Course Title and Description: Mth 164, Precalculus II. (3 credits): *& Presents trigonometry, matrices, sequences and probability *&. Prerequisites: Mth 163 or equivalent.  Lecture 3 hours per week.

This course is also offered in a Distance Learning format, and all resources are available all students.

Course information, including assignments and class notes,   is available via the VHCC homepage at www.vh.vccs.edu. To access the homepage directly use 164.106.222.236.  You may contact the instructor at dsmith@vh.cc.va.us and dasmith@naxs.com (note the dasmith vs. the dsmith, and always use both addresses).  Click on the course of your choice. This will lead you to the homepage for the appropriate course. It is recommended that you bookmark this document for more direct access.

The broad goals of the course include the following:

To gain a conceptual understanding of the nature and applications of trigonometric functions, conic sections, matrices, sequences and binomial probability.

Understanding of the nature of the mathematical modeling process, its uses and its limitations.

Proficiency in mathematical modeling using trigonometric functions, matrices, sequences and binary probability.

Each assigned task and problem constitutes a specific objective, which is to complete that problem or task and understand as fully as possible its relationship to the stated goals of the assignment and to other concepts, problems and situations encountered in the course.

Test problems, notation and the overall core of the course will rely heavily on the recommended text, which also contains numerous relevant examples and answers to odd-numbered problems. However, some text material will not be covered and some topics not covered in the text will be included in the course.

The required text is Precalculus by Sullivan, published by Prentice-Hall

Any student may purchase a set CD-R writeable disks in the bookstore.  On purchase the student will fill out address labels and leave the CD's with the bookstore.   The instructor will pick them up, copy a set of lectures and other materials onto them and send them to the student.

Topics will include:

Students will complete and assignments as specified.   Class will consist of a combination of lectures, guided problem solving and question/answer sessions.

Four tests will be administered. 

Assigned work will be graded, based on the student's final mastery of the assignment as evidenced by the initial attempt and followup work based on the critiques received by the student. The average of grades assigned on this work will count as 1/2 of a test grade. If this average is higher than the average on other tests, it will be counted as a full test grade.

Raw test scores will be normalized to the following scale, according to the difficulty of the test, as specified in advance of each test by the instructor:

A: 90 - 100

B: 80 - 90

C: 70 - 80

D: 60 - 70

F: Less than 60.

The final grade will be a weighted average according to the above guidelines. A summary of the weighting is as follows: