COURSE III

2005 – 2006

Course III is the third year in a college sequence in math. For you to be in this class means that you have succeeded in the first two courses in this sequence. Depending on what class you are in, you will have opportunities to take Pre-Calculus (Math 12) and Calculus after you finish this course. Your chances of passing Course III are really high. Normally, 85% to 95% of my students pass the Regents and a slightly higher percent pass for the year. This means that as long as you are willing to work, you should be OK.

You will have homework every night. This is really the only way in a math course to keep up with the concepts and types of problems that you should be able to solve. I will go over much of your homework in class. Periodically, I will give you a notebook quiz based on your homework. You will have other quizzes, both announced and unannounced. Of course, you will have tests.

I weight the grades that I give you. This means that I give more importance to some papers than others. The percentages that I use for different categories are subject to change during the year, but normally I use the following percentages:

Review Exercises: 20%

Quizzes and Graded Papers: 35%

Tests: 45%

Though you should be able to compute your average on your own, assuming that you keep your papers, I do print out grade sheets from the computer on a regular basis. This is a good place to remind you that you should keep all your papers until you are positive that it has appeared on a grade sheet.

You need to remember that we will work every day in class. If anything, I tend to run out of time at the end of the period. I do not generally have a problem with filling up the time I am allotted. Make sure that you have the following items in class with you:

Course III book

Xerox materials if appropriate

Something to write with

Paper

Homework from previous night

Calculator

This brings us to the question of a calculator. You need a scientific calculator. Though you do not have to have a calculator that does permutations and combinations, it cannot hurt. Also, if your calculator has some statistical functions, it will save you time. If you do not have a calculator, you can find one at Wal-Mart, Service Merchandise, or some similar store for around $10.00. You do not need to go out and spend twenty or thirty dollars on a calculator. Check the ads! If you cannot buy a calculator and need to use a school one, you may sign one out from me. However, you need to understand that if you lose it or if it breaks that you are responsible for giving the school ten dollars to replace it.

I hope that this will be a great year for you and that you will find math to be both enjoyable and a challenge.

P. Lauben