Always an Adventure in Lockett 109

I am sure you all already know there are no Monday classes. The University sacrificed a day of our Fall Break to allow for hurricane clean-up prior to the football game. This means that our Monday class will be rescheduled for 11:30-12:30 on Thursday, October 6th. The following decisions have been made:

1. Pleasant Hall Math Lab: The Pleasant Hall lab will be closed on Sunday and Monday and will reopen on Tuesday at 9 AM. For lab participation hours, the Sunday night deadline will be extended until Tuesday at 9 PM.
2. Quiz changes: The Quiz #2 deadline of Sunday the 25th will be moved to Tuesday the 27th at 9 PM. The Quiz #3 deadline of Sunday the 9th will be moved to Wednesday the 12th at 9 PM.
3. The lesson that was to be taught on 9/26 (Section 2.2) will be moved to 10/3 and then 2.3, 2.4, and 2.5 will be taught on Thursday, October 6th. (Even though it is a Thursday, we will follow the Monday class schedule.)
4. Testing in the Pentagon: This is tentative until I receive confirmation from David O'Brien. The Test #1 scheduled for Wed and Thurs the 28th and 29th will be moved to Wed and Thurs October 6th.

Computer Based Testing

If you need to sign up to take a test, please go to http://www.cae.lsu.edu and go to Computer Based Testing. If you haven't yet logged in, your password will be your social security number. Once you have logged in, you will need to change your password. Then click Schedule Test and follow the instructions there.

Here are some reminders so that you don't forfeit your hard-earned grade:

• To take the tests, you must have already registered with MyMathLab. Most of you need not worry about this.
• Arrive early and bring your Student ID. Bring a non-graphing calculator if you need one, and bring pen/pencil/paper to work on. Don't bring other belongings or you will have to leave them in the front of the room. Therefore, do not bring valuables, including cell phones.
• Make sure you register for the right test: Test #1 Fall 2005. You may only take the Test #1 Fall 2005 Extended Time if you have previously handed me paperwork. Remember: if you take the wrong test, your work will not be graded.
• The maximum time allotted, as I understand, is 90 minutes. Be careful and thorough, but progress quickly so that you don't stress out towards the end. You are already used to working on quizzes. Some of you click around to find problems you know how to solve. Many work from the beginning. Some work from the end. Do whatever works best for you.
• Did you get an INCOMPLETE quiz by clicking the BACK button? Accidentally hit BACKSPACE and lose your work? Well, it's even worse on the test. If you click any link outside of the test, you will LOSE YOUR WORK!!!!! Please take precautions with the mouse and keyboard so that this does not happen.
• In case you do LOSE YOUR WORK, you will not be entitled to a make up. Read up on the new policy below.
• You must complete the test IN ADDITION to next week's lab hours. Don't groan. As you remember, our week's hours are from Monday through Sunday night. Please keep track of your hours yourself. One student just narrowly missed the two hour lab requirement by minutes. Look at the time clock when you log in. Look at it again when you log out. Keep track of these times on the front of your notebooks if you need to. If you think you have finished all of your work and still have time left, think again.
• Many of you work the MyMathLab homework and quizzes using the resources to help you. Remember that you have to take the test with no help. So you might want to start working the textbook problems since there is no help given on there. Alternatively, you can work the MyMathLab homeworks a second time each, this time without using your books.

Here's a message from the higher ups:

A make-up test may be allowed for a student who presents documentation for a valid university excuse, i.e. death in the immediate family, serious personal illness, military obligation, or travel representing the university. All make-up tests will be scheduled during the last three days of class of the semester.

The following situations do NOT constitute a valid university excuse:
1. Failure to schedule a test prior to the opening of the testing window. For example, if a testing window begins on Monday and a students attempts to schedule after Sunday and finds that there are no spaces left within the window, a make-up test will not be allowed.
2. Failure to arrive at the testing center on time. For example, if a student arrives more than five minutes late for a test and is turned away at the testing center, a make-up test will not be allowed.

What's the moral of the story? Follow directions the first time they are given. After that it might be too late.

Participation Exercises

The Participation Exercises you receive in class will prepare you to take your final on paper (not on the computer like your quizzes and tests). So keep all of your exercises together in one folder so you can study for your final at the end of the semester. Also, keeping up with these prevent you from falling behind too much.

When you have received a Participation Exercise back, please consult the following page to determine whether your solution is correct: http://www.math.lsu.edu/~rouse/1021/old-finals/2005-spring-key.pdf.

This page is part of a Final Exam test bank prepared by Course Coordinator Phoebe Rouse. For copies of old final exams and answers keys, please go to http://www.math.lsu.edu/~rouse/1021/ and scroll down to the bottom.

Frequently Asked Questions

Question: I just read your e-mail about calculating our grades and I went to check my grades and saw that I had a XX for participation points. Isn't participation points just calculated from math lab hours and going to class every week? I know you mentioned that the participation grade is not finished yet but after the lab hours this week i finished and that you will add a point. But then that would still only be a XX+1. So I'm not e-mailing to complain.....I'm just really confused......could you clear it up for me a little?
You currently have Y out of 26 points. That gives you a XX%. When you complete your hours for the week, you will have a Y+1 out of 26. That gives you a XX+4(ish)%. Multiply this number by 5 to get the total number of points you have earned for your final average.

Question: I was checking out my grade on paws and in between the grades for my quizzes and the grades for my tests there was red lettering that said "Dropped XX". I was just wondering what that meant....do you know?
If you remember, only 6 out of your 8 quizzes will count toward your grade. If you see that XX is your lowest of your quiz grades, it will not be used to calculate your final grade.

Question: Is Math Lab closed this Thursday and Friday (November 17th and 18th) or is it next week?
The Pleasant Hall lab is closed NEXT WEEK for Thanksgiving from Wednesday, November 23rd at 3 until Monday, November 28th, at 9 in the morning.

Question: I was wondering if we have an attendance grade in this class, because some of my friends were saying we do. But I thought we only got a grade on our attendance/hours in the lab. Could you clear this up for me?
Your participation grade comes from your participation exercises in class and your lab hours per week. Calculation is as follows: ( one point for the class exercise, one point per week of lab hours ) all divided by the total number of possible points.
Your participation grade is only 5 points of your final grade.

Question: Is test #2 the same thing as our midterm?
There is no midterm, per say. Test #2 covers only the material since the first test (sections 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, 3.4, and 3.5), but of course you will need to know how to factor a quadratic and solve inequalities (as well as some other tools from before the first test). Each subsequent test will be like that, and the final will be cumulative.

Question: Hey, I think I deleted the e-mail that you sent with the information on the notes that we didn't get a chance to go over in class on Monday, and I can't find it on your website. Could you tell me where they are? By the way...I did really horribly on the first test and didn't know if there was anything I could do. I always do my hours in the MathLab and do many more hours in the dorm on my own computer...and I have never missed class. If there is anything you can think of, I would love suggestions.
Here is a copy of the email I sent out regarding the notes:

Since some of you were not in class on Thursday and since we did not have time today to copy down all of the notes, I have posted notes for sections 2.3, 2.4, 2.5, 3.1, 3.2, and 3.3 online through MyMathLab. Click Course Materials on the menu on the left and then click Class Notes.

-In every chapter there are key ideas that we cover, including vocabulary words, meaningful examples, and sometimes rules. As you go through your homework, you will discover that you use some of these frequently. It is a good idea to write them down together so that you can go back to study from them. The text book is also a good source for these ideas.

-Work homeworks several times. Work on an entire homework using your notes. Then once you have gotten 100%, start over again without any help. Skip around the problems to simulate the test situation. Make sure you get them right on the first try. Keep a list of the common mistakes you make, like forgetting a comma or a negative sign, and remember this list when you get to the test.

-Do the same for quizzes.

-Understand WHY the material is true instead of just memorizing it. As soon as the numbers make sense to you, it will be easier to remember for the test. Please see a tutor if you do not understand. I will be holding tutoring sessions in the lab during my scheduled hours if you want to catch up on some of the material.

-Draw a picture if you can. Circle problem? Lines? Functions? Don't understand what the problem is asking? Try to draw a picture. Personally I learn better with diagrams than with numbers, and I am sure you do, too. Things like the distance formula and midpoint formula make a lot more sense on a graph. One student in our class has already bought a notebook of graph paper. This might be useful for the next test.

Question (after the first test): I did not do very well on the first test....I made a 50. I know you said that it would only drop the score like 8 points or something....maybe I misunderstood you. But I went in to check on my whole grade and it says that I have a 58. So I'm not really sure why this is. I probably misunderstood what you said but could you re-explain it to me. Also when does the participation scores for the labs, homeworks, and participations get averaged in?
PAWS has a very interesting tool you can use to predict your final average by inputting your expected grades for the rest of the semester. For example, if you think you can get at least an 80% on each upcoming quiz and exam, enter in 80 in each of the blanks to see what your final average will be. Right now, you have no grade for: the final, each of the three remaining exams, and each of the 6 remaining quizzes, not to mention the participation grade.
See below for the breakdown of the grades (or see the syllabus packet you received the first day). Right now you only have 2 quizzes, giving you a maximum of 3 points, and 1 test, giving you a maximum of 15 points. Thus your final average right now cannot be higher than 18. Make sure you are not calculating your grade just by averaging all grades equally.

Question: I went to the lab today and waited outside of the doors for 30-minutes, along with a few other people. No one showed up, so we left a sheet of paper that we all signed saying that we waited to be able to finish our hours. Do you know if the lab is closed because of fall break? I know that I should have finished my hours this past week... and I suppose that this just emphasizes the misfortunes that procrastination can cause. But, I was just wondering if there was the slightest chance that you could extend the hours for our class until wednesday (when our quiz is due). Hah, I know it's a lot to ask, but I didn't think there was any harm in asking.
Due to Fall Break the lab was closed. That information might have been in a previous email, but I am not certain. Worst case scenario is you lose one point of your participation grade, which amounts to less than one percentage point of your final grade. I will take a look at your hours for this week and your hours for next week. If it looks like you've put in a considerable amount of time, I will be lenient with the cut-offs. Don't expect this kind of things regularly. I have said many, many times before: Don't wait until this last minute. This concerns lab hours, quizzes, and of course learning the material.

Question: Are we going to have to know the vocabulary for the test as well?
Part of understanding math is knowing exactly what the question asks. Thus you will need to know what Standard Form and General Form are, for example. I will try to draw your attention to these terms as we learn them.

Question: While in the lab today I reworked some of my homework exercises and I noticed that I now have a lower grade on them?? I had a 100% before....does that mean that I have a lower grade now or do you already have down what I made in the first place?
To begin with, I do not consider your homework grades when I assign you a final grade. These are only to ensure that you are learning the material. That is, if you get a 100% on a quiz, I can see that you have scored well on the homeworks and that is why you have done so well.
Also, I do not believe you can lose points on homeworks. You can retake a problem a million times, and as long as you get one of those correct, it will count those points for you.

Question: After I take my online quizzes do I have to hit anything to save it or is it automatically saved when you hit submit test? I am always worried that they will be lost.
Regarding the completion of quizzes and tests, you must always hit submit. At that point your quiz/test is scored and your records saved. You may choose at that time you look at your quiz to see what you have gotten wrong, but tests will not be available afterwards. You can trust that as soon as you find out what your score is that all your work has been saved.

Question: In the grading what do the numbers mean? Mine looks something like this:
8 6
4 4
1 1
What does the 8 6 mean on quizzes?
There will be 8 quizzes this semester, and only 6 of them will be count toward your grade. That means you get to drop two of them. For more information, see below.

Question: Is the first exam the same thing as the first test? How exctaly to we set it up?
The first exam IS the first test. I have submitted the class roster to the computer testing center. They will now email the entire class with instructions on how and when to register to take the test for a scheduled block on either Wednesday, September 28th or Thursday, September 29th in the Pentagon Testing Center. Just hold tight for now. Let me know if you have any problems after you get this email. I will not be getting a copy of it, so please forward it to me if you don't understand something.

Question: I am a little confused though about somethings...(as of Monday, September 19th) I have a total of about three hours of lab time since the first time we met. How much exactly do we need to have by this point because I am getting somewhat confused?? One more thing...if I did not complete the homework task does that count against me...how does that work??
As of Sunday, September 18th, we have covered sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, and 1.5 and so you are already responsible for the material in those sections. So far you have been responsible for two hours in the lab and one focus group. From now on, each week you will be required to commit two hours in the lab. Your homeworks are not graded by me, but I have noticed a direct corollation between homework grades and quiz grades. Therefore I encourage you to use MyMathLab to grade your homeworks for you. That way you can tell if you are doing them correctly.

Question: I finished all of my homework yesterday in the lab, and then today I was taking the quiz again and I looked back at the HW problems for help and when I went back to make sure everything was complete...it said that I hadn't finished any of the questions that i looked at for help. But I did all of the problems in all of the sections...do I have to do it ALL AGAIN?!?
As far as the homeworks go, they are not graded, so you need not worry about having them submitted. Their main purpose is to get you ready for your quizzes, tests, and final. I think I can answer your question, though. You see, when you complete a problem, you have the opportunity to try it again by clicking one of the buttons. If you answer it correctly at least once, MyMathLab will keep track of that. You can scroll your mouse over the numbers, and they say: Attempted, Incorrect, or Correct. Therefore it is to your advantage only that you attempt these problems many times. You will not be penalized for leaving them blank once you have successfully answered them. In fact, I suggest studying for future quizzes and tests using these homeworks. They will remain available to you throughout the semester.

Question: I remember you telling us that we would not be able to use our graphing calculators in the testing labs. I was wondering if you could tell me what kind of TI I could get that would be allowed?
I don't know specific models of Texas Instruments, but as you can check from my syllabus, you need a calculator without graphing capability. Please if you are uncertain see me in person with your calculator, and I will let you know if it is acceptable.

Question: I still believe there are a few questions on the quiz (Quiz #1) that we did not go over in class... Particularly the questions such as |2x+5|=7 or something like that. If you could direct me to where those questions are, that would be great.
There were some parts of section 1.5 that we did not cover in class (on 9/12), specifically solving inequalities. This material, however, is only due in homework form by Sunday (9/18); the quiz due by Sunday is only on Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.4. (Section 1.5 will be covered by Quiz #2 due the following Sunday--9/25). My guess is that you clicked on the wrong quiz. Check again. We are going to learn absolute values (like |2x+5|) in the next few sections.

Question: I didn't know what to do when I was done taking the quiz, because I didn't see anything that said submit test. When I went back it said my test was incomplete?? and I am wondering why and how I am suppose to check my grade?
The quiz cannot be graded until you click the button that says Submit Test (which appears on the lower right hand side of the screen). The button also shows up on homeworks, but it does not actually submit anything. Look for it there. If you are still concerned that you will not be able to find it, please consider taking the quiz in the lab where you can ask for assistance in submitting your work. On another note, you can't submit a quiz after you have stopped working on it. Yes, that means you cannot submit the quiz you took for a grade. This is just one reason why you have 10 opportunities to take each quiz.

Question: I was wondering for the online quizzes if it matters to your grade how many times you take it?
You can take it up to 10 times, but I will only count your best score. Sounds too good to be true, huh?

Question: I am trying to load the My Math Lab to my personal computer but i dont remember what to do.
Log on to www.coursecompass.com as usual and log on. Do you still have the pink sheet? Look at #8. If you still have trouble, there is a Student Tech Support phone number at the top of the page.