General Course Information:
Class Time:
Monday & Wednesday 02:30 pm - 04:25
pm
Location:
Room 116 Amundson Hall
Office Hours:
12:30 p.m - 02:00 p.m Tues & Wed, and
by appointment
Required Text:
Finite Mathematics, 4th Ed., by Daniel
P. Maki & Maynard Thompson. McGraw Hill, ISBN 0-07-039763-5.
The course will cover atleast chapters 1-7 and 10 from the book.
Selected topics from chapters 9 and 11 may be
covered if time permits.
Grades:
There will be eight quizzes,
two midterm exams and a final exam. The quizzes have equal
weightage and the best seven will be considered for the final
grade. Grade distribution for the quizzes and exams are
as follows:
Quizzes: 25%
Midterm Exams: 50% (2 x 25%)
Final Exam: 25%
Group Work: 5% (Bonus)
Grading Policy:
85-100: A
70-85: B
55-70: C
40-55: D
<40: F
Course Outline:
Part1: Probability Theory
Part2: System of Equations and Matrix
Algerbra
Part3: Linear Programming and Game
Theory
Ground Rules for Quizzes and Exams:
Please strictly adhere to the following rules. Your cooperation is
much appreciated.
1. All exam papers must be neat
2. Any written material submitted
must be neat and legible.
3. All intermediate calculations
must be shown
4. Problems must be solved in the
order assigned.
5. Solution to a new problem must
start on a fresh page
6. Do not write back to back
7. Staple all work
8. Books, notes and calculators will
not be permitted during quizzes and exams
Tentative Lecture Schedule:
Week 1 (09/03): 1.1
Week 2 (09/10): 1.2, 1.3, 1.4
Week 3 (09/17): 2.1, 2.2, Quiz1
Week 4 (09/24): 2.3, 2.4, 3.1
Week 5 (10/01): 3.2, 3.4, 3.5, Quiz2
Week 6 (10/08): 4.1, 4.2, Quiz3
Week 7 (10/15): 5.1, 5.2, 5.3, Quiz4
Week 8 (10/22): Review, First
Midterm Exam (material covered during Weeks 1-6: Chap
1,2,3,4)
Week 9 (10/29): 6.1, 6.2, Quiz5
Week 10 (11/05): 7.1, 7.2, Quiz6
Week 11 (11/12): 7.3, Quiz7
Week 12 (11/19): Review, Second
Midterm Exam (material covered during Weeks 7-12: Chap
5,6,7)
Week 13 (11/26): to be decided
Week 14 (12/03): to be decided
Week 15 (12/10): Review
Homework:
Homework problems will be assigned each Wednesday. Homework problems will not be collected. Instead each Wednesday will begin with a 20-30 min Quiz consisting of problems selected from the most recent homework assignments. Graded quizes will be returned in the class the following Monday. Since there is no recitation class for this course a part of each Monday will be devoted to questions regarding the current homework assignment. Questions regarding grades can be asked either during office hours or after the lecture if over at 4:30 p.m. Below you will find links to homework problems and review problems for midterm exams:
Group Work:
You are strongly encouraged and rewarded to work in groups. Group work will help you get a better understanding of the course material. You can also approach me on an individual basis or as a group for questions regarding the course. Please check the Finite Math Student Groups page to see which group you belong to.
Based on the scores obtained in the first quiz the class will be divided into eight groups with four in each group. Students with the highest eight scores in the first quiz will be spread over the eight groups. The same will apply to the second, third and fourth eight highest scores respectively. This way each group is likely to contain students with a mix of highest to lowest scores.
You can get up to five bonus points towards your final grade by working successfully as a group. The reward system applies for all the quizzes (except the first one), midterm exams and final and it works by considering the lowest score in each group. Each member of the group with the highest among the lowest scores gets 10 points, the next highest gets 9 points and so on. The total points obtained from group work is scaled so that the group with the highest group score gets five points towards the final grade.
Other Notes:
Meaning of your grades: For a definition of what your grades
are supposed to mean in terms of the command over the course
material, see page 30 of the 2002-2004 Undergraduate Catalog,
or look at http://www.umn.edu/usenate/policies/gradingpolicy.html.
Honor Code: The usual strictures
about academic integrity apply in this course. They may
be discussed in detail by the Office for Student Academic Integrity,
which may be accessed at http://www.oasi.umn.edu or called
at (612) 624-6073.
Make-up Quizzes and Exams: There
will be no make-up quizes. For midterm exams you must have
a very valid reason for missing the exam and a letter from
the deans office may be required.