails will be responded generally within 12-24 hours.

Office Phone/Voice Mail: (702) 651-5884 (for your information only and do not use it)

Office Hours:  Online Office Hours will take place in the BigBlueButton room where the remote class sessions are held.  A link to the room is provided in Home (the course homepage on Canvas), and the office hour will be held after the remote class sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7:50 to 9:00 pm (06/07 - 07/27, except for 07/05). If you cannot make it during those windows, I will be happy to meet with you in the same BigBlueButton room by appointment.

 

Class Information:

Title: MATH 104B, Applied Mathematics

Description: Emphasizing applications, topics include arithmetic, prealgebra, geometry, finance, probability & statistics. Course is only applicable for AAS and AGS degrees, and is not transferable for credit.

Days/Time/Location:  All coursework and assessments must be completed in CSN Canvas.

  • Sections 1003 and 1004 are fully online, asynchronous classes with no formal meeting pattern with all the work done online.
  • Section 2004 is classified as an online "remote" class.  All the work will be done online, and there are weekly remote class sessions in a Big Blue Button room accessible via a link provided in the Canvas course homepage (Home). The sessions will take place on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:50 pm.
  • The students in all the three sections are placed in the same Canvas shell and are welcome to attend any of the remote class sessions and to help themselves to the recorded sessions. Those remote class sessions will be recorded, and a link to each recorded session will be posted on the course homepage (Home) on Canvas.  No attendance to those sessions is taken.

Duration: Monday, June 7, 2021 through Friday, July 30, 2021

Goals: Upon completion of this class, students should:

  • Be able to participate in a mathematically relevant conversation.
  • Be able to accurately perform elementary arithmetic computations.
  • Be able to correctly simplify simple algebraic expressions in one variable.
  • Recognize and understand various problem-solving techniques.
  • Recognize and understand various topics of basic geometry.
  • Solve problems involved with the topics of consumer math.
  • Recognize and solve elementary probability problems.
  • Recognize and compute elementary statistical calculations.
  • Have an ability to apply and extend these concepts.

Textbook: Applied Mathematics, Fourth Edition, by Matovina & Yates. That link will take you to a free, full-color PDF of the book posted on the CSN Library Open Educational Resources (OER) server. Feel free to download it onto your computer, tablet or phone. If you wish to have a hard copy, a coil-bound, black & white, printed version of the text can be purchased in any of the CSN Bookstores for less than $15, which is easily less than the cost you would incur for attempting to print it on your own. NOTE: Due to significant changes, older editions of the textbook are insufficient.

 

Class/Course Policies:

ADA Notice: If you qualify for "reasonable accommodations" in accordance with the American with Disabilities Act, you must notify me in writing of such by the end of the first week of class. Visit the CSN Disability Resource Center (DRC) for more information.

Academic Integrity: In accordance with college policies and guidelines, academic dishonesty and academic misconduct are regarded as serious offenses, which can result in substantial penalties. If, during the course of a semester, evidence of academic dishonesty or misconduct comes to my attention, the students involved may receive a zero for the assignment, quiz, or test in question. Further, the incident could result in the student(s) receiving a failing grade for the course and possibly even expulsion from the college and a notation in the transcript. Please refer to the CSN Academic Integrity Policy for more information.

Student Rights and Responsibilities: When you choose to become a student at CSN, you accept the rights and responsibilities of membership in CSN’s academic and social community. You can find a full description of these rights and responsibilities in the CSN Catalog.

Withdrawal: CSN Policy prohibits an instructor from issuing a W grade. If you stop attending class or quit completing the required work, you CANNOT be assigned an automatic "W" or "Withdrawal" grade; you will receive a grade based on the total points you have earned in the class, which, more than likely, will be an "F" to connote you have failed. If you wish to be withdrawn from this class, it is your responsibility to officially drop the class by the drop date listed in the college catalog/schedule of classes.

Date of Last Attendance: Due to financial aid guidelines, CSN instructors are required to record a “Date of Last Attendance” (DOLA) for any student issued a failing grade. Any student who receives an F grade in this class shall have the corresponding DOLA recorded as the date on which the last coursework was submitted. If an F is to be issued and all the coursework is completed, the DOLA will be recorded as “FULLY.” If no coursework is submitted, the DOLA will be recorded as “NEVER.”

Computer Grading: Quizzes for this class will be completed online. When entering answers, you must provide a single answer, without any attempt to show work. It is also unacceptable to provide multiple answers in a single response and expect the extraneous or incorrect information to be ignored. Any attempt to show work or enter multiple answers (even if they are equivalent versions) into the same answer box shall be deemed incorrect.

  • It is important to note that the computer will be grading the online assessment questions. It is your responsibility to review your graded work. If you have an answer that you believe has been graded incorrectly, you should send me an email inside Canvas, and let me know the specific quiz and problem number(s) you would like me to examine. I will either correct the grading or explain why a deduction was made. Do realize, however, no credit shall be awarded for deductions made because of ignoring or neglecting to follow any listed instructions.
  • If a requisite image fails to properly load while taking a quiz, hold down the shift key and reload the page. If that does not work, contact me immediately. NOTE TO MAC USERS: Do not use Safari, as it does not play well with Canvas. Use Chrome.

Technical Problems: Technical problems on your behalf will not serve as an acceptable excuse for missing deadlines or neglecting to complete the online assessments. The assessments in this class are available for extended periods of time, and it is your responsibility to make sure they are completed by the dates and times listed in the schedule at the end of this syllabus.

Free Tutoring: The CSN Centers for Academic Success (CAS) have partnered with Smarthinking.com to provide 24/7 online tutoring. To access this resource, follow the link in the left side rundown of links available in the CSN Canvas shell for this class.

Calculators: Calculators are allowed in this class. In fact, you will probably need one. A good scientific calculator can be purchased for $15-20.

 

Instruction/Coursework:

Study: You are expected to read the textbook, do the suggested homework problems, study the indicated website materials, and ask questions when necessary. Answers to assessment questions will come directly, or be derived, from the content found in the textbook and/or presented in the class. DO NOT seek out alternative answers from resources not specified in the class. Answers from such resources that conflict with those presented in the textbook or through the class content shall be deemed incorrect.

Remote Class Sessions (Online Lectures): If you are in Section 2004, you attend the remote class sessions starting at 6:00 pm on Mondays, Tuesday and Wednesdays every week (06/07 - 07/28, except for 07/05).  The students in the full online sections (1003 and 1004) are welcome to the sessions.  The sessions will be recorded and posted so if you cannot attend any sessions, you can watch it on videos.  One way or another, it is very useful and helpful to attend/watch those sessions.  However, no attendance is taken for the sessions at all.

Textbook Exercises: Unless directed otherwise, you are to assume every exercise in the textbook should be completed. Or, at the very least, you should do enough of them so that you understand the corresponding concepts. These assignments are there for your benefit; no textbook exercise will be submitted for grading.

Section Worksheets: Like the textbook exercises, the worksheets are there for your benefit. They will not be collected or graded, If, however, you would like some additional feedback, you are free to download, complete, and email me photos of them.

Syllabus Quiz: You will begin the class by taking a quiz over the information and policies laid out in this syllabus. You MUST get a perfect score on the Syllabus Quiz before you are allowed to proceed in the class. If you do not get a perfect score, review your answers and this syllabus, and then retake the Syllabus Quiz. Any work missed due to a failure to take or get a perfect score on the Syllabus Quiz will be scored as a zero, and no make-up work will be allowed or offered for any reason, and no deadline will be extended.

Section Quizzes: During the semester, there will be an online quiz covering every section from the textbook. Each section quiz will consist of 5 two-point questions, and will have a 30-minute time limit. Each section quiz may be taken up to twice, but both attempts must be completed before the posted deadline. Only the highest score on each section quiz will be counted toward your course grade.

  • Due dates and times for the specific quizzes are indicated in the schedule found at the end of this syllabus. Any quiz not taken or rescheduled before the specified deadline will be scored as a zero. Absolutely no make-up quiz will be offered for any reason.
  • Questions appearing on the quizzes will come from the material covered in the textbook and/or in supplemental materials provided in class. DO NOT seek out alternative answers from resources not specified in Canvas. Answers from such resources that conflict with those presented in the textbook or specified course resources shall be deemed incorrect.

Time Limits: Unless official alternative arrangements are made in writing prior to the posted deadline, each section quiz MUST be completed within 30 minutes after its activation. You are not allowed to start a quiz, and then return to it at a later date/time to complete it. Any quiz activated and then left unattended for more than 30 minutes will be scored as is.

Time Management: Once you have earned 10/10 on the Syllabus Quiz, all the section quizzes in this class will be available to you. Be sure not to activate them until you are ready to complete them. The schedule of due dates is provided in this syllabus. If a due date falls on an inconvenient date for you, arrange your schedule to complete the quiz earlier than the posted deadline.

  • Every section quiz must be completed by 11:59 PM on the posted due date. The quizzes shut off at 11:59 PM, regardless of when they were activated. So, if you want to have the full 30-minute period to complete one, be sure to activate it no later than 11:29 PM on the due date.
  • If your work or personal schedule may prevent you from taking a quiz within the last couple of hours of the designated due date, then you need to responsibly arrange your activities so that the quiz can be completed earlier in the day or, possibly, a day or two before the posted due date.

 

Grades:

Class/Course Grades: There will be a total of 20 10-point section quizzes throughout this class, as well as the 10-point Syllabus Quiz in the class. Of those 21 quizzes, the lowest score will be dropped. That means a total of 200 points will be available in this class. Point totals will be rounded to the nearest whole point, and +/- grades will not be assigned.

  • Class grades will be assigned according to the following scale:

180-200: A
160-179: B
140-159: C
120-139: D
Below 120: F

Grade Displaying in Canvas: Canvas displays grade book scores in terms of points and percentages. The final class grades, however, will be based solely on the point totals using the algorithm and scale as described in this syllabus.

IMPORTANT: By default, the grade percentage displayed in Canvas reflects ONLY the performance on the work you have completed. If you score 100% on the first graded work, but neglect to take/submit any subsequent work – and get no points for them - Canvas will still display your grade as 100%, instead of a correct percentage that would be much lower. In previous semesters, this led some students who missed coursework to erroneously believe they were earning a passing grade. Remember, in this class, your overall class grade will be based on an accumulation of points and will assigned according to the grade scale provided in this syllabus.

Extra Credit: Absolutely no extra credit will be offered in this class. Simply put, those in need of additional points should be spending their time studying the requisite material in the class. And, those who do not need to put in the extra time studying will not be in need of any extra points.

 

Disclaimer & Advice:

Disclaimer: As the instructor, I reserve the right to change the class syllabus, schedule, and policies as necessary. You will be given appropriate notification in the event of any corresponding changes.

Be Wise with the Quizzes: As long as they are both done by the posted deadline, you will get two attempts on every quiz. You are STRONGLY advised to review your first attempt and learn from any mistakes you may have made BEFORE you take the second attempt. History has shown that students who take both quiz attempts back-to-back in the same sitting rarely improve upon their score. If you spend a day or two reviewing your first attempt, you stand a much better chance of getting a better score on the second one.

Do Not Procrastinate: History has shown that students who wait until the last day to begin the corresponding work often run out of time and, hence, get low scores. To make things worse, sometimes those students are occasionally distracted by family situations or preoccupied by work, causing them to miss deadlines, altogether. Every quiz is available from the beginning of the term, and if you feel you may become distracted or preoccupied, you should strongly consider working ahead a bit in the class. In fact, in previous semesters, some students have actually finished all of the requisite work in the class in just a couple weeks.

 

Important Notes:

  • Every section quiz is named for the corresponding section from the required textbook.
  • Every section quiz is due by 11:59 PM (Pacific time) on a the indicated date. Plan accordingly.
  • Two attempts are allowed on every section quiz, but they both need to be completed by the deadline. Only the higher of the two scores on each section quiz will be counted.
  • You have 30 minutes to complete each section quiz. NOTE: The 30-minute timer begins the moment you activate a quiz and continues running even if the browser window is closed. Make sure you are prepared to complete the quiz once it is started.
  • You are more than welcome to work ahead, but no makeup work will be offered for missing work.

 

Important Dates:

  • Last Day for a 50% Refund: Wednesday, 6/9/21
  • Last Day to Drop a Class WITHOUT a Grade of W: Wednesday, 6/9/21
  • Last Day to Change from Credit to Audit: Friday, 7/9/21
  • Last Day to Drop a Class WITH a Grade of W: Friday, 7/9/21

 

 

SYLLABUS ADDENDA BY CSN:

Academic Integrity:

Taking the words of others or presenting the ideas of others as your own not only limits your academic research skills, it also violates the CSN’s Student Academic Integrity Policy. Cheating on exams or other course work also violates the CSN Student Academic Integrity Policy. You can find more information about CSN’s Academic Integrity Policy at https://at.csn.edu/documents/student-academic-integrity-policy.  The minimum penalty for such offenses in this course is to fail the assignment. Failing the course will also be considered as an option. Infractions of the CSN Student Academic Integrity Policy may lead to suspensions, expulsion, transcript notations or other sanctions.

Please make yourself familiar with the CSN’s Student Academic Integrity Policy (https://at.csn.edu/documents/student-academic-integrity-policy).There will be zero tolerance for plagiarism and cheating. Copying and pasting from the Internet or paraphrasing a few words is not an acceptable practice in college. Not knowing the rules for plagiarism will not be an acceptable excuse. If you are unsure about what it is and is not plagiarism, you can learn more about it by speaking to staff at a CSN campus writing center or library or consulting the CSN Library Services’ Plagiarism guide: http://libguides.csn.edu/research-101/cite. The minimum sanction for plagiarism is an F on the particular assignment; repeated offenses carry an F for the class as the minimum penalty.

You are expected to complete your own work in this class. Cheating on exams or lab exercises is not fair to students who are honestly studying. Cheating is also subject to penalties, which can include getting a zero for the exam or lab exercise or failing the course. The full list of possible penalties is listed in the CSN Student Academic Integrity Policy. Please make yourself familiar with this policy (https://at.csn.edu/documents/student-academic-integrity-policy).

Disability Resource Center (DRC):

The College of Southern Nevada is committed to making physical facilities and instructional programs accessible to students with disabilities. If you have a disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please visit the Disability Resource Center (DRC) so that such accommodations can be considered. All discussions will remain confidential. The Disability Resource Center (DRC) has offices at all three campus locations as the focal point for coordination of services for students with disabilities. If you have a physical, emotional, or mental disability that “substantially limits one or more major life activities (including walking, seeing, hearing, speaking, breathing, learning and working),” and will require accommodation in this class, please contact the DRC at WC (702) 651-5644 , or email at WCDRCStaff@csn.edu at NLV (702) 651-4045, or email at CYDRCStaff@csn.edu and at HNC (702) 651-3795, or email at HCDRCStaff@csn.edu. For Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services contact (702) 651- 4448, or email at Deaf.HH.Services@csn.edu. Students that receive accommodation letters, please meet with me to discuss the provisions of those accommodations as soon as possible.

Students’ Rights & Responsibilities:

When you choose to become a student at CSN, you accept the rights and responsibilities of membership in CSN’s academic and social community.  You can find policies covering students such as the Student Conduct, Students’ Right to Know, Students’ Academic Integrity, and Disruptive and Abusive Student in the following locations:

CSN Libraries:

CSN Libraries provides support for students completing assignments that require research and the use of information. Librarians are available to students for one-on-one assistance locating and citing quality information either online (https://library.csn.edu/ask/) or at one of our campus libraries. Find more information on our website (https://library.csn.edu/).

Objectionable Materials & Behaviors:

Some students may find some material presented in class to be objectionable. The instructor has the discretion to choose to remove it or not.

Instructors have the responsibility to set and maintain standards of classroom behavior appropriate to the discipline and method of instruction. No objectionable materials or language will be used during this class. This includes all possible modes of the class: online and in person. The instructor will make the final determination regarding any objectionable materials or language. Students may not engage in activity the instructor deems disruptive or counterproductive to the goals of the class. Instructors have the right to remove offending students from class.

Public Health Directives (COVID-19):

Students must follow all active CSN public health directives while enrolled in this class. CSN public health directives are found at https://at.csn.edu/covid-19. Students who do not comply with these directives will be asked to leave the classroom. Refusal to follow the guidelines may result in further disciplinary action according to the CSN Student Conduct Code https://www.csn.edu/sites/default/files/documents/student_conduct_code_policy_1.pdf, including being dropped from the course.

Recording Class:

There are no recordings of the class allowed without the explicit permission of the instructor.

Centers for Academic Success:

Centers for Academic Success (CAS) provides quality DROP-IN academic assistance to all students enrolled in for-credit courses at CSN. CSN CAS Tutors are available online through Smarthinking, which is accessed in the Canvas online learning management system. View a tutorial video on how to access CSN Tutors/Learning Assistants online at the following site.

How to Access CSN Tutors in Smarthinking

You may choose “Submit a Question” if you don’t have time for a live session. A Tutor responds to offline questions within 24 hours. Contact us at one of campus phone numbers, and we will assist you with accessing all learning support. Academic learning support includes assistance with placement test preparation, learning strategies, Canvas, Smarthinking online tutoring, Microsoft Office, reading, writing, oral presentations, math, and science. CAS Tutors also provide support in facilitating study groups. You may experience embedded learning assistance in one of your first-year courses. Professors and CAS Staff will make you aware of how to access services as part of your course curriculum. CAS is open Monday through Sunday to be more accessible to all students – Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Friday – Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Smarthinking tutors are available 24/7. You may visit www.csn.edu/centers-academic-success for more details or contact us at one of our offices during our regular operational hours: Charleston Centers (702-651-5732), North Las Vegas Learning Commons (702-651-4232), Henderson Learning Commons (702-651-3125).

*Students will receive notification as on-ground tutoring services resume.

Early Alert Syllabus Statement:

Early Alert Referral Program (MyCoyotePLAN) – A referral program to connect students with college resources when assistance is needed to achieve success.  Referrals may be initiated by faculty and staff as well by students through MyCoyotePLAN. After a referral is submitted, students will receive an email notification and will be contacted by the department to which they were referred to offer assistance.

 

Course Summary:

Date Details Due