{"id":388,"date":"2019-01-03T21:46:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-04T02:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/?page_id=388"},"modified":"2026-03-19T08:23:29","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T12:23:29","slug":"mgf1106-spr-2019","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/mgf1106-spr-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"MGF1106 (Spr 2019)"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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MGF1106 Syllabus<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Course Description<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

MGF 1106, Mathematics for Liberal Arts I is a general education\/math course which is not intended to prepare you for Precalculus or Calculus. Instead, this course is meant to improve general mathematical reasoning skills and cover topics that are broadly applicable in daily life. This course qualifies for both GenEd and Gordon Rule credits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instructor Information<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
Name: Dr. Ross Ptacek\r\nOffice: LIT 442\r\nOffice Hours by appointment (at least 24h in advance)\r\nEmail: rptacek@ufl.edu<\/a>\r\nPhone: 352-294-2350 (Math Department)<\/pre>\n\n\n\n
Prerequisites:<\/strong> None
\nCredits:<\/strong> 3
\nCourse Content Overview:<\/strong> Voting methods, Fairness in voting methods, Weighted voting, Fair division, Apportionment, Sampling, Data Representation, Probability, The Normal Distribution, Symmetry, and Fractal Geometry<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
This is an ONLINE COURSE<\/strong> \u2013 all content is delivered online<\/strong>. Students view lectures for each module online, complete online homework and quizzes using the publishers\u2019 software MyMathLab. The Three Unit Exams are also completed in MyMathLab but are administered using Proctor U. The course management system used for this class is Canvas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
The course is divided into three units as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
  1. Unit 1: The Mathematics of Social Choice.\u00a0<\/strong> We will study methods forCourse Organization carrying out elections, fairly dividing assets, and apportment (usually seats in a legislature).\u00a0 Emphasis is given to mathematical definitions of fairness in these areas and determining which methods are fair in which way.<\/li>\n
  2. Unit 2: The Mathematics of Chance.<\/strong>\u00a0 This unit covers the mathematics of randomness.\u00a0 This includes randomness in experimental studies, basic probability theory with an emphasis on expectation and risk management, and statistics from the point of view of normal distributions.<\/li>\n
  3. Unit 3: The Mathematics of Shape and Form.<\/strong>\u00a0 In this unit we lay down the mathematical framework for describing symmetry of 2d and some 3d objects. We also consider fractal geometry, a study of the Mandelbrot set (perhaps the most famous fractal of all), and the connection between randomness and fractals.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    Course Materials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Textbook<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    Our textbook is\u00a0Excursions in Modern Mathematics, 9th Edition<\/em> by Peter Tannenbaum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    The textbook is primarily available as an e-book which must be purchased using UF All Access<\/strong>.\u00a0 Instructions for purchasing the textbook are on the home page of our Canvas course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    In order to view the e-book and gain access to the online homework exercises, you must also sign up for for MyMathLab<\/strong>.\u00a0 Instructions for this process are also available on the Canvas home page.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Other Materials<\/h4>\n\n\n\n
    All other materials will be presented on the module pages on Canvas.\u00a0 The module pages include links to the video lectures and notes.\u00a0 Typically video lectures are narration and annotation of slides, and the notes are the unannotated slides.\u00a0 While the video lectures include many different examples, students are expected to both watch the video and read the textbook for a full treatment of the material.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Coursework<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Assignments in this class fall into four categories: Homework, Quiz, Group Work, and Exams.\u00a0 Each of these will be briefly described now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Homework. <\/strong>Homework assignments are used to reinforce topics covered in the online lectures.\u00a0 A lecture quiz<\/strong> (which does not count for points) must be completed before the homework can be attempted<\/strong>.\u00a0 Typically 10 points of homework will be assigned per week split across the various sections that we cover.\u00a0 If weeks are short due to exams or holidays fewer points may be assigned.\u00a0 There are a total of 130 homework points.\u00a0 <\/strong>Of the 130 points 10 come from introductory assignments with no corresponding quiz.\u00a0 Other homework assignments are always due on Friday<\/strong>, the same day as the weekly quiz.\u00a0 Homework must be completed with a score of 70%<\/strong> in order to attempt that week’s quiz.\u00a0 MyMathLab homework assignments may be reattempted up until the last day of class (April 24th at midnight) for full points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Quizzes.<\/strong> There will be a quiz every week, always due on Friday<\/strong>.\u00a0 The quiz covers the same material as the week’s homework.\u00a0 Each quiz is worth 12 points.\u00a0 There will be 13 quizzes but only the best 10 will be counted<\/strong> for a total of 120 quiz points<\/strong>.\u00a0 Students get two attempts at the quiz with the better attempt counting for a grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Group Work.<\/strong>\u00a0Group work is a new element to the class starting with this term.\u00a0 Students will work in small groups (4-5) to answer questions that reinforce the course material and even extend it in new directions.\u00a0 Each group assignment will have its own rubric, but generally half of the points are for discussion and the other half are for correct answers.\u00a0 There will be 6 or 7 group assignments (roughly one every two weeks) which will each count for 24 points, but only the best 5 will be counted<\/strong> for a total of 120 group points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Exams.<\/strong>\u00a0Each unit culminates with a 120 point exam.\u00a0 The final exam is also a 120 point exam.\u00a0 Of these four exams, the lowest is dropped for a total of\u00a0360 exam points<\/strong>.\u00a0 Exams are worked in MyMathLab but must be taken with the online proctoring service ProctorU.\u00a0 The exam signup period will typically be 3 days long, but students are strongly encouraged to sign up on the first two days and use the third as a backup in case of technical difficulty.\u00a0 Each exam is preceeded by a 5 point review assignment.\u00a0 All four of these count<\/strong> regardless of which exam is dropped for a total of 20 review points<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    The final exam period is Tuesday 4\/30 8:00 AM to Thursday 5\/2 10:00 PM<\/strong> (all times EST).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Course Calendar<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    A tentative weekly schedule can be found here: MGF1106 Spring 2019 Calendar<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Grades<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Summarizing the above section, there are a total of 750 points available in the class arranged as follows:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Homework:        130 Points  (10 points intro + 120 weekly)\r\nQuizzes:         120 Points  (10 quizzes x 12 points with 3 quizzes dropped)\r\nGroupwork:       120 Points  (5 assignments x 24 points with 1-2 dropped)\r\nExams:           360 Points  (3 exams x 120 points with 4th exam dropped)\r\nExam Reviews:     20 Points  (4 reviews x 5 points)\r\nTotal:           750 Points<\/strong><\/pre>\n\n\n\n
    Final grades are assigned based on the total points accumulated as shown in the table below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Passing Grades<\/strong><\/td>\n
    \n<\/strong>
    \n<\/strong><\/td>\n    		Non-Passing Grades<\/strong>\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Letter Grade<\/strong><\/td>\nPoint Range<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nLetter Grade<\/strong><\/td>\nPoint Range<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    A<\/td>\n675-750<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nC-<\/td>\n465-494<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    A-<\/td>\n645-674<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nD+<\/td>\n435-464<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    B+<\/td>\n615-644<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nD<\/td>\n405-434<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    B<\/td>\n585-614<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nD-<\/td>\n375-404<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    B-<\/td>\n555-584<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\nE<\/td>\n0-374<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    C+<\/td>\n525-554<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    C<\/td>\n495-524<\/td>\n\u00a0<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\n\n
    The grading scheme above will be strictly adhered to.\u00a0 Partial points will\u00a0not<\/strong> be rounded up.\u00a0 The score on dropped assignments will be used to determine whether a grade should be rounded up or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Makeup Policy<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Any makeup request must be made prior to the deadline of the assignment<\/strong> unless an emergency prevents communication.\u00a0 Makeups are only approved in the case of official UF business, religious observances, or personal emergency.\u00a0 Makeups may be denied if the reason for absence was known well ahead of time.\u00a0 Students are expected to work around their extracurricular activities, and an extra day one week just means a fewer day the next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    Makeups for exams are rarely if ever given.\u00a0 The exam window is three days long, so students should be able to find a suitable time over that period.\u00a0 Students are strongly encouraged to schedule on the first two days and use the third as a makeup day in case of technical issues. Please remember that we drop one of the four exams already, so the makeup policy is a bit strict.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Special Accommodations<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    Students with disabilities requesting accommodations on homework, quizzes, and exams must first register with the Dean of Students Office. The Dean will provide the student with documentation, which must be turned in to the course coordinator or your instructor during the first two weeks of the semester<\/strong>. Students wishing to use DRC accommodations for discussion quizzes must be present in class on the day of the discussion quiz for the accommodated quiz to be accepted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
    Academic Honesty<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
    The University of Florida expects students to be honest in all of their university class work. Please remember to commit yourself to academic honesty with the pledge:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    \u201cWe, the members of the University of Florida Community, pledge to hold ourselves and our peers to the highest standards of honesty and integrity.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n
    The Math Department expects you to follow the academic honesty guidelines. Matters of violations of academic honesty are adjudicated by the Student Honor Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\r\n\t\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t\t<\/div>\r\n\t<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":437,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"featured_post":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-388","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/388","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/437"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=388"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/388\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":655,"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/388\/revisions\/655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.clas.ufl.edu\/rptacek\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=388"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}