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Syllabus

Course: Math 3C   (Course Catalog)

Title: Precalculus

Credit Hours: 4

Catalog Description: Functions and their graphs. Linear and polynomial functions, zeroes, inverse functions, exponential and logarithmic, trigonometric functions and their inverses. Emphasis on understanding algebraic, numerical and graphical approaches making use of graphing calculators.

Textbook: The textbook for the course is Precalculus by Jay Abramson, et al. The book is freely available online from OpenStax. A list of the topics scheduled to be covered can be found on the Course Calendar.

Course Readings: Reading the sections in the textbook that correspond to what we are discussing in class is a very important part of learning the subject. Lecture time is very limited and not every subject can be fully covered in the time allotted for lecture. Consequently, it is in your own interests to read the related chapters in the textbook. You should at least skim through the section of the book prior to the lecture in which that section is discussed. (You can read through it more carefully after.) The basic idea is that if you skim through the section first, you will have some idea of where we are going and can formulate questions and make connections.

Electronic Computing Devices: Graphing calculators and computer programs (or online computing websites such as Wolfram|Alpha) can be very helpful when working through your homework. However, a calculator/computer should be used as an aid in the learning concepts, not just as a means of computation. You should use these devices when working on math problems at home, but always keep in mind that any computations must be supported by clear explanations in words.

Homework: Homework is a very important part of the course and in order to fully master the topics it is essential that you work carefully on every assignment and try your best to complete every problem. The purpose of these homework problems is to develop mastery over the topics and a deeper understanding of the concepts (they should not been seen as practice for exam questions).

• Online homework will be assigned through Edfinity.
• Your homework score will be computed by averaging all the individual assignment scores. (This is done automatically by Edfinity.)
• No online homework assignment scores will be dropped at the end of the quarter.

More information about the online homework, including how to access it, will be available in Canvas at the start of the quarter.

Due Dates for Homework: Homework for a section in the textbook should be done before any quiz or exam that includes that section; however, the official due date for all homework is the last day of classes. Be advised that it is in your own best interests to do the homework in a timely fashion, so that you are fully prepared for any quizzes or exams.

No homework can be turned in after the last day of classes.

Quizzes: There will be nine (9) 30-minute quizzes given on the days specified in the course calendar. The quizzes will be taken using Canvas Quizzes. You will be given exactly 35 minutes to complete your quiz. (The quizzes are designed to be 30 minutes, but we are providing you with an extra 5 minutes in case of technological difficulties.) You will be provided a 12-hour window within which to complete the quizzes. Your cumulative quiz score will be based on the best 7 of 9 possible quiz scores. There will be no makeup quizzes. If you miss a quiz for any reason, your cumulative quiz score will be based on the best 7 of the remaining 8 quiz scores, and so on. We will not provide additional accommodation for quizzes. Dropping the lowest 2 quiz scores IS the accommodation.

Note: It is not possible to retake a quiz for a better score.

Quiz 1—Syllabus Quiz: Quiz 1 is a quiz about the content of the syllabus (and related policies). This quiz will be like the rest of the quizzes in the course, except that it will be about the content of the syllabus. The quiz is "open syllabus", which means that you are allowed to consult the syllabus while you are doing the Syllabus Quiz. However, due to time constraints, you are encourage to familiarize yourself with the Syllabus before you attempt the syllabus quiz. You will be given 35 minutes to complete the Syllabus Quiz.

Note: The Syllabus Quiz is the Commencement of Academic Activity (#FinAid) assignment for this course. Students receiving financial aid are required to complete the Commencement of Academic Activity assignment in order to continue receiving financial aid. For summer terms, submissions are due by the end of Week 1. For this reason, the Syllabus Quiz is available from Monday 11:00 AM to Friday 11:00 PM during Week 1.

Quiz Due Dates: The quizzes will be available on from 11:00 AM until 11:00 PM on the days specified on the course calendar. You will have 35 minutes to complete the quizzes, but they must be completed within this time window. It is not possible to submit quizzes late for any reason. If you are unable to take a quiz during the allotted time for any reason—even reasons beyond your control—then you will get a score of 0 on that quiz. It is for this reason that we drop the two lowest quiz scores.

Special due date for the Syllabus Quiz: The Syllabus Quiz is available from Monday 11:00 AM to Friday 11:00 PM during Week 1 because it is the Commencement of Academic Activity assignment for this course. (See above.)

Late Add Policy: If you are on the waitlist for a course, you are expected to attend class and complete assignments. If a student does not attend class or does not turn in assignments before the due dates, the student will receive a "0" on all missed assignments/quizzes/etc. No exceptions will be made. Similarly, a student not on a waitlist who adds the class late will not be given additional time, nor will they be excused from the assigned work.

Note on Submissions: No email submissions (for any form of assessment) will be accepted. If we allow it for one student, then we have to allow it for every student, and there are too many students for that.

Exam Information: In this course, there will be two 60-minute midterm exams and one 2-hour final exam. The exams will be held synchronously. That means that you have to take them at the scheduled time. The dates of the exams, as listed in the course calendar and the Schedule of Classes (for the final exam), together with the topics of each midterm exam are:

• Midterm 1: 14 July 2023 (10:00a-11:50a) — Topics include 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.1, 2.2, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4
• Midterm 2: 28 July 2023 (10:00a-11:50a) — Topics include those from Midterm 1 and 3.7, 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4, 4.5, 4.6, 4.7, 5.1, 5.2
• Final Exam: 05 Aug 2023 (11:30a-2:29p) — All topics may be included

There will be no makeup exams, nor will exams be offered at any alternate times.

The dates of the exams are listed in the course calendar. If there are any discrepancies on the dates listed on these webpages or in Canvas, please refer to the course calendar and the Schedule of Classes (for the final exam). It is possible that something may be mistyped on a webpage or in an announcement, but the Schedule of Classes will remain correct.

Note on Scheduling: By enrolling in the class, you are agreeing to take the exams at the scheduled time. Exams will not be rescheduled to accommodate scheduling conflicts.

Technology Requirement: It is a requirement of the course that you have a stable enough internet connection to complete and upload your exams during the time available. We will not accept late exam submissions and submissions by email will not be accepted.

Accommodation: Accommodations can be given in certain specific cases as required or regulated by UC San Diego policy.

• UC San Diego is required to accommodate sincerely held religious beliefs. If a student wishes to receive an accommodation on religious grounds, the instructor must be notified "no later than the end of the second week of instruction". (For more information, see the UC San Diego Policy on Religious Accommodation.)
• Students with a documented disability are legally entitled to certain accommodations. Please visit the webpage for the Office for Students with Disabilities (OSD) for more information on requesting this form of accommodation. Please be aware that accommodation cannot be provided without approval from OSD. Please also be aware that accommodation cannot be provided unless your instructor is informed three days in advance that you need this accommodation. Requests for exam accommodation that are made after the exam begins will not be considered.
• Students participating in NCAA sporting events as part of UC San Diego Athletics at the time of an exam are entitled to limited accommodation. Your instructor must be informed of such conflicts (or the potential of such conflicts) no later than the end of the second week of instruction. Please be aware that this accommodation does not extend to UC San Diego Recreation.

If you wish to reschedule an assignment (such as a homework assignment or quiz) in accordance with an approved accommodation, then you must make the request at least 24 hours in advance. Without sufficient notice, it may not be possible to provide an accommodation. Requests for accommodation made after a due date has passed will not be considered. (Please also be aware that there is no expectation that your instructor will see a request sent outside of normal business hours. If an assignment is due at 11:00 pm, then a request at 6:00 pm will likely not be seen until the next day. That is why requests should be made 24 hours in advance.)

Regrade Policy: Gradescope exams and Canvas quizzes are automatically graded (by Gradescope and Canvas, respectively), and so there is no regrade request system set up for these assignments. If you think there has been a error in the grading of a Gradescope exam or Canvas quiz, then you must contact your TA.

If an exam is graded by a human, and if you believe there was an error in the grading, you will be able to request a regrade via Gradescope for a brief window of time that will be specified when the graded work is released (after the grading is done). Be sure to make your request within the specified window of time; no regrade requests will be accepted after the deadline. Regrade requests should be made only when you believe there was an error in the original grading process, and the request must be accompanied by an explanation of the mistake. Unjustified requests will not be considered. (The desire to have a better grade does not count as sufficient justification for a regrade. There must be some mistake made by the graders.)

Administrative Deadline: It is your responsibility to check that your scores are correctly recorded in Canvas. In order to resolve recording errors, you must contact your TA before the end of the last day of classes.

• Questions regarding missing or incorrectly recorded scores will not be considered after the last day of instruction.
• Be sure to check that your exam scores entered in Canvas are the same as your exam scores published on Gradescope.

Grading: Your course grade will be determined by your cumulative average at the end of the term and will be based on the following scale:

A+	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D	F
[97,100]	[93,97)	[90,93)	[87,90)	[83,87)	[80,83)	[77,80)	[73,77)	[70,73)	[60,70)	[0,60)

Your cumulative average will be computed as a weighted average using the following percentages as weights:

• 20% Online Homework
• 20% Quizzes (best 7 of 9)
• 20% Midterm 1
• 20% Midterm 2
• 20% Final Exam

Please notice that outside factors, including the need for a certain grade for admission/retention in any academic program, athletic program, scholarship or transfer credit, graduation requirements, or personal desire for a specific grade DO NOT appear in the above calculations, and thus are not considered in any way in the determination of your course grade. Effort, improvement, class attendance and participation will all dramatically improve your grade in the course in that they will allow you to do well on quizzes, exams, and the final exam. They will NOT, however, actively participate in the calculation of your course grade.

No extra credit will be given in this class.

Academic Integrity: Academic integrity is very important at UC San Diego and academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense. Students caught cheating will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. It is in your best interest to maintain your academic integrity. (Click here for more information.)

Academic Integrity and Homework: All homework that you submit should be done yourself. While you are allowed to consult with other students in the class about homework, you should never let another student do your work for you. You should never let anyone do your homework for you, whether they are in the class or not. The homework you submit should be done by you, and you alone. Copying answers from another student or from any other sources (including online sources) is not allowed.

Academic Integrity and Quizzes/Exams: You are not allowed to consult with other students when working exams or quizzes. For exams and quizzes, you must work on your own. You may not ask another person for help, either online or offline. In particular, you may not visit any site where questions may be uploaded and answered by others. Quiz and exam questions must be answered by you and you alone. You may not post questions about quizzes or exams to online discussion forums (even our own!) while the exam or quiz is ongoing and other students are still taking it. Doing so is an explicit violation of academic integrity.

Calculators and Notes for Online Quizzes/Exams: You are allowed to use technology (such as a calculator) to aid in computation, and you are allowed to refer to your notes. However, all written answers must be accompanied by supporting work. Part of the answer is explaining how and where the answer comes from. Correct answers without supporting work will not receive credit. (This does not apply to multiple choice, True/False, or fill-in-the-blank questions.)

Any student found responsible for academic misconduct on any form of assessment will receive a zero score on that assessment. Any student found responsible for academic misconduct on multiple occasions (that is, more than once) will receive an F in the course. Academic misconduct includes, but is not limited to, receiving answers from someone else, asking or allowing someone else to do the work for you, soliciting solutions online, or copying solutions from another person.

Filing for a Incomplete: Sometimes it is not possible to complete all of the work in the course due to circumstances beyond your control. (Being unable to take the final exam because of accident or sickness, for example.) In such a case, it may be possible to file for an Incomplete grade. If an Incomplete is granted, you will be given the opportunity to complete the work during the next quarter. (All work must be completed before the end of Week 10 the following academic quarter.) In order to be eligible for an Incomplete, you must meet the following criteria:

• Your incomplete work must be due to circumstances beyond your control. (Sickness, accident, etc.)
• You must be able to verify the circumstances with official documentation.
• Your coursework must be of "non-failing quality" (from the Academic Senate Regulations). This means that you must be currently passing the course according to the method for computing your grade that is described above based on the work currently submitted (and not based on work that has not yet been submitted).

Follow this link to find more information about filing for an Incomplete on TritonLink. To apply for an Incomplete, you must fill out and submit the official form.

Credit by Examination: It is not possible to take this class via Credit by Examination.

Suggestions:  Below are some suggestions that I hope will help you to succeed in this course:

• Spend sufficient time on the course. According to the policy of UCSD's Academic Senate, "The value of a course in units ... shall be reckoned at the rate of one unit for three hours' work per week per quarter on the part of the student." During a ten-week quarter, for a 4 credit course, you should be willing to spend about 12 hours per week on the course.
• Keep up with the homework and do not miss a midterm.
• Get started on the homework assignments early. And "early" means "right after the lecture in which it is discussed". This will reinforce the topics we discuss in the lecture, help you keep up with the class schedule, and allow you to make the most of your discussion section time by coming prepared with specific questions. And if you don't put the homework off until the last day, you won't have to worry about something coming up and preventing you from doing it! (Seriously, don't put the homework off until the last day.)
• Read the section of the book we are covering before the lecture. Or, if not the whole section, try skimming through it. Read the section titles, the definitions, the theorems, and anything else that the book emphasizes. Skimming the section before we talk about it in class will give you some added context, and will help you make connections between the topics we discuss.
• Take notes by hand (whenever possible). Studies have found that students retain information better if they take notes by hand.
• Always try to work out a problem before reading a solution. Coming up with a solution yourself is a very different cognitive process than understanding a solution someone else provided. Whether it is a homework problem or an example from the textbook or one given by the online homework system, you should try to solve the problem first. Work on the problem for at least five minutes. Set a timer.
• Don't worry if you make mistakes sometimes! We all make mistakes. Mistakes are great, because they show us where we might need some extra work. Mistakes on exams are a little more costly than mistakes on homework. That's why you should treat all homework exercises as if they were exam or quiz questions. Get all of the mistakes out of the way on homework, and then you won't have to worry about them showing up on exams!
• Read the book. And get a physical copy of the book, if you can. It helps more than you might expect. If you want to look up a topic, try looking in the book instead of online. Check out the index in the back of the book.
• The best way to learn something is to teach it, so try teaching the topics to your classmates, or a family member, a friend, a pet, a stuffed animal, or even an empty chair. Try to anticipate what questions someone will ask you. It is a great way to assess your own understanding, and it helps to find gaps in your own knowledge of the subject.

Name and Gender Pronouns:  UC San Diego is committed to supporting its students' name and gender preferences. Class rosters provided to your instructor and TAs have students' legal names, but we will strive to honor your request to be addressed using a preferred name or gender pronoun. Please let your instructor and TA know your preferences so that we can make changes to our records. (Certain university records may be beyond our ability to change, however.)

Equity, Inclusion, and Respect:  We are committed to the UC San Diego Principles of Community. "To foster the best possible working and learning environment, UC San Diego strives to maintain a climate of fairness, cooperation, and professionalism. These principles of community are vital to the success of the University and the well being of its constituents." The principles of community include (but are not limited to):

• "We affirm each individual's right to dignity and strive to maintain a climate of justice marked by mutual respect for each other."
• "We reject acts of discrimination based on race, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, age, disability, sexual orientation, religion, and political beliefs, and, we will confront and appropriately respond to such acts."
• "We promote open expression of our individuality and our diversity within the bounds of courtesy, sensitivity, confidentiality, and respect."
• "We are committed to promoting and supporting a community where all people can work and learn together in an atmosphere free of abusive or demeaning treatment."

Visit the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for more information.