College Algebra
| University credit, 12 assignments, 2 exams, $684 tuition, $75 administration fee, Prerequisites: Two years of high-school algebra and one year of high-school geometry, or equivalent. This is course U600-112. |
Director of Mathematics
Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts
610 Langdon Street, 629 Lowell Hall
Madison WI 53703-1195
1-608-262-2152
schandarana@dcs.wisc.edu
This is a standard first-year college course in algebra. Topics include functions and graphs, algebraic and graphical properties of polynomials and rational functions, exponential and logarithmic functions, systems of equations, determinants, inequalities and linear programming, sequences and series. Emphasis on the interaction of algebraic and graphical methods.
Prerequisites: Two years of high-school algebra and one year of high-school geometry, or equivalent. See the prerequisites page for more detail.
Course Materials
- College Algebra, 3rd edition, Beecher, Penna and Bittinger, Addison-Wesley, 2008. Available through MBS or other sources.
- Course Guide for Mathematics 112, Kantor, UW-Extension Independent Learning. You can buy the course guide for about $25 through MBS at direct.mbsbooks.com/uwlearning.htm (choose "Buy Course Materials", then "Independent Learning") or call 800-325-3252. A PDF of the course guide is available free to registered students. Email the course instructor, Sharad Chandarana if you are interested.
- Student's Solutions Manual, Beecher, Penna, Bittinger, 2008. Available through MBS (see link above).
- Student Handbook, available at learn.wisconsin.edu/il/studenthandbook/studenthandbook.pdf, or on paper by request to Learner Services, toll-free 1-877-UW-LEARN (877-895-3276).
Format of Course
The course consists of 12 lessons and 2 exams. Each lesson consists of:
- A reading assignment from the text.
- Exercises to test your understanding of the material. (Solutions to these self-test problems are provided in the Student Solutions Manual.)
- A written assignment, from the text, to submit for grading and feedback.
The Course Guide contains sample midterm and final exams, with solutions provided. The actual exams are mailed to a proctor selected by the student in accordance with Independent Learning's guidelines. Students are generally permitted to retake each exam a second time if they so choose. A request for a retake must be received within two weeks of the time you get back the graded exam.
Grading
| Score | Letter Grade |
|---|---|
| NOTE: The grading scale was revised on Nov 13, 2003. This grading scale applies to all students who complete the course after that date. | |
| 93-100 | A |
| 90-92 | AB |
| 83-89 | B |
| 80-82 | BC |
| 73-79 | C |
| 65-72 | D |
| 0-64 | F |
Each lesson and each exam is graded on a 100-point scale. The final score is computed as a weighted average, with the average of the lessons counting for 40%, and the average of the exams counting 60%. The exam average must be at least 65 for a passing grade. Assuming this is the case, the average of all your work is converted to a letter grade as shown in the table.
Course Outline
- Unit 1: Review
- Unit 2: Equations and Graphs
- Unit 3: Functions
- Unit 4: Properties and Transformations of Functions
- Unit 5: Linear and Quadratic Functions; Complex Numbers
- Unit 6: Quadratic Graphs; Rational Functions; Quadratic and Rational Inequalities
- Mid-course Exam
- Unit 7: Polynomials
- Unit 8: Rational Functions; Variation
- Unit 9: Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
- Unit 10: Properties and Applications of Exponential and Logarithmic Functions
- Unit 11: Systems of Linear Equations
- Unit 12: Sequences and Series
- Final Exam
