Student Learning Outcomes (SLOs): Student will gain confidence in mathematical
reasoning necessary for informed judgment and decision making. (Math 131 satisfies the mathematics
requirement of the Basic Skills section of the General Education program.)
Instructor: Michael G. Neubauer
Classroom: BH 304
Ticket Number: 15013
Time: MWF, 9:00 – 9:50 a.m.
Office: BH 402 (Developmental Mathematics office)
Phone: 818.677.5073, leave a message on the voice mail system.
Fax: 818.677.5872
Email: michael.neubauer@csun.edu
Office hours: MW 10 – 11 a.m.
in BH 402, and by appointment. Some of you will not be able to make it
to my office hours during the specified times. If you have questions feel free
to call me at any time in my office or use email to contact me. Most questions
can be answered right away and if you have questions that take longer to answer
we can set up an appointment for a suitable time.
Topics: The 2008 local, state, and national elections, especially the presidential election, form the intellectual centerpiece of this course. All topics that we will cover will relate in one or more ways -- sometimes tenuous ways -- to the November 08 election. The list of topics includes: theory of polling, voting theory, apportionment theory, graph theory and a few additional selected topics.
Philosophy: Mathematics is part of the human experience. As such, mathematics is a worthy object of human curiosity and intellectual engagement.
I
do expect curiosity about the world around you and a willingness to engage in
intellectually challenging activities.
Text: There is no assigned text. Lecture notes will be provided as we go along.
Homework: I will assign homework on a weekly basis. Groups of 3 people may hand in one homework assignment. Please be advised that homework counts for 10% of your grade.
Exams/Quizzes/Final: There will be two 1-hour in-class exams. The
In addition there will be weekly quizzes at the end of class every Friday (except on the first Friday and on test dates). The quizzes are short (~10minutes).
The final for the course is on Wednesday, May 14, 08, from 10:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Attendance: This class will be very interactive and students need to make constant contributions to discussion and group work. There will be (almost) no traditional lectures. If this format does not appeal to you consider a different section of this course. For this course to be successful we need a variety
Grading policy: I will assign "+" and "-" grades.
Tests |
20% each |
Quizzes |
25% |
Homework |
10% |
Final |
25% |