Math 109 – Syllabus

Course:  Math 109 (Course Catalog)

Title:  Mathematical Reasoning

Credit Hours:  4  

Prerequisites:  Math 18 or Math 20F or Math 31AH, and Math 20C. Students who have not completed listed prerequisites may enroll with consent of instructor.

Catalog Description:  This course uses a variety of topics in mathematics to introduce the students to rigorous mathematical proof, emphasizing quantifiers, induction, negation, proof by contradiction, naive set theory, equivalence relations and epsilon-delta proofs. Required of all departmental majors.

Textbook: An Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning, by Peter J. Eccles; published by Cambridge University Press, 1998.

See the course calendar for an indication of the sections that will be covered.

Homework:  Homework will be assigned on the course homework page and is to be turned in by 4pm on the due date. We have a dropbox in the basement of AP&M. There will be seven (7) homework assignments.

Late Homework:  Late homework will not be accepted for any reason. However, your lowest two homework grades will be dropped in calculating your final grade.

Piazza:  Piazza is an online discussion forum that allows you to ask questions using mathematical symbols and expressions. Piazza was designed to enable you to get help quickly and efficiently from classmates, TAs, and instructors. Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, you are encouraged to post your questions on Piazza. Find our class page.

Note: If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email team@piazza.com.

Exams:  There will be two midterm exams and one final exam. The final exam will be cumulative.   See the course calendar for the specific dates.

• It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have a schedule conflict involving the final examination. You should not enroll in this class if you cannot sit for the final examination at its scheduled time.

• There are no make-up exams for any reason. Nor do we allow alternate times for taking exams. (If you have a documented disability or must miss the exam for a university sponsored activity, then arrangements can be made using the standard procedures.)

• No calculators will be allowed during the examinations.

Grading: Your course grade will be determined by your cumulative average at the end of the term. Your cumulative average will be the best of the following two methods of computing the weighted average. Note that only your best seven (7) of nine (9) homework grades will count toward your final grade.

• Method 1:  20% Homework,  20% Midterm Exam I,  20% Midterm Exam II,  40% Final Exam
• Method 2:  20% Homework,  20% Best Midterm,  60% Final Exam

Regrade Policy: Midterm exams will be returned in the discussion sections. If you believe there might be an error in the grading and wish to have your exam regraded, you must observe the following rules:

1. Return your exam immediately to your TA. Regrade requests will not be considered once you take your exam out of the room.

   1. If you are not satisfied with the TA's response to your regrade request, you may ask for the instructor to review it. In order to do this, you must:

      1. Return your exam immediately to your TA and,

      2. ask that they forward your exam to the instructor.

   2. Instructor review requests will not be considered once you take your exam out of the room.

2. Retrieve your exam during discussion section or arrange to pick it up from your TA within one week after it was made available for pickup (i.e., returned) in section. In order to be considered, regrade requests must be submitted within one week after being returned in section.

Collaboration:   You are allowed to discuss homework problems with your classmates. However, the final write-up of solutions should be your own work, and reflect your own understanding of the problems. Copying or paraphrasing part of the solution to a homework problem from a classmate or from the internet is considered academic dishonesty.

Academic Dishonesty:  Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense at UCSD. Students caught cheating will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. It is in your best interest to maintain your academic integrity. (Click here for more information.)