Finite Mathematics

Class Information

Course: Mathematics 107 A, Finite Mathematics, Spring 2004, Central College .
Professor: Tom Linton , 129 Vermeer Science Center, (641) 628-5264, email: lintont@central.edu .
Class Meets: T-Th 8:00 to 9:15 AM in VSC 166.
Office Hours: Mon and Thur 10-10:50 AM, Tues 12-12:50 PM, Wed 1-1:50 PM, or by appointment.
Text: Finite Mathematics: Solving Problems in Business, Economics, and the Social and Behaviorial Sciences 1st Edition, by Armstrong, and Davis.
Technology: A TI-83 calculator is required for this course. Students with similar calculators will have a significant disadvantage to overcome. No prior knowledge of the TI-83 is assumed. Calculators are allowed on exams. We may also utilize one or two other software packages. Again, the assumption will be that students have no experience with these packages. The class web page is located at the URL http://www.central.edu/homepages/lintont/classes/spring04/finiteframeset.html and there is a Blackboard site for this class. Information relevant to this course may come via email. You should check your email and the class web pages on occasion.
Final Exam: Tuesday May 11, 10:30 AM, VSC 166.

Class Overview

Finite mathematics is a collection of several different mathematical topics related to the fields of business and other behavioral sciences. We will focus on concepts related to finance (interest, amortizations and annuities) and linear programming, or finding the largest or smallest possible value of some quantity (such as cost or profit) under certain constraints (for example, limited resources) and finance. Our goal will be to cover the first 5 chapters of the text, as well as some parts of chapters 6 to 10 (time permitting). We will spend roughly two weeks on each chapter of the text. You should strive to read the text, it is written with you in mind. Reading mathematics is a skill we will focus on in this course. It is an active process, unlike reading most novels or poems. You should read each section of the text before coming to the class meetings on that material.

Most students that struggle with this course fall behind at some point, avoid this like the plague. One day at a time, finite mathematics is easy! If you blow off a few days, it can become much more challenging.

If any student has a physical, learning or psychiatric disability that restricts the development or expression of your gifts, please feel free to let me know so that we can, when possible, make accommodations that will enhance your classroom experience.

Goals and Objectives

Upon completing this class, students will

Have an understanding of the vocabulary related to finance and linear programming.
Understand the mathematics behind calculations related to finance (geometric series-sums and how they relate to future value, present value, annuities, and mortgages).
Master graphical and algebraic (formulas) manipulations of linear functions (equations whose graph is a straight line).
Be able to translate verbal descriptions of problems into mathematical symbols. This will be a major focus of this class.
Master the basic operations related to the mathematics of matrices (pivoting, finding the inverse, multiplying by the inverse, row reduction, solving matrix equations).
Understand the mathematics behind the simplex method for solving linear programming problems.

American Disabilities Act Central College abides by interpretations of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 that stipulates no student shall be denied the benefits of an education “solely by reason of a handicap.” Disabilities covered by law include, but are not limited to, learning disabilities, hearing, sight or mobility impairments, and other health related impairments. If you have a documented disability that may have some impact on your work in this class and for which you may require accommodations, please see me and Nancy Kroese, Director of Student Support Services and Disability Services Coordinator, (x5247) so that such accommodations may be arranged.

Grades

Grades, based on the letter, or A, A-, B+, B, B-, . . . system, will be based on a curve of the total points in the class. The curve used will be the traditional 100-93 A, 92-90 A-, 89-88 B+, etc. (or an easier curve). The breakdown of the points in the class is given below. There is no extra credit for this class. You are encouraged to work together on group assignments (including homework), but copying answers of others (including those in the back of the text) will result in no credit.

Exams: There will be three midterm exams worth 100 points each. Tentatively, these exams will occur after we complete chapters 5 (we will start with chapter 5), 2 and 4, or approximately on the dates February 3 (exam 1), March 2 (exam 2) and April 13 (exam 3). We will also have a 150 point cumulative final exam on Tuesday May 11 at 10:30 AM.

Quizzes and Homework: I will collect homework assignments regularly and there will be regular (every week or two) quizzes as well. Normally, quizzes will be announced. There will be approximately 350 points total (250 on HW and 100 on quizzes) based on your homework and quiz grades. You should keep your homework in a separate notebook so that it can be collected at any time. Recording "just the answer" will receive little or no credit. You should show and/or explain your work on all assignments for this class. You are encouraged to work together on homework assignments, but this does NOT mean copying the work of others nor answers from a solution set.

Activities: We will complete several activities (mostly in groups), some in-class, others may be out of class. These activities will involve the current topics of the course and normally replace a lecture. We will have approximately 100 points (total) worth of activities.

Class Participation and Attendance: There will be 50 points based on your class participation (asking questions, taking part in discussions, contributing to your group in activities, etc.) and attendance. I will determine your score for these 50 points. You are responsible for all of the material covered in class each day, even if you are not present.

Late assignments and academic dishonesty: Late homework, activities, etc. will be penalized by 10% each lecture they are late. I am fairly flexible about giving exams at alternate times, BUT you should definitely warn me before the exam is missed, and plan on taking it early rather than late. Quizzes missed due to absences can NOT be made up. Plagiarism, or copying answers from other people or books without citing the source is a serious offense and will result in no credit for the work. It is OK to discuss your answers with other groups on group assignments, but the work you turn in must be your own.

Central College's Academic Honesty Policy
"Academic dishonesty is defined as behavior that is inappropriate for academic pursuits, including plagiarizing, cheating and other such dishonest activities. Some examples of misconduct are

presenting other's work as your own: copying homework or test answers from other students, unauthorized collaboration on class activities, using unauthorized materials in a test, having someone else write your paper or test,
improper computer usage: inappropriate or illegal use of computers, including such things as pirating of programs or files, unauthorized access to files or passwords, altering records, and/or damaging programs
plagiarism and/or misuse of ideas from other sources: deliberately using or adopting materials, ideas, or images produced by another person and taking credit for them, regardless of the format in which they originally appeared, including books, journals, web pages, video or audio recordings, and/or computer files, accessing or using privileged information without authorization, quoting, paraphrasing, and/or copying materials without footnoting or proper attribution, using privileged information without authorization.

Depending on the nature of the offense, the penalty for academic dishonesty ranges from permission to redo the project (if plagiarism was inadvertent), failing the project, to failing the course. A second offense is grounds for dismissal from Central College."

Class Materials

TI-83 tutorials

Introduction: A general introduction to several features of the TI-83 calculator.
Graphing: A look at several notions (menus, windows, tables, finding roots, ...) related to the graphing capabilities of the TI-83 calculator.
Functions: Entering and evaluating expressions giving formulas for functional relationships.
Financial Solver: A look at solving compound interest formulas algebraically and using the TVM Solver.

Excel Files

Amortization Table Helper: An Excel file designed to help with the calculations of amortization tables.

Exams

Exam 1, finance practice questions and answers.
Exam 2, linear functions and matricies practice questions, and some answers.

Schedule

Relevant information will be added to this schedule as we progress through the semester. An up to date version is available on line at http://www.central.edu/homepages/lintont/classes/spring04/finite/finite.htm#schedule as well as on Blackboard.


Week	Dates	Sections	Assignment
1	1-20 to 22	5.1, 5.2, App B.5, B.6	Due Th 1-22 5.1 #2,6,12,14,20,24,26,30,34, 40,44,50,60,66,68,70,78,82 App B.5 #8,14,24 5.2 #4,10,14,20,24,26,36,40,48,52,58,62,66,70,78 App B.6 #2,6,7,11,12 Due Th 1-29
2	1-27 to 29	5.3, 5.4	TVM Solver introduction 5.3#1,6,8,12,18,20,24,28,36,38,44,50,51,57,60,64,65 due Tues 2-3
3	2-3 to 5	5.4	5.4 #2,8,14,22,26,32,36,40,48,50 Excel file for amortization tables
4	2-10 to 12	5.4	exam 1 practice answers
5	2-17 to 19	1.1, 1.2, 1.3	1.1# 4,6,14,16,18,25,26 1.2# 2,22,26,38,40,46,52,56,64,68 due TH 1-19 1.3# 4,10,16,18,32,38,40,44,50 due Tues 2-24
6	2-24 to 26	1.4, 1.5	1.4# 2,4,12,17,22,34,40 due TH 2-26 be sure to verify that your guess is a solution. 1.5# 4,10,16,22,30,40,42,46,52,56,60 due Tues 3-2
7	3-2 to 4	2.1,2.2,2.3	2.1# 6,14,22,26,32,34,36,40,46,50,62,66,68,72,76 due Tues 3-8 2.2# 6,12,20,24,28,38,42,54 due Tues 3-8
8	3-9 to 11	2.3, 2.4	2.3# 2,10,16,22,26,32,36,44,56 2.4# 2,6,20,24,28,30,48,64 due Th 3-11
9	3-15 to 19		Spring Break
10	3-23 to 25	exam 2	exam 2 practice problems and some answers
11	3-30 to 4-1	3.1, 3.2	3.1 #4,12,22,26,34,38 due TH 4-1 3.2# 2,4,14,20,26,36,38,54,58
12	4-6 to 8	3.3, 3.4	3.3# 4,8,10,18,22 3.4# 3,4,8,10,15,16 due Th 4-15
	4-13 to 15	4.1	4.1 #4,10,16,20,28,32,40,46,56,58 due 4-22
14	4-20 to 22	4.2	4.2# 4,10,12,22,27,28
15	4-27 to 29	4.3, 4.4	4.3 #10,14,16,18,28,32,33 due Th 4-29
16	5-4 to 6	exam 3
17	May 11	Tues 10:30 AM	Cumulative Final Exam