Course Syllabus

Finite Mathematics, M118

Section: 11375
Class Day and Times: MWF10:10am-11:00am
Class Location: Student Building (Frances Morgan Swain) 150
Text: Finite Mathematics (6th edition) by Maki, Thompson, McKinley
Instructor: Tao Ma 

AI: Samanwita Samal 

Instructor's office and office hours: Swain East 030; Tuesday 3pm-4pm; Thursday 12pm-1pm; Sunday 5pm-6pm. 

AI office hour: Swain East 045; 3pm-5pm Friday. 

Important dates: Last day for automatic withdrawals is Sunday, October 21. The common midterm exam for Math M118 is Saturday, October 13 from 8-9:30 am. The common final exam for Math 118 is Wednesday, December 12 from 2:45-4:45 pm. If you see any potential time conflict, let your instructor know right away. 

Announcements and class information: Official course announcements will be made through Canvas. You are required to set your Canvas notifications so that your receive these announcements. Failure to do so will not be considered a legitimate excuse for missing assignments or any other thing that might be announced via Canvas. Go to Account -> Notifications and set Announcements to be received immediately. 

Calculators: No calculators are allowed on the exams for this course. 

Homework: The graded homework in this course will be done through the online homework system WebWork. Students who do not have access to a personal computer should plan to work their WebWork assignments from a Student Technology Center (STC) on campus. For locations, see: https://stc.iu.edu/framework/Apps/Public/SiteRes/LabInfo.cfm (Links to an external site.)

Resources of help with the class: You should begin your homework as soon as possible after the lecture it is assigned. If you have difficulties, you have many resources available to help you. AI office hours: TBA, MY office hours, Departmental Help Sessions: 4-6 pm in the Mathematics Learning Center (SE 340), and free tutoring available at the Academic Support Centers in the dorms from 7-11 Sunday-Thursday. 

There are help videos located from the link at The Finite Show. There are practice exams available at M118 Practice Exams.

Appropriate use of office hours: You are not allowed to use office hours to have me give you a personal lecture over the material you have missed. If you miss class for ANY reason, it is your responsibility to try to learn the material from the classes that you have missed. Remember, if you miss a lecture, you can often learn what was missed by accessing the appropriate episode of the Finite Show on the M118 Tools page of Oncourse. 

You are not allowed to use office hours to have me doing homework assignment for you. To achieve the goal of performing well on tests and exams, you must try as much as you can to do the homework by yourself before resorting to help from your instructor or tutors. Relying too heavily on your instructor or any tutors will result in very good homework grades but very poor test performance.

That being said, I am more than happy to help you with the material from classes and any homework problem AFTER you have tried to learn it or solve it. 

Grades: Your course grade will be computed using the following weights listed at the side or bottom of this page. 

Pay attention to the grade book constantly. It is your responsibility to make sure that all of your homework and exam scores are being graded and recorded accurately as the semester progresses.

Academic Misconduct: The Department of Mathematics expects its students to comply fully with Indiana University policies on academic integrity. The Penalties for a student caught cheating in M118 may include a final course grade of F* (the star tells the registrar that the F is due to cheating) along with probation, suspension, or expulsion from the University. Academic misconduct will be reported to the Office of Student Ethics. Students should review the Code of Student Rights, Responsibilities, and Conduct, posted at: http://studentcode.iu.edu/ (Links to an external site.)

Religious Holiday Policy: If you will miss class, especially a class during which there will be an exam or other required work, for a religious holiday, you must inform me during the first two weeks of the semester. Procedures and campus policy can be found at: http://vpfaa.indiana.edu/docs/religious_observances/religious-observances-statement.pdf (Links to an external site.)

Other University Information

Disability Services for Students: Every attempt will be made to accommodate qualified students with disabilities (e.g. mental health, learning, chronic health, physical, hearing, vision neurological, etc.) You must have established your eligibility for support services through the appropriate office that services students with disabilities. Note that services are confidential, may take time to put into place and are not retroactive. Please contact Disability Services for Students at http://disabilityservices.indiana.edu or 812-855-7578 as soon as possible if accommodations are needed. The office is located on the third floor, west tower, of the Wells Library, Room W302. Walk-ins are welcome 8 AM to 5 PM, Monday through Friday. You can also locate a variety of campus resources for students and visitors that need assistance at: http://www.iu.edu/~ada/index.shtml