MA 103-02: Trigonometry

Fall 2011

Instructor: John Perry
Office: Southern Hall, 317C
Office Hours: MW 10-11a, 5-6p
Office Phone: 601·266·5505
Email: john.perry@usm.edu
Instructor's web page: http://www.math.usm.edu/perry/
Class web page: http://www.math.usm.edu/perry/mat103fa11/
Class meeting time and location: 9-9·50p MWF, JST 214

Text: Trigonometry (Sixth Edition), by McKeague and Turner, Thomson Brooks-Cole, 2008.

Course Description: Trigonometric functions and their inverses, trigonomic identities and equations, and solutions of triangles.
(We aim to cover chapters 1-7.)

Prerequisite: High-school algebra. Math ACT ≥ 24 or a grade of C or better in MAT 101.

Grading policies

Grading: The semester grade will be determined by a weighted average, according to the weights listed below. At any point during the semester, you may determine your standing by computing your grade. This can be done by multiplying the average for each category by the category's weight, then adding the product in each category. See me if you would like this shown to you.

Tests 40% of total
Homework 20% of total
Attendance 10% of total
Final Exam 30% of total

Grades are awarded according to the following scheme:

100-90 A 89.99-80 B 79.99-70 C 69.99-60 D 59.99-0 F

There is no curve.

Attendance: I give a grade for your attendance (see the grading policy). Missing class, or reporting to class late, directly affects your grade. Carefully read the college policy on attendance. Students are responsible for all material missed when absent from class.

Makeup work: I do not give makeup tests/quizzes/etc. without an excused absence. If you must miss class, then you must also produce documentation of the reason for your absence. If you were sick, you can show me the receipt from the hospital or doctor; if you had a sports event, you can show me the schedule; if someone died, you can show me an obituary notice; if the tire on your car blew out, you can show me the receipt from the mechanic.

Homework:  I expect you to do the homework. If you do not do the homework, you will probably fail this course. Homework will consist of WebAssign worksheets.

Tutoring and study groups: I encourage you to work together on homework assignments, to look at each other's solutions, and to explain answers to each other. This is not the same thing as copying each other's homework. You take the tests alone and without help, so if you cannot explain to your tutor, classmate, or teacher how to solve the problem, then you have not learned how to solve it, and you need to study it more (perhaps by visiting me, the professor).

My philosophy of the instruction: I want you to pass this course. You can learn this material, and I am happy to assist any student who genuinely needs help.
    That said, you are the primary agent of your learning. I cannot learn the material for you; I already learned it many, many years ago. It required a lot of work, and sometimes it was difficult enough that I needed help from other people. Today I am a professor of mathematics. If I can learn it, you can, too.

Final Exam:
     Thursday 15 December 2011, 1·30-4p

Other policies

Additional class materials:

Language and behavior: I do not tolerate profanity or rude behavior. You are free to express any opinion you choose, but you must do so in a manner that conforms to the formal, respectful setting of a classroom lecture. Mathematicians value the ability to reason and to solve problems, not the ability to inflame passions or to express oneself colorfully.

My beef with mobile phones

Mobile phones are not merely useful for business, they are by now necessary. For personal use, however, they a curse on the human race. We lived for thousands of years without them and never once felt a pressing need to interrupt a class, a worship service, or a business meeting so as to remind someone of our undying love. The vast majority of communications sent by mobile phones constitute a waste of time and an insult to human intelligence. Why else would the manufacturers invest so much energy selling them to teenagers?

Imagine: we once considered it a vice to answer quickly! An intelligent answer requires one to think before speaking. Lovers once waited days or even weeks before a letter arrived from one's beloved. They caressed the paper in their hands, breathed the aroma of a drop of perfume left on the page, glanced at the postmark, and asked why the Post Office took so long to deliver such a precious package. They then waited days or even weeks to send and receive replies. This includes people who lived down the street!

By contrast, modernity considers a silent pause following a question to be a mark of ignorance, dishonesty, even mental deficiency. As the enemy of elegant speech and intelligent conversation, mobile phones, popular music, and television have contributed more to the decline of discretion, intimacy, and privacy than any common gossip, media outlet, or government surveillance program could hope to do.

Please, turn off your phone before entering the classroom. Text messaging, wearing an earpiece, etc. are prohibited and will lead to expulsion.

Note: The last day to drop a full-semester course without academic penalty is Wednesday, 5 October.

ADA Syllabus Statement

If a student has a disability that qualifies under the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and requires accommodations, he/she should contact the Office for Disability Accommodations (ODA) for information on appropriate policies and procedures. Disabilities covered by ADA may include learning, psychiatric, physical disabilities, or chronic health disorders. Students can contact ODA if they are not certain whether a medical condition/disability qualifies.

Address:

The University of Southern Mississippi
Office for Disability Accommodations
118 College Drive # 8586
Hattiesburg, MS 39406-0001
Voice Telephone: (601) 266-5024 or (228) 214-3232
Fax: (601) 266-6035
Individuals with hearing impairments can contact
ODA using the Mississippi Relay Service
at 1-800-582-2233 (TTY) or
email Suzy Hebert at Suzanne.Hebert@usm.edu.