MATH 104 Beginning Algebra

I. Course Description

Beginning Algebra is an introductory course to review the fundamental concepts of arithmetic and algebra. This
course is the first in a sequence of two pre-algebra math courses leading up to College Algebra, MATH 150, and can
be used as a prerequisite for Finite Math, MATH 170. There are no prerequisites for this course.

II. Course Objectives

•To communicate mathematically in both written and verbal forms.
•To reason with symbolic and graphical representations.
•To use mathematics to solve real-world problems.
•To use technology, such as graphing calculators and computers, to enhance their mathematical
understanding.

III. Overview and Course Goals

Welcome to Beginning Algebra (MATH 104), on line!

Week 1, we discuss fractions, real numbers, basic graphing concepts, and learn some algebraic terminology and
properties.

Week 2, we continue the discussion of real numbers and variables. This includes addition/subtraction/multiplication
of positive and negative numbers, the order of arithmetic operations, and the meaning of exponents.

Week 3, we learn how to solve linear equations using the Addition and Multiplication Principles of Equality. We’ll
cover solving equations with fractions and percents, and solving formulas for a particular variable. We’ll learn how
to set up application problems, and then solve them using these techniques.

Week 4, we apply the techniques to solving linear inequalities. We’ll look again at graphing, and learn how to graph
linear and non-linear equations in two variables, both by hand and using a graphing calculator. You will take a two
hour proctored midterm exam sometime on Wednesday – Saturday of this week.

Week 5, we’ll take a closer look at graphing. We’ll cover the calculation and meaning of slope, various ways in
which the equation of a line can be written, and look at graphing linear inequalities in two variables.

Week 6, we cover exponents and polynomials in more detail. We’ll discuss polynomial operations including
addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of polynomial expressions.

Week 7, we’ll finish the discussion of exponents by looking at rules governing negative exponents, and learn how to
use scientific notation when working with very large/small numbers. We’ll then learn several methods used to
determine the factors of a polynomial.

Week 8, we’ll practice the factoring skills learned in Week 7, and then use factoring to solve quadratic equations.
You will also take a two hour proctored final exam on Wednesday - Saturday of this week.

IV. Measurable Learning Outcomes

After you have completed this course, you will be able to:
•Manipulate algebraic and numerical expressions including fractions, decimals, and signed numbers.
•Solve linear equations and inequalities both graphically and algebraically.
•Evaluate formulas.
•Translate English phrases into algebraic expressions.
•Solve real-world problems using equations and inequalities.
•Graph lines and linear inequalities in the Cartesian Plane.
•Find the equation of a line in both slope-intercept and point-slope form.
•Interpret the meaning of the slope and the intercepts of a lien.
•Apply the rules of exponents to simplify algebraic expressions.
• Add, subtract, multiply, and divide polynomials.
•Use scientific notation.
•Factor polynomials.
•Solve quadratic equations by factoring.

V. Course Policies

There will be no discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, religion, ideology,
political affiliation, veteran status, age, physical handicap, or marital status. Students with documented disabilities
who may need academic services for this course are required to register with the Coordinator for Disability
Services. Until the student has been cleared through the disability services office, accommodations do not
have to be granted. It is vital if you are a student who has a documented disability to read the entire syllabus before
signing up for the course. The structure or the content of the course can make an accommodation not feasible. The
policies and related syllabus matters remain subject to change in the event of extenuating circumstances.

Student Conduct
This course is offered on-line, over the Internet, using the Internet and the World Wide Web, using publishing
technology provided by Desire2Learn, Prentice Hall, and Columbia College. Participation on-line is expected and
continuous throughout the course. Failure to turn in assignments by the date due, or lack of participation in on-line
discussions may result in the student being withdrawn from the course. Emergencies should be communicated and
documented to the instructor as soon as possible. Students are expected to watch the assigned videos, do the online
homework, and log-in to the class conferencing each week. In addition, students will take a quiz each week. Active
participation in the course will prepare and guide students in studying for the exams. The instructor will facilitate on-
line discussions in the conference room by responding to posted messages. See "Ground Rules for On-line
Participation" for additional information.

In the math classes, a class week begins on Saturday and ends on Friday at midnight. The only exception to
this is Week 1 - the first week’s deadlines will be lengthened due to the week starting on Monday rather than
on Saturday. Assignments scheduled for completion during a class week should be submitted by the weekly due
dates stated on the grading schedule below. Late assignments will not be accepted. See Section VII of this
document, or the Desire2Learn ‘Events’ calendar or ‘Checklist’ area for specific deadline dates.

Ground Rules for On-line Participation

Students should use email for private messages to the instructor and other students.

The class Discussion area is for public messages so we can see what others have to say about any given topic, and
respond to these.

Students are expected to participate in on-line discussions, as well as with other appropriate on-line activities
including homework assignments and quizzes.

Academic Honesty

All Columbia College policies are in effect as described in the Academic Dishonesty/Misconduct section of the
current college catalog. All your work must be your own unless collaboration has been authorized. If collaboration
is authorized you must acknowledge the collaboration in writing. Your grade will be based in large part on the
originality of your ideas and your written presentation of these ideas. Presenting as one's own the words, ideas, or
expression of another in any form is cheating though plagiarism. The content of these plagiarism sites would, if you
were lucky, get you a "D": in a course if you were not caught. It is substandard work indeed, but you will almost always
be caught if you try to cheat, due to the plagiarism prevention tools available to instructors. Plagiarism will not be tolerated
and the claim of ignorance is no excuse. Anyone found cheating will automatically fail the course.

Levels of Communication

We will be using a minimum of two levels of communication in this course, one formal, the other informal. All
email assignments are formal. They should be written as if you are communicating with a client. The formal rules
of proper English and grammar apply for these submissions, and points will be deducted for misspellings, incomplete
sentences, poor sentence structure, etc.

Conference postings are informal. You do not have to use capitalization to begin sentences, there are no penalties for
misspellings, incomplete sentences, or other violations of grammatical rules. The criteria that have to be met in
conference postings is that your messages must be original and intelligible. You must communicate effectively. In
addition, you must meet the weekly requirements for full credit on conference room assignments.

VI. Grading Policy

You will be able to track your average in the grade book exactly throughout the course. The grading scale is as
follows:
A = 540-600 pts
B = 480-539 pts
C = 420-479 pts,
D = 360-419 pts
F = 0-359 pts

You will know in advance the standards for each assignment. My goal is to give prompt, clear, and useful feedback
to help you. Each student is responsible for:

• Completing weekly Reading/Video assignments, and doing textbook homework as needed..
• Completing Weekly Homework/Discussion/Quiz assignments by the due dates. .
• Taking a proctored Mid-Term & Final Exam in Weeks 4 & 8, respectively.

VII. Graded Assignments

Weekly On-Line (COURSECOMPASS/MyMathLab) Homework: 10% of course grade, 60 total
points.
Weekly Discussion and Calculator Assignments: 5% of course grade, 30 total points.
Weekly Quizzes: 10% of course grade. Each quiz counts 10 points, 60 total points for session. The two
lowest quiz grades will be dropped from the final grade calculation.

Mid-Term Exam (Wednesday-Saturday of week 4): 35% of course grade, 210 points.
Final Exam (Wednesday-Saturday of week 8): 40% of course grade, 240 points.

VIII. Course Schedule

IX. Course Activities

Homework: Each week, you will be assigned problems to complete in the CourseCompass/MyMathLab
computer program that is packaged with a new textbook from MBS, or purchased separately. Each week’s
homework is due by Saturday night at midnight, except for Week 1 (see schedule, above).

Discussion/Calculator: In Weeks 1-8, there will be assignments that involve the use of a graphing
calculator and/or require Discussion postings. These assignments will be due by Friday at midnight, except in Week
1, when the deadlines is extended (see schedule, above).

Quizzes: Each week, a quiz will be posted by noon on Wednesday and is due by midnight on Saturday,
central time, except in Week 1, when the deadline is extended (see schedule, above). The quizzes will be closely
related to the suggested homework problems assigned for the week, and to the exams. The two lowest quiz grades
will not be included in the calculation of your final grade. Late quizzes will not receive credit.

Reading/Video: Each week, you will read 2 – 5 sections in the textbook. You should also watch video
lessons associated with the material that we are covering.

Proctored (Supervised) Midterm & Final Exams: These will be pencil and paper exams, on which you can use a calculator.
If you are going to have to use a non-CC site to take your exams, email me as soon as possible so that we can discuss suitable proctors.

X. Course Materials

Required Text - Introductory Algebra, 5th Edition, by Robert Blitzer

The textbook package includes a physical textbook, and a CourseCompass/MyMathLab access code.ISBN: 0321563913

If you are comfortable with an online textbook, you can purchase only the stand-alone CourseCompass access. This
gives you immediate access to all class materials, including the online copy of the book.

Students: Please note that the use of an eBook carries certain risks: information may be missing due to copyright
restrictions, the book cannot be resold to MBS, and an eBook purchase cannot be refunded.

Required Graphing Calculator
A TI-83, TI-83+, TI-84, TI-84+, TI-86 or equivalent is required for all
of the Columbia College math courses. I would suggest shopping around – prices for these calculators vary. It is
possible to purchase this calculator from MBS Direct or a retailer, or to buy a used one using an online search for
information, going through auction sites, checking the classified ads in the newspaper, etc. I will provide a link to
the calculator user manuals for the TI-83 and -84.

Required CourseCompass Program Access – See above. I will send you the CourseID that you need to
register in the CourseCompass program in an email about a week before school begins. The email will come to
your Cougars account.

XI. Course Assignment Schedule – see Section VII, above, for deadlines.

Week 1: Variables, Mathematical Models, Fractions, Real Numbers, Basic Rules of Algebra
Reading: Sections 1.1 – 1.4, pp. 1-51
Homework: Each week there will be two online homework assignments in the MyMath Lab program.
On-line Discussion Assignment: This week, your online discussion assignment is to do an introductory post
and one math discussion post.
Week 1 Quiz

Week 2: Working with Real Numbers, Exponents, Order of Operation
Reading: Sections 1.5 – 1.8, pp. 53-94
Proctor Information Due: This class has a proctored midterm. I will provide more information when class
begins.
Weekly Homework Assignment
On-line Discussion Assignment: Each week, post one homework problem from the list in the
CourseCompass ‘Assignments’ > ‘Weekly Assignment’ area. You can earn 0-4 points on your post. Guidelines
and requirements for the math discussion posts can be found in the ‘Assignments’ area.
Week 2 Quiz

Week 3: Addition & Multiplication Properties, Solving Linear Equations, Formulas & Percents,
Introduction to Problem Solving
Reading: Sections 2.1 – 2.5, pp. 107-158
Weekly Homework, Discussion and Quiz Assignments

Week 4: Solving Linear Inequalities, Graphing Equations in Two Variables
Reading: Sections: Sections 2.6. 4.1, 4.2, pp. 159-172, 183-246
Weekly Homework, Discussion and Quiz Assignments
Midterm exam is this week – can be taken any time Wednesday - Saturday

Week 5: Slope of a Line, Slope-Intercept & Point-Slope Equations of a Line, Linear Inequalities in
Two Variables
Reading: Sections 4.3 – 4.6, pp. 247-280
Weekly Homework, Discussion and Quiz Assignments

Week 6: Working with Exponents and Polynomials
Reading: Sections 6.1 – 6.5, pp. 341-384
Weekly Homework, Discussion and Quiz Assignments

Week 7: Negative Exponents, Factoring Polynomials
Reading: Sections 6.7, 7.1 - 7.4, pp. 393-405, 413-445
Weekly Homework, Discussion and Quiz Assignments

Week 8: Review of Factoring, Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring
Reading: Sections 7.5, 7.6, pp. 446-465
Weekly Homework, Discussion and Quiz Assignments
Final exam is this week – can be taken any time Wednesday - Saturday

XII. Instructor Information – Anne Ross

I graduated from the University of Missouri – Columbia in 1986 and 1989 with degrees in Business Administration.
I’ve been teaching for Columbia College since 1989 – first in the classroom and, for the past 5 years, online – and
have taught Finance and Math classes. I love teaching - especially teaching online - and I am proud to be on the
faculty of Columbia College. I moved to Columbia from a small town in NW MO when I was 11, and have watched
this college grow.

I’m an economist for the State of Missouri, and live on what my brother calls a ‘farmlet’ in the beautiful country near
Fayette, MO with several dogs, cats and other assorted wild animals. I recently started a not-for-profit organization
that provides temporary foster and medical care for the pets of families that enter the local abuse shelter.

phone: (660) 248-9843

It is much easier and faster to reach me via email, which I normally check twice a day, at the minimum. I have
some hearing loss, so I don’t like to conduct ‘business’ via the phone. If you DO call me, please speak slowly and
distinctly. Be sure to include your course/section information in your message. I normally arrive at home late in the
evening, and will reply, via email, within 24-48 hours. If you cannot use your cougars email account, please email
me from your personal account so that I will be able to respond.

Fax: (314) 754 – 9821