CATALOG DESCRIPTION: College Algebra I (3:3:0). Quadratic equations; equations in quadratic form; word problems, graphing; algebraic fractions; negative and rational exponents; radicals.

PREREQUISITE: Math 4 or satisfactory performance on the mathematics proficiency examination. Students who do not meet the prerequisite may have great difficulty in the course.

TEXT: Intermediate Algebra for College Students, 7th edition, by Jerome E. Kaufmann and Karen L. Schwitters, published by Thomson, Brooks/Cole.

COURSE FORMAT: There are three 50-minute lectures each week. The sections covered in these lectures are listed at the end of this syllabus.

EXAMINATIONS: Two 75-minute evening examinations will be given during the semester and a comprehensive final examination will be given during the final examination period. NO books, notes, or calculators may be used on the examinations. You must bring your University ID card to all examinations. The two examinations will be given from 6:30 - 7:45 PM on the following dates:

Rooms for the examinations may also be announced by your instructor at a later date, and may also be found on the bulletin board outside 104 McAllister.

IMPORTANT WARNING: Before leaving examination hall, students must make sure that they bubble their correct student id number and the test version in their scantron sheets. There will be five points penalty if the scantron sheet is not correctly coded.

CONFLICT EXAMINATIONS: For the two mid-semester examinations, there is a conflict examination from 5:05 to 6:20 PM on the same night as the regular examination. If you have a conflict with the regular examination time, such as a class or other scheduled activity, you may sign up in room 104 McAllister to take the conflict examination. You must have a valid reason for taking the conflict examination, and you need to sign up by 48 hours before the examination date. The room for the conflict examination is on the top of the sign up sheet. Students who have not signed up for the conflict examination will not be allowed to take it. Students must bring their University ID to the conflict examination. The ID will be checked by the proctor. Although the conflict examination will end at 6:20 PM, no student will be permitted to leave the examination room before 6:25 PM. A student who leaves before 6:25 PM will receive a grade of zero on the examination and will not be allowed to retake it.

MAKEUP EXAMINATIONS: Students who have a valid documented reason, such as a class conflict or illness during both the conflict and regular examination times are permitted to schedule a makeup examination with no penalty. Students who do not have a valid reason for missing the examination, such as forgetting the date, time, or room of an examination, are also permitted to schedule a makeup, but 20 points will be deducted from their score. The makeup examinations are given from 6:30 to 7:45 PM on the following evenings:

In order to take a makeup examination, you must contact your instructor within 48 hours of the regular examination. Students must get a sign up form from the instructor and bring it to 104 McAllister to sign up for the make up examination. The room for the make up examination is on the top of the sign up sheet. You must be prepared to verify the reason for taking the makeup. Students who have taken either the regularly scheduled examination or conflict examination are not permitted to take the makeup examination. Students who have not signed up for the makeup will not be allowed to take it. Students must bring their University ID to the makeup examination. The ID will be checked by the proctor. If a student misses both the regularly scheduled examination and the scheduled makeup, it may be possible to take a makeup examination by appointment with your instructor only if there is an unavoidable medical emergency. With a valid, verifiable reason, these makeup examinations will be given by your instructor. All such makeup examinations must be scheduled through the instructor with the approval of the course coordinator, and must be completed no later than one week after the scheduled makeup examination.

FINAL EXAMINATION: The final examination will be given during the week, May 1 - 5, 2006. The final examination schedule will be announced by the University Registrar midway through the semester. The final examination will be scheduled on any day during the final examination period. Do not plan to leave University Park until after Friday, May 5, 2006. There are two types of conflict examinations, direct and overload. Direct conflicts are two examinations scheduled at the same time. Students with a direct conflict should file for a conflict examination in Shields Building with the University Registrar. Overload examinations are three or more examinations scheduled within a fifteen hour period, from the beginning of the first examination to the beginning of the third examination. Students may elect to take the three or more examinations on the same day if they wish or request a conflict final examination through the University Registrar.

Students must file for direct and overload conflict final examinations at the Registrar's Office between February 13 and February 26. Conflict final examination can not be scheduled through mathematics department and there will be no sign up sheet at 104 McAllister for final conflict examination.

Students who miss the regular and conflict final examinations will be allowed to take a makeup final examination. If the student has a valid and documented reason, such as illnesss, no penalty will be imposed. If the student does not have a valid reason, at least a 30 point penalty will be imposed. All such makeup examinations must be scheduled through the instructor with the approval of the course coordinator and students should contact the instructor within 24 hours of the final examination. Students who have taken the original final examination are not permitted to take a makeup examination.

DEFERRED GRADES: Students who are unable to complete the course because of illness or emergency may be granted a deferred grade which will allow the student to complete the course within the first six weeks of the following semester. If the student is scheduled for Math 110 or Math 140, then the student must complete the course within 2 weeks of the following semester. Note that deferred grades are limited to those students who can verify and document a valid reason for not being able to take the final examination. For more information see, DF grade.

LATE-DROP: Students may add/drop a course without academic penalty within the first ten calendar days of the semester. A student may late drop a course within the first twelve weeks of the semester but accrues late drop credits equal to the number of credits in the dropped course. A baccalaureate student is limited to 16 late drop credits. The late drop deadline for Spring 2006 is Friday, April 7.

COURSE GRADES: Grades will be assigned on the basis of 450 points, distributed as follows:

Students who take the regular or conflict examination will receive the score via email directly from the University Testing Service after each examination. If there is any problem in receiving the score, first click Feedback Problems and then report the error to your instructor within two days. Students who take the makeup examination will not receive the score from the testing service until the next examination and they should contact the instructor (not the course coordinator) to get the score.

Final course grades will be assigned as follows:

NOTE: Your grade will be based EXCLUSIVELY on the midterm examinations, homework and/or quizzes and final examination. There is no "extra-credit" work.

Tutors and Math Center

There is free mathematics tutoring available at the Math Center located in 220 Boucke Building.  For more information, click: Math Center

If you need extra help, (paid) tutors list is maintained in the Mathematics Department Undergraduate Office in room 104 McAllister. It is available on-line at http://www.math.psu.edu/ug/PrivateTutorList.htm. It is also available through the Undergraduate Studies in Mathematics homepage at http://www.math.psu.edu/UG/. This website is also a good source for general information about undergraduate mathematics as well as information on evening exam schedules, office hours for instructors, sample exams, and so on.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY: Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open, honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity, respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of their efforts.

Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the
fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.

"Academic dishonesty includes, but is no limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, . . ., facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work of another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with academic work of other students. . . . A student charged with academic dishonesty will be given oral or written notice of the charge by the instructor. If students believe that they have been falsely accused, they should seek redress through informal discussions with the instructor, the department head, dean or campus executive officer. If the instructor believes that the infraction is sufficiently serious to warrant the referral of the case to Judicial Affairs, or if the instructor will award a final grade of F in the course because of the infraction, the student and instructor will be afforded formal due process procedures." From Policies and Rules, Student Guide to the University Policy 49-20.

Based on the University's Faculty Senate Policy 49-20, a range of academic sanctions may be taken against a student who engages in academic dishonesty.  Please see the Eberly College of Science Academic Integrity homepage for additional information and procedures.

Course Coordinator

Dr. Palanivel Manoharan
Coordinator of First-Year Mathematics
104 McAllister
Telephone: (814) 865-7528
E-mail: manohar@math.psu.edu

LECTURE-BY-LECTURE BREAKDOWN