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Syllabus of Math 167

For All Practical Purposes, Fall 2012

Instructor Peter Kuchment

Office Rm. Blocker 614A, Telephone (979)862-3257

E-mail: kuchment@math.tamu.edu, Home Page: /~kuchment

Course title and description

For All Practical Purposes (3 Credit Hours) Emphasizes application of mathematics in today's world. A variety of applied problems which can be solved using quantitative means will be discussed. Topics include: urban services and elements of management science (optimal routes, planning and scheduling), elements of statistics (sampling/polling methods, analyzing data to make decisions), codes used by stores, credit cards, and internet security, cryptography. Time permitting, other topics may be chosen at instructor's discretion.

Prerequisite

High school Algebra I and II.

Audience

The class has a lot to offer to a broad spectrum of students, with different mathematics backgrounds - from advanced to those who fear math. The goal of this course is to demonstrate to students that mathematics is not about memorizing formulas, but rather a wonderful process of logical thinking that can be applied to today's world. It is a great class for everyone who wants to explore wonders of mathematics. The class can be used to fulfill the Math core curriculum requirements. It, however, does not replace a calculus class, if the latter is required for further studies.

Learning objectives

By the end of the course students should be able to understand mathematical structures underlying real life situations (routing, planning, coding, etc.), solve basic problems of planning and scheduling, be able to understand correct ways of obtaining and using statistical information. Moreover, they would appreciate the beauty and power of mathematics.

Tests, quizzes, and homework

The grade will be determined by homework (one per chapter, done through WebAssign), weekly quizzes (written or using iclicker), three in-class exams, and a final exam. It is recommended that besides solving home assignments, you look at other problems in the textbook and consult with the instructor if you have any difficulties. You can find some suggested problems here, although it is a good idea to at least browse through other problems as well.
Reading the book ahead is also beneficial.
Some remarks about using the homework system WebAssign:

  1. The students need to purchase only the $19.95 homework for their sections. Please see /courses/eHomework/Math167_TextInfo.pdf for the details bring spelled out.
  2. The students have 3 attempts at each question of an assignment. They will be told if they are right or wrong after each attempt. If it is wrong after the 3rd attempt, they will see the correct answer and have 3 more attempts. However, those last 3 attempts can have a max of 80% of the possible points on that question.

    Outside help

    Tentative schedule of the course

    Weeks

    Chapters and sections

    Home assignments

    Tests and quizzes (dates are flexible and will be confirmed closer to a test).

    1

    Ch. 1, Urban services (urban graph traversal problems)

    Web Assignment #1, due by 7am September 6th.

    Quiz #1.

    2

    Ch. 2, Business efficiency (optimal routing)

    Assignment #2.

    3

    Ch. 2, Business efficiency (traveling salesman problem) and Ch. 3, Planning and Scheduling

    .

    .

    4

    Ch. 3, Planning and Scheduling

    Assignment #3, Due 9/20/12.


    Exam #1. September 20

    5

    Beginning of Ch. 7 (sampling). Then Ch. 5, Exploring Data: Summaries and Plots.

    Assignment for Ch. 5, Due 10/10/12.

    .

    6

    Ch. 7, Data for decisions: Good and bad sampling methods. Ch. 6.

    Assignment for Ch. 6, due 10/17/12.

    .

    7

    Ch. 7, Data for decisions: Good and bad inferences from data.

    Assignment for Ch. 7, due 11/3/12.

    .

    8

    Ch. 7, Data for decisions: Good and bad inferences from data.

    .

    Exam 2. October 18th. Exam 3, November 8th.

    9-11

    Ch. 16, Identification numbers (bar codes, zip codes)

    Assignment for Ch. 16, due 11/17/12.

    12-13

    Ch 9. Social choice

    Assignment for Ch. 9 due December 6th..



    Office hours before the final exam:
    Monday December 10th, 6pm-8pm, Blocker 624 (P. Kuchment)
    Tuesday December 11th, 1-3pm, Blocker 602 (P. Kuchment)
    Tuesday December 11th, 4-6pm, Blocker 624 (K. Moore)
    Come with specific questions prepared, please.

    Final exam: December 12, Wednesday. 1-3 p.m. Click here for the details.

    GRADING POLICY

    All points earned from home assignments (20x8=160 points), quizes (2x10=20 points), exams (3x100=300 points), and the final exam (120 points), will be added (without any weighting). Then extra credit clicker points will be added and the total will be compared with the possible maximum total of 600 points. Then the grade will be computed as follows:

    Percentage of points

    Grade

    90% and higher (at most 60 points lost)

    A

    80% and higher (at most 120 points lost)

    B

    70% and higher (at most 180 points lost)

    C

    60% and higher (at most 240 points lost)

    D

    Less than 60% (more than 240 points lost)

    F

    Make-up policy:

    Make-ups for missed quizzes, home assignments and exams will only be allowed for a university approved excuse in writing. Wherever possible, students should inform the instructor before an exam or quiz is missed. Consistent with University Student Rules , students are required to notify an instructor by the end of the next working day after missing an exam or quiz. If there are confirmed circumstances that do not allow this (a written confirmation is required), the student has two working days to notify the instructor. Otherwise, they forfeit their rights to a make-up.

    Late work

    Late work will not be accepted, unless there is an university approved excuse in writing. In the latter case student has a week to submit the work.

    Grade complaints:

    Sometimes the instructor might make a mistake grading your work. If you feel that this has happened, you have one week since the graded work was handed back to you to talk to the instructor. If a mistake is confirmed, the grade will be changed. No complaints after that deadline will be considered.

    Students with Disabilities:

    The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a federal anti-discrimination statute that provides comprehensive civil rights protection for persons with disabilities. Among other things, this legislation requires that all students with disabilities be guaranteed a learning environment that provides for reasonable accommodation of their disabilities. If you believe you have a disability requiring an accommodation, please contact Services for Students with Disabilities (Cain Hall, Room B118, or call 845-1637).

    Copyright policy:

    All printed materials disseminated in class or on the web are protected by Copyright laws. One xerox copy (or download from the web) is allowed for personal use. Multiple copies or sale of any of these materials is strictly prohibited.

    Scholastic dishonesty:

    Copying work done by others, either in class or out of class, looking on other studentοΎ’s papers during exams or quizzes, having possession of unapproved information in your calculator/computer/phone, etc., and/or having someone else do your work for you are all acts of scholastic dishonesty. These acts, and other acts that can be classified as scholastic dishonesty, will be prosecuted to the full extent allowed by University policy. In this class, collaboration on graded assignments, either in class or out of class, is forbidden unless permission to do so is granted by the instructor. For more information on university policy regarding scholastic dishonesty, see University Student Rules at http://studentrules.tamu.edu/.
    "An Aggie does not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do." Visit http://www.tamu.edu/aggiehonor and follow the rules of the Aggie Honor Code. or

    GOOD LUCK IN YOUR STUDIES!!!

    This syllabus is subject to change at the instructor's discretion

    Back to P. Kuchment's Home Page

    Last revised December 10th, 2012