Math 1510 Fundamentals of Mathematics, Section C, Fall 2011.

Note that I will be posting various notes and remarks in the reverse chronological order.

All the posted notes will be in pdf

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Email is the fastest way to get in touch with me. Since I am using drastic anti-spam measures, please follow the following guidelines when sending me an email, as otherwise your message may not pass through my anti-spam filter.
(1) Always start the subject with Math 1510.
(2) Use plain text (no html, please).
(3) No attachments, please.
(4) Always sign your full name as it appears in the class list.

Text: Precalculus: Mathematics for calculus, 6th edition by Stewart/Redlin/Watson, Thomson Brooks/Cole, and the Student Solutions Manual for that text. The two are available as a package at the York Bookstore.

Math 1510 help is provided in Mathstat Lab, starting on the second week of classes). Hours: Monday to Friday from 10:30am to 3:30pm every week.

Final exam: Thu, 05 Apr 2012, 2-4pm, ACW 206.

(Apr. 14) Unofficial final grades.
The grades include 1% for online evaluation. I have dropped the two lowest homeworks and then averaged the remaining ones.
(Apr. 3) Contrary to some rumours spread by some of the students in class, this will be a closed book exam. In particular, you will not be allowed to use a `cheat sheet' or a calculator.
(Apr. 1) (a) Math Lab (Ross S525) will be open during the exam period (April 2-April 19) from 10:30-3:30 every day (except weekends and Good Friday). Feel encouraged to use this opportunity to get math help.
(b) As announced in class, 11.3 will not be on the exam.
(Mar. 14) (a) Course evaluations can be submitted online here: http://courseevaluations.yorku.ca . between March 15, 2012 to April 2, 2012. These evaluations provide a valuable feedback and you are strongly encouraged to complete them. Don't forget that 1% of the grade is given for completing the evaluation.
(b) Test 3 grades.
(March 13, 2012) Final exam syllabus: 1.7, 1.10, 2.6, 2.7, 3.1, 3.3, 3.7 , 4.4, 4.5, 5.2, 5.3, 6.2, 6.3, 10.1,10.2, 10.9.
(March 4, 2012) Math and Stats Department will offer (provided sufficient enrollments) Math 1520 3.00 Introduction to Calculus with Vectors in S2 for any student who wants to take this course upon completion of Math 1510 6.00.
(March 1, 2012) Solutions to test 3, with the grading scheme..
(February 21, 2012) (a) The third test will be taking place on March 1, 2:30-3:75. It will cover sections 4.1-4.6, 5.1-5.3, 6.1-6.3, 11.1-11.2.
Since the class is too large for one room, we will have to split it for the test as follows.
If your last name starts with one of the letters A-K, then go to the usual classroom, CLH F.
If your last name starts with one of the letters L-Z, then go to CLH J.
It is your responsibility to go to the right room. If you make an attempt to take the test in the wrong room (e.g., if your last name starts with M and you find yourself in CLH F) you will then be escorted to the right room, probably losing valuable time in the process.
Bring a photo ID to the test. Before the test starts you will be required to write your name in the space provided in ink. During the test an invigilator will come to check your photo IDs and your name written in ink in the space provided. Be prepared to show both.
(Jan. 10, 2012) (a) Test 2 grades.
(Dec. 6, 2011)
(a) Solutions to test 2, with the grading scheme..
(b) No homework will be assigned during the holidays. Enjoy!
(Dec. 5, 2011) As of now, I will stop responding to emails that contain questions whose answer is available on this page.
(Dec. 3, 2011) Course evaluations will be available during the last few weeks of classes, in March. You will get all the pertinent info then. Please be patient.
(Nov 29, 2011) (a) The second test will be taking place on December 6, 2:30-3:75. It will cover sections 1.10, 2.1, 2.2, 2.5-2.7, 3.1-3.3, 3.7, 10.1, 10.2, 10.8, 10.9.
Since the class is too large for one room, we will have to split it for the test as follows.
If your last name starts with one of the letters L-Z, then go to the usual classroom, CLH F.
If your last name starts with one of the letters A-K, then go to TEL 0014.
It is your responsibility to go to the right room. If you make an attempt to take the test in the wrong room (e.g., if your last name starts with C and you find yourself in CLH F) you will then be escorted to the right room, probably losing valuable time in the process. Note that TEL and CLH are quite far from one another.
Bring a photo ID to the test. Before the test starts you will be required to write your name in the space provided in ink. During the test an invigilator will come to check your photo IDs and your name written in ink in the space provided. Be prepared to show both.
(b) Since the assignments total 34% of the final grade, 1% will be given for filling the online course evaluation form.
(Nov 7, 2011) (a) Unclaimed tests are in a box in front of my office, Ross N533.
(b) The original handout contained a typo, saying that test 2 will be taking place on November 16 I regret the inconvenience. However, note that the test date was corrected to December 6 on this very page (see the entry of September 16 (b)). The first handout also contained a suggestion that you check the course website as well as its http address.
(Oct. 26, 2011) (a) Unofficial test 1 grades. Find the last digit of your student number in the left column. Next to it is your score (out of 100). If your grade is missing, don't panic. Five grades were not recorded in this sheet and I will fix this tomorrow.
(b) You are welcome to send me an email, but read this first.
(c) I will not be able to stay after the class for some 15 minutes and answer questions, as I was doing since the beginning of the semester. If you have a question that is not answered on this page or that cannot be answered by email, then make an appointment and come to see me before the class.
(Oct. 25, 2011) Solutions to test 1.
(Oct. 18, 2011) The following corrects and supersedes the October 8 entry.
You are affected if your last name starts with one of the letters L or M.
(1) The first midterm test will be taking place on October 20, 2:30-3:75. It will cover sections 1.1-1.8.
Since the class is too large for one room, we will have to split it for the test as follows.
Note that the following information has changed.
If your last name starts with one of the letters A-K, then go to the usual classroom, CLH F.
If your last name starts with one of the letters L-Z, then go to CLH J.
It is your responsibility to go to the right room. If you make an attempt to take the test in the wrong room (e.g., if your last name starts with N and you find yourself in CLH F) you will then be escorted to the right room, probably losing valuable time in the process.
Bring a photo ID to the test. Before the test starts you will be required to write your name in the space provided in ink. During the test an invigilator will come to check your photo IDs and your name written in ink in the space provided. Be prepared to show both.
(1) The use of books, calculators, or other electronic devices (cell phones, iPods, etc.) is prohibited during the test.
(Oct. 8, 2011) (1) The first midterm test will be taking place on October 20, 2:30-3:75. It will cover sections 1.1-1.8.
Since the class is too large for one room, we will have to split it for the test as follows.
Note the correction. If your last name starts with one of the letters A-K, then go to the usual classroom, CLH F.
If your last name starts with one of the letters L-Z, then go to CLH J.
It is your responsibility to go to the right room. If you make an attempt to take the test in the wrong room (e.g., if your last name starts with N and you find yourself in CLH F) you will then be escorted to the right room, probably losing valuable time in the process.
Bring a photo ID to the test. Before the test starts you will be required to write your name in the space provided in ink. During the test an invigilator will come to check your photo IDs and your name written in ink in the space provided. Be prepared to show both.
(Oct. 5, 2011) A few (more precisely, three) students experienced some problems while submitting their homework last night. Hopefully this reminded them that it is not a good idea to wait until the last moment to submit assignments. Here are troubleshooting instructions from the Nelson Digital Solutions Manager.
EWA is not experiencing any issues on their end that would cause this kind of behavior. All three cases sound like things that would be fixed by having the students clear there cookies and cache, and for them to uninstall and reinstall Adobe Flash.
If this turns out not to solve the problem, please direct your students to EWAÕs student support page. There is live chat, toll free phone, or email. They will be able to further assist the students to diagnose their particular issues. https://www.webassign.net/user_support/student/
(Oct. 7, 2011) (1) Assignment #2 is available at EWA.
(2) Here is the breakup of weights of assignments. The assignments total 35% of the grade.
#1: 2% (i.e., assignment #1 is worth 2% of the grade), #2: 3%. After this, we will have 18 weekly assignments worth 1.5% each, and one longer assignment (during the Winter reading week) worth 2%.
(3) I don't answer anonymous emails. You should sign all your emails addressed tp people who will not recognize your email address.
(4) I don't answer emails that start with `Well ok then' either.
(5) Enjoy the reading week!
(Oct. 1, 2011) Assignment #1 is due this Tuesday, October 4, at 11:59pm. It is your responsibility to register at EWA and submit the assignment before this deadline. There will be no extensions. All the pertinent information is contained on this page and in the handout (a link to the handout is at the bottom of the page)
(Sep. 28, 2011) Important: The date given below in the Sept. 27 (a) announcement is wrong. (My mistake, and I apologize for the inconvenience.) Instead of Tuesday, September 29 it should be Thursday, October 4. Therefore in case you bought textbook bundle in the York bookstore bring your receipt to CLH F at 2:25pm on Thursday, October 4.
(Sep. 27, 2011) (a) As I said today in class, EWA access card are available in York Bookstore. If you bought the textbook+solutions manual bundle and you have a receipt, then you are eligible to buy EWA access card for discounted price ($12 I think). In order to purchase EWA access card at the discounted price you need to present a special blue card at the cashier. These cards will be given out by Carolyn, publisher's sales representative, before Thursday's class. Bring the receipt and come to the lecture auditorium five minutes before the beginning of the class (i.e., at 2:25) on Thursday, September 29.
(b) Background tutorials (see below), or any other tutorials, are not mandatory. For the information on how to enrol see below.
(Sep. 27, 2011) I have posted the first assignment. It is due in a week, on October 4. There are no extensions. In order to submit homework you will need to have Enhanced WebAssign (EWA) access. Once again, the link is here: http://www.webassign.net/user_support/student/ and the temporary access code is
yorku.ca 0259 3086
This code will be valid until October 7 and afterwards you will need to buy EWA access card. All the pertinent discussion is on this page and in the handout (scroll all the way down for link) and I will not be discussing it in class anymore.
(Sep. 25, 2011) (a) The EWA access code is yorku.ca 0259 3086
I will assign the first homework on Tuesday and your grade on this homework will be counted towards your grade.
(b) I don't respond to anonymous emails or emails with questions answered on the course homepage (i.e., here). Also, if you don't include `Math 1510' in the subject line your email may be lost.
(c) If you are finding this course difficult, you may want to consider enrolling in background tutorials during the reading week. For more information click here.
(Sep. 23, 2011) The grace period for WebAssign access of our class (Math 1510, section C) class is extended until October 7, 2011.
(Sep. 22, 2011) Several students inquired about buying EWA access code online. More information about this is available here or here.
Alternatively you may want to go to Discount Textbooks, they have EWA in stock.
All this said, I will assign the first EWA homework on Tuesday and discuss it anymore in class. We have a lot of material to cover!
(Sep. 22, 2011) Important: We will start using EWA next week. Even if you don't have EWA yet, you should have a 14-day trial access code which comes with the book. Please use it to crete an EWA account. If you already created the 14-day trial account, your counter will be reset now so that the account does not expire before EWAs arrive to the bookstore.
(Sep. 22, 2011) Once again, no homework will be assigned on EWA until it is available from the bookstore. In particular, the homework that has been posted to EWA last week will not be counted towards the grade.
(Sep. 21, 2011) (a) Mathstat Lab (Ross S525, see above) is open Monday to Friday from 10:30am to 3:30pm every week.
(b) Students who bought textbook bundle from Discount Texts can obtain EWA from there for the difference in price. Bring your receipt. If you bought textbook bundle from York bookstore, stay tuned.
(Sep. 20, 2011) (a) Suggested problems:
1.2: 23, 24, 33, 37, 48, 76, 79, 82, 90, 91.
1.3: 16, 27, 52, 53, 56, 73, 81, 89, 94, 123, 132.
1.4: 9, 12, 18, 27, 35, 60, 67, 71, 82, 85, 91.
(b) EWA will be available at the York Bookstore soon. In order to buy it at the discounted price you will need to present a proof of purchase of the `textbook+solutions manual' bundle. Details to follow.
(Sep 15, 2011) EWA will be available at the York Bookstore soon. I am assuming that, in case you already bought the textbook bundle, you will be required to pay only the difference in price. However, this needs to be confirmed and you will need to bring the receipt. If the publisher does not agree with this deal then we will not be using EWA, so please don't buy anything until further notice.
(Sep 14, 2011) It was brought to my attention that the bookstore does not have the Math 1510 bundle with EWA access in stock. I am working on resolving this problem and I will have more information shortly. The information about the homework assignment announced earlier should be ignored for the time being. The homework will not be due until at least a week after the situation with EWA is resolved.
(Sep 12, 2011) (a) The first homework will be assigned on Tuesday, September 13 and it will be due on Thursday, September 22. This homework assignment, as well as all of the future homework assignments, will be assigned via WebAssign ( https://www.webassign.net/login.html ). If you haven't already done so, you will need to register using the class key provided in the handout (see below). In order to access WebAssign you need to have EWA which is available from York Bookstore in bundle with the textbook and student solution manual.
(b) As suggested in Tuesday's class, you should read sections 1.2 and 1.3 before the class.
(Sep 12, 2011) (a) We will be using the 6th edition of the textbook, as announced in the handout, and not the 5th. It is important that you obtain the bundled version which includes access to EnhancedWebAssign (EWA) since all homework assignments will be assigned and graded using the EWA.
(b) Note that test 2 will be taking place on December 6 in-class and not November 16 in-class (the latter date is a Wednesday and we don't have classes on Wednesdays).
(Sep 8, 2011) (1) There is a quite extensive set of algebra tutorials, covering a wide range of topics, maintained by West Texas A&M University. The URL for the main page of this resource is
www.wtamu.edu/academic/anns/mps/math/mathlab/col_algebra
though a quicker way to get to this page is via the link on the Bethune College Math Help page, www.yorku.ca/bethune/math.
(2) There is also a detailed online course in Trig basics, which starts right from the beginning, the URL for the main page of the course being www.yorku.ca/bethune/math/trig.html
Other potentially useful information is also listed on the Bethune Math Help web page, and further online resources will be added there as they become available.
First handout (September 18, 2011)
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