Speak Math Now!/Course Syllabus
Contents |
Basic Course Information [edit]
Instructor: Mr. Blair
Office Hours
- Monday - Friday 3:00 PM - 10:00 PM EST
- Saturday - Sunday 10:00 AM - 10:00 PM EST
Skype: austinteacher
Course Description [edit]
This is the ultimate mathematics course. We will cover everything from Algebra I and work our way up to Calculus concepts with some great discussions along the way. Mathematics is a language and if you can become fluent in it (which if you complete this course, I promise you will be!), then that is simply one more step in your great knowledge bank. (Every student has the option to pick a certain semester or set of semesters to learn from, as I do know that this is a very long course. Thus, if there is simply a few things that you would like to work on, pick a semester and let me know. If you just want to get the whole feel of the course, I will be glad to start from the beginning.)
Course Organization [edit]
Please know that I am a bit more of a lecture type of teacher, and thus, you may hear me speak quite a lot. However, within mathematics, the main thing we try to accomplish is your knowledge of the basic priniciples, and thus, mathematics consists of repetition, repetition, repetition! Here is the basic outline of a daily lesson:
- Get acquainted and review material from last lesson
- Teach new material
- Practice new material
- Q/A Session
- Assigned Work
Now, you will most likely learn a few new principles in one lesson, so steps 2 and 3 may be repeated a few times. Homework will be given daily, and you can usually just download the homework from clicking the links below. Tests will be at least once a week, and unit tests will be about every 3 - 4 weeks, unless changed by me. Attendance is crucial in this type of course! If you are not here for two to three days at a time, then we will not be able to effectively absorb the knowledge that is being presented to you, and thus, it will take longer to learn this. At the end of every semester, you will have a final exam which will cover all of what you have learned.
Grading Plan [edit]
The grading scale for this course is a bit different from other college courses, however, I have seen that it promotes work ethic more effectively:
- A = 100% - 93%
- B = 92% - 85%
- C = 84% - 74%
- D = 73% - 64%
- F = 63% - 0%
Coursework will be weighted as follows:
- Daily Assignments = 15%
- Tests = 25%
- Unit Tests = 30%
- Semester Exams = 20%
- Attendance = 10%
Course Outline [edit]
Below lists all semesters and lessons that will be involved with your course. Next to each lesson is a set number of problems. This is basically how much homework you will have for each lesson, and you will have until the end of the week to get all problems completed. Soon, each set of problems will have a hyperlink within them that goes to a page where the assignment is, and you can simply do the problems from there. These are listed so that potential students can examine how much work will be involved in each semester, and how you can estimate the approximate time that you will need to devote to this course.
Semester I [edit]
- Week 1: Introduction To Algebra
*Lesson 1: Variables In Algebra (10 Problems) *Lesson 2: Exponents and Powers (15 Problems) *Lesson 3: Order of Operations (17 Problems) *Lesson 4: Equations and Inequalities (23 Problems) *Lesson 5: A Problem Solving Plan Using Models (22 Problems) *Lesson 6: Tables and Graphs: Exploring Data and Statistics (6 Problems) *Lesson 7: An Introduction to Functions (13 Problems)
- Week 2: Properties of Real Numbers
*Lesson 1: The Real Number Line (24 Problems) *Lesson 2: Addition of Real Numbers (17 Problems) *Lesson 3: Subtraction of Real Numbers (30 Problems) *Lesson 4: Adding and Subtracting Matrices (9 Problems) *Lesson 5: Multiplication of Real Numbers (23 Problems) *Lesson 6: The Distributive Property (31 Problems) *Lesson 7: Division of Real Numbers (24 Problems) *Lesson 8: Probability and Odds (10 Problems)
- Week 3: Solving Linear Equations
*Lesson 1: Solving Equations Using Addition and Subtraction (18 Problems) *Lesson 2: Solving Equations Using Multiplication and Division (21 Problems) *Lesson 3: Solving Multi-Step Equations (19 Problems) *Lesson 4: Solving Equations with Variables on Both Sides (15 Problems) *Lesson 5: Linear Equations and Problem Solving (8 Problems) *Lesson 6: Solving Decimal Equations (18 Problems) *Lesson 7: Formulas and Functions (14 Problems) *Lesson 8: Rates, Ratios, and Percents (15 Problems)
- Week 4: Graphing Linear Equations and Functions
*Lesson 1: Coordinates and Scatter Plots (14 Problems) *Lesson 2: Graphing Linear Equations (27 Problems) *Lesson 3: Quick Graphs Using Intercepts (21 Problems) *Lesson 4: The Slope of a Line (18 Problems) *Lesson 5: Direct Variation (11 Problems) *Lesson 6: Quick Graphs Using Slope-Intercept Form (22 Problems) *Lesson 7: Solving Linear Equations Using Graphs (17 Problems) *Lesson 8: Functions and Relations (16 Problems)
- Week 5: Writing Linear Equations
