Math 115: Precalculus College Mathematics, Fall 2011

Location: SERC 216, Busch Campus
Time: 1:55 PM – 2:50 PM on Mondays
Lecturer: Richard Klein, rik1942 [at] hotmail [dot] com
Recitation Mentor: Mark Kim, markhkim [at] dimax [dot] rutgers [dot] edu

Jump to: general information | office hours | course material

General Information

This is the one-semester version of Precalculus I and II (Math 111 and Math 112), covering first seven chapters of Precalculus by James Stewart, et al. The mathematics department offers an official syllabus for the course, though the pace of the course may differ from what the syllabus prescribes.

The recitations will meet on Mondays at 1:55, in SEC-216. Attendance is mandatory, for there is a quiz. Here are the details:

1. Each quiz is 15-minute long and is administered at the end of the recitation.
2. You may refer to your homework write-ups and notes (either from class or recitation) during the quiz. You may not, however, use your textbook. This means that you should take good notes in class and do your homework. Do not, however, copy from the solutions manual. Your homework write-ups will be collected and checked, and you will receive a zero on the quiz if you cheat.
3. Each quiz is worth 10 points. If you are not too fond of your quiz grade, you may request a make-up take-home quiz. Each make-up quiz consists of eight problems, each of which is worth one point. By submitting the write-up, you agree to forfeit your original quiz grade. This means that you should make sure that your write-up is correct before you choose to submit it.
4. If you do not take the original quiz, you will not be allowed to request a make-up. In case of an excused absence, you may take a modified version of the 15-minute quiz (not the eight-problem take-home) at an office hour. “Excused” typically means “notified in advance, with a note from a dean/doctor/etc.,” though exceptions may be granted.

Your recitation grades are determined primarily by your quiz grades. Nevertheless, you should consider doing your homework for the following reasons:

1. Unless you did not belong to this class to begin with, you will not be able to do well on quizzes and exams if you do not keep up with the homework.
2. Diligence counts: if you put consistent effort into your homework, it will show—and your recitation grades will be adjusted accordingly.

Office hours will be held in Hill 323 on Mondays, from 3PM to 4PM. You may also email me to schedule an appointment.

Course Material

• Week 1 (September 8) – Introduction. Number systems. Introductory survey.
• Week 2 (September 12) – We briefly reviewed sections 1.1 through 1.6. Here is the first quiz, and here are the solutions. Please, please review the first six sections if you found the quiz difficult. Do the suggested problems. Partial solutions for problems in a previous edition of the course text are available:
  • Fall 2009, Math 111 – Homework 2 solutions
  • Fall 2009, Math 111 – Homework 3 solutions
  • Fall 2009, Math 111 – Homework 4 solutions
  • Spring 2010, Math 111 – Homework 1 solutions
  • Spring 2010, Math 111 – Homework 2 solutions
  • Spring 2010, Math 111 – Homework 3 solutions

  The corresponding quizzes and the solutions thereof are also available on the Fall 2009 Math 111 course page and the Spring 2010 Math 111 page. Ideally, you should be able to do the first six problems on the first midterm for the Fall 2009 course; here are the solutions.

• Week 3 (September 19) – We reviewed section 1.6 once again. Here is the second quiz, and here are the solutions. Here is an alternate version of the second quiz, and here are the solutions.
• Week 4 (September 26) – We reviewed inequalities and lines. Here is the third quiz, and here are the solutions. There is also a take-home quiz (and the solutions), which covers Chapter 2. Consider also reading the supplementary notes on set theory and the interval notation, followed by a counting magic for inequalities.
• Week 5 (October 3) – We reviewed a few methods of graphing a variety of functions. Here is the fifth quiz, and here are the solutions. The first hourly exam was on October 6.
• Week 6 (October 10) – We introduced transcendental functions. Here is the sixth quiz, and here are the solutions.
• Week 7 (October 17) – We will review logarithms. Here is the seventh quiz, and here are the solutions. Since someone (finally!) requested a make-up, the take-home make-ups for the first six quizzes are now available: Quiz 2B, Quiz 3B, Quiz 5B, Quiz 6B. These quizzes are due on October 31. Note that Quiz 1 covers the same material as Quiz 2, and that Quiz 4 was a take-home: as such, there will be no “B” versions for those quizzes. Update, November 8: The solutions are now available—Quiz 2B solutions, Quiz 3B solutions, Quiz 5B solutions, Quiz 6B solutions.
• Week 8 (October 24) – We went over homework problems from Chapter 4. Here is the eight quiz, and here are the solutions.
• Week 9 (October 31) – We went over basics of the radian measure. Here is the ninth quiz, and here are the solutions. The following take-home make-ups are due on November 14: Quiz 7B, Quiz 8B, Quiz 9B. Update, December 5: The solutions are now available—Quiz 8B solutions, Quiz 9B solutions.
• Week 10 (November 7) – We went over basic trigonometry. Here is the tenth quiz.
• Week 11 (November 14) – We will go over graphs of trigonometric functions and word problems. The second hourly exam will be on November 17.
• There will be no class on November 21. Please go to your Wednesday classes.
• Week 12 (November 28) – We reviewed the material from the beginning of the semester.
• Week 13 (December 5) – More review
• Week 14 (December 12) – …and even more review!
• The final exam will be on December 19, from 4PM to 7PM.