Special Instructions during Public Health or Safety EmergenciesYour health and safety are our top priority. If you are feeling ill please contact the LSU Student Health Center for medical advice. If you are experiencing excessive stress, the Student Health Center offers mental health support as well. And please observe all the University's requirements and recommendations during emergency conditions. We have learned from recent years that there can be unexpected changes due to the unpredictable nature of emergencies such as pandemics or extremes of weather, so that the format of the course and/or requirements may be forced to change, and if this is the case we will take care to ensure that every student is treated in a fair and considerate manner. If you have any special individual difficulty, please contact me quickly so that I can do anything possible to assist you. That said, we are looking forward to the new semester and hoping that it will be smooth sailing. With regard to class attendance, if you don't feel well, check with the Student Health Center and follow their advice about whether or not to come to class. Organization of this ClassHomework will be assigned daily. Please understand that it is from the effort of working your way through assigned problems on paper that you learn mathematics.It is by no means sufficient to read solutions in a solutions manual! You must work out problems yourself, with paper and pencil, in order to learn this work. Do not become a victim of the online scoundrels who will sell you solutions for a few dollars a month. They do not care about the quality of your education, and they will not help you if the result is that you need to repeat the course and pay tuition a second time for the same course. Examination problems will be very similar to assigned homework problems. Thus your daily effort on homework problems will be strongly reflected in your test grades. Tests and HomeworkTests will be closed-book tests. You must keep your eyes on your own paper and do your own work. Do not communicate with your classmates during an examination. No books or notes are permitted, electronic, paper, or on any other medium. No electronic devices are permitted other than a calculator and a watch to check the time. No cell phones, smart phones, or internet-connected devices are permitted.The problems will be similar to those in the homework. A correct answer is not sufficient to receive credit. You must show all the work that leads correctly to the solution. Some of the assigned homework problems (marked in red bold face) will be turned in on the date indicated. These collected assignments will be graded, and your collected assignments will count collectively as a fourth hour test. But remember that the problems on the in-class tests will be based directly on all the assigned problems, not just the collected problems. So if you don't know how to solve an assigned problem, be sure to ask me about it! Attendance is required.Your presence and participation in class is an essential part of this course. Most LSU students are conscientious and sensible about coming to class unless there is a serious, excusable reason for not being able to do so. However, there is an unfortunate tendency for some students to become discouraged as the term progresses and to cease regular attendance. This happens despite the fact that a student who is feeling discouraged has an especially great need to be in class and to ask questions. The attendance policy is intended to ensure that every student comes to class even when the going gets tough.If you need to be absent you must tell me why so that I can determine whether or not such an absence is excused. Depending on circumstances I may require documentation for your absences and documentation will always be required if you are absent from an hour test or from the Final Examination. If you miss a test, it is your responsibility to speak to me as soon as possible to determine whether or not your excuse is acceptable. Here is some General Guidance regarding appropriate reasons for absence from a test or examination. If you are in doubt, ask me as soon as possible. When should you ask questions?You should ask questions every time you do not understand
something and also every time you are curious about something.
Ask questions in class. Be aware that when I am writing on the whiteboard I have no way of seeing your raised hand. So speak up with your questions! Our class size is small so you should view our meetings as a two-way discussion and not a formal lecture. It is a good thing to speak up with your questions! Lateness and Classroom ConductPlease try to arrive on time for class. But sometimes it may be unavoidable to be late. If you are late, please come right into class, doing so as quietly as you are able so as not to disturb other students. I do not want you to wait outside in the hall. You should have as much classroom time as possible, so please just come in--quietly--and take a seat even if you are late. Class time is a time for work. So when class begins please put away all cell phones, smart phones, head phones, wrist watch communicators, tablets, laptops, etc, and turn your attention to the work of the class. Thank you. GradesThere will be three hour tests, worth 100 points each, and a two hour final examination, worth 200 points. There will be collected homework problems, marked in red bold face. The collected homework problems will count collectively as if it were a fourth 100-point hour test. Some of the red problems will be starred, and they will be treated as bonus questions because they are harder, so that your homework average could go over 100%! Your lowest hour test grade will be replaced by half of your 200-point final exam score, if it is to your advantage. I will grade your hour tests and your final exam and return the hour tests to you the very next class meeting each time. Our Teaching Assistant will grade your collected homework problems. Your test average will be the sum of all your hour test grades, your final exam grade , and your homework grade as a percentage divided by 6, since 600 will be the maximum possible number of points. The minimum grade for each letter grade is as follows:A+, 97 A, 93 A-, 90 B+,87 B, 83 B-, 80 C+, 77 C, 73 C-, 70 D+, 67 D, 63 D-, 60 F, below 60 You should save all your graded work for future study and in case you think your final grade is in error. Unhappy with your grades in Math?Click here for a Six-Step Plan to improve your grades! RemarksIt is important not to fall behind. It is very important to attend class and participate in homework discussions daily. Please do not assume you can take care of difficulties later---see me for help as soon as possible if there is something you do not understand! You are responsible for all assigned problems---not just those which we go over the next day!Homework Assignments and DownloadsThe table of assignments below needs to be revised for the current semester and for the current 9th edition of our text. You will know an assignment is correct for this semester when the due date has been inserted. Be sure to reload this page from the website each time you visit, since it will be updated daily! Remember, it is only the problems marked in marked in red bold face that will be collected! You should keep a notebook with all your solutions written out, including those problems that are not collected. We will reserve some class time each day to answer questions about the homework that is due for that day. Test questions will resemble assigned homework problems, so it is important to put in the time and effort to keep up with the daily homework. The University has clear policies requiring academic honesty. If you email me about a pending assignment, I may send a hint to the whole class in answer to your question, not giving your name of course! If on the other hand you get a good idea from another book, or from talking with a friend, academic honesty requires that you acknowledge your sources openly. Above all, never copy directly from another person's written work as though it were your own. Remember that your own good name is irreplaceable. This is a sound principle which will serve you well throughout your life. Moreover, on a practical level, it is very foolish claim another person's work as your own. Work that is copied can be recognized very easily.
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