Course: Math 505, Spring 2009.
Instructor: Christopher Hanusa -- email chanusa@qc.cuny.edu -- Office Kiely 409 -- phone (718)-997-5964
Meeting Times: Mondays and Wednesdays from 6:00 to 7:15 in KY 427.
Course Web Site: http://qcpages.qc.edu/~chanusa/courses/505/09_Spr/
Course Discussion Board: Blackboard (Blackboard help)

Guide book: How to Solve It by George Plya. Search multiple websites here.

Course Philosophy:
      The goal of this course is for you to increase your problem solving skills. To his end, the majority of class time and time outside of class will be spent solving problems. There is no way around it. The problems are designed to make you think; finding the solutions may at times be challenging and almost always fun. While there will be some lecture component to this class to introduce certain methods in problem solving, the professor will serve more as a guide than as a teacher. You and your fellow students are expected to be active participants in this class. You are expected to be present and to contribute daily. While solutions to most problems are available on various websites, it is against the spirit of this class to find your answers on the internet---you are cheating your own learning. On the other hand, if you know of or find interesting riddles or mathematical problems that you would like to share, this is especially welcome and will count towards your class participation grade. The forum on Blackboard is an excellent place for this sort of contribution. Study groups are highly encouraged, with a caveat. Each participant should have spent a good amount of time working on the problems before meeting in the group; obtaining a solution from your groupmates without thinking it through first is depriving you of the key step of the solving of the problem. (See also, internet.)

Homework Policy:
      There will be homework to present and homework to turn in. Presentation homework will be due each class for presentation at the start of the class period. If you especially wish to present a problem due that day, arrive early enough before class and put it on the board. Presenting four problems during the course of the semester will fulfill the presentation homework component of your grade at 100%. I ask that through March that you do not present a homework problem on two consecutive class periods in order to give everyone a chance to go up to the board. Presentations need not be complete solutions, but you must make some effort to explain what you know. If you have not presented in a while, I might call on you to present. If you are not prepared when called upon, you will be called upon the in the following discussion period. If you do not present the second time, it will be counted against you.

Written Homeworks:
      The written homeworks contribute towards your written homework grade. Depending on the difficulty of the problems, the problems will be worth either 4, 6, 8, or 10 points. (Most will be worth four points.) Your homework assignments must consist of exactly 20 points worth of problems; you may designate a problem to be worth fewer than the given point value in order to comprise a total of 20 points. Here are a few examples of valid combinations.
      Person A completes five questions that are worth 4 points each for a total of 20 points. Person B completes three questions—two questions that are worth 6 points and one that is worth 8 points—for 20 points total. Person C wants to complete four questions that are worth 6 points each, but this would sum to 24 points, which is too many. Therefore Person C decides to designate on the homework sheet two of the four problems as being worth 4 points instead of 6 points; under this new scheme, the total number of points is now 20.
      I expect all answers to be fully justified, unless otherwise noted. For a problem that is worth four points, the problem will be graded on a scale from 0-4, as follows:

4	A well-written solution with no errors.
3	A well-written solution with slight errors.
2	A good partial solution.
1	A very partial solution or a good start.
0	No work, a weak start, or an unsupported answer

Problems with higher point-values will be graded on a scaled version of this chart. I require you to follow some relatively strict guidelines for homework submission. It is especially important that your homework be legible and clearly presented, or I may not grade it.
      It is important to learn how to express yourself in the language of mathematics. In the homework, you should show your work and explain how you did the problem. This is the difference between an Answer and a Solution. It should be obvious to the person reading the homework how you went about doing the problem. This will often involve writing out explanations for your work in words. Imagine that you need an example to help refresh your memory for another class in six months!
      A guiding principle that I suggest you follow is "Be precise and concise." That is, you should take great care to write your solutions so that you leave no ambiguity to what you mean and that you write no more than is necessary.

Late Homework:
      I understand that outside factors may affect your ability to turn in your homework on time. During the semester you will be allowed five total grace days. If a homework is due on Wednesday and you turn it in on Friday, this counts as two of your five grace days. Once you have zero grace days, I will not accept late homework. If you are not planning to be in class, let me know and get it to me beforehand. This is your responsibility. I can accept clearly scanned homework by email.

Study Groups:
      You are encouraged to form study groups to help your learning in this class. Study groups allow you to learn the intricacies of the material; discussion of problems often lead to better understanding and new and more efficient ways to solve the problems. One of the best ways to learn something is to explain it to someone else; misunderstandings that you never knew you had will appear under someone else's questioning! In addition, seeing that others also struggle with the material helps to put your own level of understanding in a better perspective and will hopefully reduce some of your anxiety. If you can not find a study group, e-mail me or the course e-mail list.
      Most importantly, I assume that you will be working in groups when I make up the homework assignments. At the beginning the problems will seem easy enough to plug and chug on your own, but as the quarter progresses the questions become quite complex indeed. When a group works on a problem, everyone can participate. But when you write up the answers to the problems, write it up in your own way. I will take off points from all parties if multiple solutions are the same. Be sure to include an acknowledgment to your groupmates on your homework.

Exams:
      There will three exams during the semester. They will be a class period in length and no calculators or study aides are allowed (or are necessary). There will be no make-up exam except in the case of a documented emergency. In the event of an unavoidable conflict with the midterm (an athletic meet, wedding, funeral, etc...), you must notify me at least one week before the date of the exam so that we can arrange for you to take the exam BEFORE the actual exam date.

Grading Scheme:
      Your grade will be based on written homework, homework presentations, additional class participation, and the three exams. Each component of your grade is calculated independently; then all pieces are combined using the following weighted average.

• Written Homework: 10%
• Presented Homework: 15%
• Additional Class Participation: 10%
• Exam 1: 20%
• Exam 2: 20%
• Exam 3: 20%

Office Hours:
      I will hold regular office hours this semester after class on Mondays and from 2:45-4:15 on Wednesdays. My schedule this semester can be found here. If these times do not work for you, email me or talk to me before or after class and we will arrange a time to meet. I plan to hold extra office hours before the exams.

Cheating/Plagiarism:
      DON'T DO IT!   Both receiving and supplying the answers on an exam is cheating. Copying homework solutions is considered cheating. I take cheating very seriously. If you cheat, you will receive a zero for the homework/exam and I will report you to the academic integrity committee in the Office of Student Affairs. If you cheat twice, you will receive a zero for the class.