Math 105 (Topics in Mathematics)
Fall 2011
Old/Obsolete Announcements

Take Prof. Martin to\ lunch!

Friday, December 2: The Help Room will be open between the end of classes and the final exam:

• Friday 12/9 (Stop Day): 9:00-5:00
• Monday 12/12: 9:00-5:00
• Tuesday 12/12: 9:00-12:00

Sunday, November 27: I have posted scores for Test #3. These are the raw scores, out of 150 points. The average score was very low, so your curved score will be substantially higher than the one posted right now. I will determine a curve and update the scores on MML by Tuesday at the latest.

Monday, November 14: Test #2 will be given Monday, November 21 in class. Please review the test policies and procedures. The test will cover Chapter 6 (all sections) and Chapter 7 (sections 1-3). (The test will not include the Mini-Excursion on graph coloring.) You are responsible for material in those sections of the textbook, and in the corresponding lecture slides. Sample test problems are available on MyMathLab under "Test Problems". As always, your results on the practice problems will not affect your grade.
Notes from review session 11/18/11 in class

Monday, September 5: Seat assignments for the tests are now available in MyMathLab. Click on the "SEAT ASSIGNMENT" button to your left (next to the "HOMEWORK" button). Your assigned seat in Budig 120 is listed under "Grade". (MyMathLab thinks it's a grade. It isn't. Just ignore that.) You can find your seat on this map of Budig 120. Also, read and be aware of the test policies and procedures.

Sunday, August 28: We've added more hours to the Help Room. TAs are available to help you with your homework at all times from 10-5 during the week (except during Prof. Martin's office hours Tuesday mornings, and during class). If you're stuck on a homework problem, you can come on over to Snow 151 and talk to a TA -- no appointment necessary.

Tuesday, August 23: Make sure you are on the e-mail list! The mailing list is set up to go to the official KU e-mail addresses of all students enrolled in Math 105. If you have not been receiving course e-mails, then you probably need either to check your e-mail forwarding or to re-register your e-mail address with KU Online Services.

Sunday, August 14: The MyMathLab course site is now open. All students should register at mymathlab.com [coursecompass.com is equivalent]. Here are instructions for registering. You will need the following information:

• A student access code (provided with the course packet available at the KU Bookstore)
• The Course ID, which is martin72146
• KU's zip code, which is 66045
• A valid e-mail address (which should be the same one you use for Enroll & Pay)

Tuesday, November 29: The extra credit assignment is now available. You may do up to two extra-credit assignments. The deadline is 11:59 PM on December 8 (the last day of classes).

Thursday, November 17: I will be in the Help Room (Snow 151) from 9-11 AM on Monday 11/21, before the test. My regular office hours on Tuesday 11/22 are canceled, and the Help Room will not be open on Tuesday.

Saturday, November 12: Homework #11 is now available on MyMathLab. Usually I try to post the assignment by Friday, so to compensate for this, I am pushing the deadline back one day to Thursday, November 17, at 11:59 PM.

Thursday, November 3: In view of the power outage last night, I have extended the deadline on Homework #9 to tonight, Thursday 11/3/11, 11:59 PM.

Monday, October 31: Now available:

• The answers you gave on Test #2 (look under "Seat Assignment"; don't ask why they're there)
• All four versions of the test and an answer key. To prevent automated downloads, I am not posting the links here; please see the MML announcement for links.

Thursday, October 27: Test #2 is complete. I will be posting answer keys as soon as possible. I am looking for a way to post everyone's individual answers to MyMathLab.

I am making the following adjustment (or "curve", although that is not a mathematically correct usage) to everyone's score on Test #2: you get back 1/5 of the points that you missed. (E.g., if your original score was 120/150, you missed 30 points, so you get 6 of them back, for a total of 126/150.) With this adjustment, the class average was about 75%.

In addition, I have posted my estimates of midterm grades. This number will typically be a little different from the "Overall Score" from the MyMathLab gradebook (e.g., the gradebook does not drop your lowest homework scores, while my estimate drops the two lowest out of eight.)

The overall distribution was as follows:

• A (90-100): 106 students (17% of class)
• B (80-89): 241 students (38% of class)
• C (70-79): 188 students (30% of class)
• D (60-69): 70 students (11% of class)
• F (0-59%): 30 students (5% of class)

Remember that this is still only a rough estimate, based on about 400 of the 1000 points available for the semester. There will still be five or six more homework assignments (about 50 points), one more in-class test on November 21 (150 points), and the final exam (400 points), so there is ample opportunity to change your grade.

Tuesday, October 18: Sample test problems for Chapters 3 and 5 are now available on MyMathLab under "Test Problems". As always, your results on the practice problems will not be recorded and will not affect your grade.

Friday, October 14: Homework #8 is now available on MML. I decided to make the due date Friday 10/21 (rather than the usual Wednesday). However, don't wait until Friday to start working on the problems!

In view of the test on 10/24, there will be no homework due on Wednesday the 26th.

Thursday, October 13: Last night, a number of students reported problems connecting to the MyMathLab server last night. Accordingly, I have extended the deadline for everyone. The homework is now due tonight, Thursday 10/13, at 11:59 PM. You should be able to log in today and complete the assignment. In the future, make sure you start the homework well before the deadline, to protect yourself against connectivity problems. Meanwhile, I will contact Pearson and alert them that this has been going on.
Update (10/18/11): The problem was fixed and ought not to recur.

Wednesday, October 12: As a reminder, the second in-class test is scheduled for Monday, October 24.

• The test will cover the following sections of Tannenbaum:
  • Chapter 3 (sections 1, 2, 3, 6, 7)
  • Chapter 5 (sections 1--6)
• You must sit in your assigned seat (same as for the first test) and bring your KU ID card.
• Arrive early. The class before us in Budig has a test scheduled for the same day. I have asked the instructor, Prof. Murray, to ensure that his student\ s are done by 2:50 PM, but you can help by getting to your assigned seat as early as possible.
• The test will consist of all multiple-choice questions to be answered on a bubble sheet. Bring a #2 pencil.

Tuesday, October 4: The last problem on HW #6 (due Wed 10/5) asks for dollar amounts. Do not include a dollar sign in your answer, or MyMathLab will automatically mark your answer wrong. If you used dollar signs AND got the right answer AND can no longer change your answer, please send e-mail to math105-f11@math.ku.edu before the homework deadline.

Wednesday, September 28: Here is how the extra test points are going to work.

1. You can earn up to 12 points by doing two additional quiz problems on the Banzhaf and Shapley-Shubik indices. Each student will receive a different randomly generated problem. The test is available now, and the deadline is Thursday, September 29, at 11:59 PM. (This should allay the concerns of those students who have e-mailed me saying e.g., that they have to work on Wednesday.)
   Once you start the quiz, you will have 30 minutes to complete the problems, so you just need to find a 30-minute time window in which to work. You are only allowed one attempt, so it is your responsibility to use a computer with a robust Internet connection.
   When you are ready to start, click on "Test Problems" from the MML home page, then on "Test 1 Makeup Problems." The timer will then start. Just like an in-class quiz, after you click on "Submit", you will not be able to see your results until the deadline has passed.
2. I have added a survey on your feelings about online homework and different election methods. To access the survey, click on the "Surveys" button on the left-hand side, then on "Online Homework Survey". I will add 3 points to the test score of every student who completes the survey. I will be very interested to see what you answer, but I will only see the results anonymously. (In other words, I will know who took the survey and I will see the answers, but I will not know who gave which answers.) Again, the deadline for completion is Thursday, September 29, 11:59 PM.

Monday, September 26: I have posted the scores from Test #1 on MyMathLab. Click on the Gradebook link to see your score.

The test turned out to be harder than I had intended. The median was 90/150, or 60%. In other words, half of you scored higher than 60% and half of you scored lower than 60%.

Accordingly, as I announced in class today, I am going to adjust the grades as follows. First, everyone who took the test gets 10 extra points for free. The grade posted on MyMathLab includes these 10 points.

Second: The topic that gave everyone the most trouble was Banzhaf and Shapley-Shubik power indices. I am going to give you an opportunity to redo this problem on MyMathLab. On Wednesday evening, an online quiz on these topics, worth 15 test points, will be available on MyMathLab (in lieu of this week's homework assignment). I will post more details soon.

If you did not pick your test up in class today, you can pick it up in any of the following ways:

• Come to my office hours Tuesday morning 9/27 (9-11 AM, Snow 623).
• Visit the Help Room, Snow 151, on Tuesday or Wednesday. The TAs there will have the tests.
• We will bring the tests to class on Wednesday 9/28. After Wednesday, you will have to come to my office to pick up your test (either during my office hours, or by appointment).

Thursday, September 15: HW #5 is now available on MyMathLab. The deadline for submission is Wednesday, September 21 at 11:59 PM. Sample test problems for Chapter 2 are also available. As before, your score on these sample test problems will not be recorded and will not affect your grade.

Friday, September 9: Homework #4 is now available on MyMathLab. As a reminder, homework is due every Wednesday at 11:59 PM. Don't leave it to the last minute - start early!

Sunday, September 4: I have added a webpage with policies and procedures for the tests. Remember, the first test is on Friday 9/23. We will be announcing seat assignments for the tests no later than Friday 9/9. If you have special seating requirements (e.g., due to a disability), please contact Prof. Martin by e-mail. I have posted a big list of sample test problems. You can access it from the "Sample Test Problems" button on the left side of the MML home screen. The best way to study for the test is by working through these problems. (Note: Working on the sample problems will not affect your grade in the course.) Currently, problems for chapter 1 are available. I will add more as the semester progresses. assignments for the tests. If you have special seating requirements (e.g., due to a disability), please e-mail Prof. Martin ASAP.

Wednesday, August 24: The MyMathLab registration problems seem to be fixed (whew!) As of 9:00 this morning, 440 of 634 students (about 70% of you) are registered on MyMathLab and 383 (about 60%) have completed HW #1.

Some students have reported registering but not seeing the homework pop up. If this happens to you, the problem is probably that you have registered a MyMathLab account but not signed up for this course. Make sure you are signed up for Course ID martin72146.

Tuesday, August 23: Make sure you are on the e-mail list! The mailing list is set up to go to the official KU e-mail addresses of all students enrolled in Math 105. If you have not been receiving course e-mails, then you probably need either to check your e-mail forwarding or to re-register your e-mail address with KU Online Services.

Tuesday, August 23: (9:30 AM) Pearson reports that the MyMathLab database problems from last night should be fixed, so you should be able to register now.

Monday, August 22: (10:00 PM) Many students have reported trouble registering for MyMathLab. The problem is some kind of database glitch on the MML server. I have communicated the issue to Pearson and they are trying to fix it ASAP. Please stay tuned for more information.

Monday, August 22: Welcome to the fall semester! If you haven't registered for MyMathLab, do so ASAP -- remember, the first homework is due on Wednesday. Also note that Prof. Martin's office hours are now scheduled for Tuesdays 9-11, Snow 623, or by appointment, and that the Help Room (Snow 151) is up and running (here's the complete schedule.

Sunday, August 14: The MyMathLab course site is now open. All students should register at mymathlab.com [coursecompass.com is equivalent]. Here are instructions for registering. You will need the following information:

• A student access code (provided with the course packet available at the KU Bookstore)
• The Course ID, which is martin72146
• KU's zip code, which is 66045
• A valid e-mail address (which should be the same one you use for Enroll & Pay)

Friday, August 12: The syllabus is now available. Until classes start, the information is subject to change.
Last updated Fri 12/16/11 11:30 AM CST