Course Syllabus

Course Math 3303-501.10F – Introduction to Mathematical Modeling

Professor Dr. Phillip Kisunzu
Meetings MW 8:30 pm – 9:45 PM; Room: MSET 2.304 -- FOOD AND DRINK
(EXCEPT WATER) ARE NOT ALLOWED IN THE CLASSROOM.
CONTACT INFORMATION AND OFFICE HOURS
Office Phone 972-883-6482
Office location FN 3.308E
Email Address pkisunzu@utdallas.edu
Office Hours MW 4:00 pm–5:00 pm; T 4:00 pm–6:00 pm; OR
by appointment.

TUTORING HELP: http://www.utdallas.edu/ossa/gems/

GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

PRE-REQUISITES:
Pre-requisite courses include: Pre-calculus [Math 2312], Calculus I [Mat 2417],
and Linear Algebra [Math 2418 or Math 2333], or equivalent. Math 3303 is aimed
at students seeking teacher certification in 4-8 or 8-12 mathematics and cannot be
used to satisfy requirements for mathematics major, or a mathematics minor.

COURSE DESCRIPTION:
An introduction to mathematical modeling based on the use of elementary
functions to describe and explore real-world data and phenomena. Focus will be
on Graphical, numerical, symbolic and verbal approaches to the investigation of
data, functions, equations, and models. Further emphasis will also be on real-life
applications and the student’s ability to construct useful mathematical models, to
analyze them critically, and to communicate mathematical concepts effectively.

REQUIRED TEXBOOK & MATERIALS:

TEXT: Elementary Mathematical Modeling: Functions and Graphs. By Mary
Ellen Davis & C. Henry Edwards, 2nd Ed., Prentice Hall, 2007 (ISBN: 0-13-
615416-6)
SSM: Student Solutions Manual (ISBN: 0-13-145036-0)
CALCULATOR: A TI-83+/TI-84+ or TI-Nspire graphing calculator or other
equivalent technology [e.g. MS Excel, Mathematica, Matlab, etc.]. In this course,
the TI-84+ will be used for most of class demonstrations when needed.

EXPECTATIONS: Students in Math 3303–Introduction to Mathematical Modeling

are expected to actively engage in their learning using multiple learning strategies as
supported by the following quote:

For students to learn to high levels, they must be actively engaged in the learning
activities. The greater the individual student’s level of engagement, the higher the
degree of learning (Dweck, 2006; NRC, 2004a). The relationship between
 engagement and learning crosses all student groups – “whether students are rich
or poor, black, brown, or white” (NRC, 2004a, p.1). Actively engaged students
are gathering data, running experiments, testing ideas, exploring, postulating,
and justifying their reasoning and solutions to challenging problems. Students are
talking to members of their groups, to study partners, and to teachers. The
classroom is buzzing with productive hum – all about mathematics (Hull, et al.,
2009, p. 19).

Your mathematical disposition will be assessed following the recommendations of

Standard 10 in the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Curriculum and
Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM, 1989, p. 233), which states that –
The assessment of students’ mathematical disposition should seek information about
the students’:

[1] Confidence in using mathematics to solve problems, to communicate ideas, and to

reason;
[2] Flexibility in exploring mathematical ideas and trying alternative methods in solving
problems;
[3] Willingness to persevere in mathematical tasks;
[4] Interest, curiosity, and inventiveness in doing mathematics;
[5] Inclination to monitor and reflect on their own thinking and performance;
[6] Valuing the application of mathematics to situations arising in other disciplines and
everyday experiences;
[7] Appreciation of the role of mathematics in our culture and its value as a tool and as a
language.

EXAMS & QUIZZES:

There will be a total of 800 points in this course: Four one-hour exams worth 100 points each for
a subtotal of 400 points (or 50% of the final grade); Quizzes will be unannounced, and I will
count your Ten Best quizzes out of possible fifteen quizzes worth 20 points each for at subtotal
of 200 points (or 25% of the final grade); and a comprehensive final exam worth 200 points (or
25% of the final grade).

In Summary:
Category Percentage
Four (4) One-Hour Exams 50%
Ten (10) Best Quizzes 25%
Final Exam 25%

Final Letter Grade Cut-offs A >= 90%; B >= 80%; C >= 70%; D >= 60%; E < 60%

I may adjust this cut-off scale slightly at my discretion if it

will become helpful at the end of the semester; however, you
should not count on a significant change in your grade based
on this adjustment alone, if indeed it happens.

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 NOTE: If we have time for more than 10 quizzes during the semester; you will have an
opportunity to drop your 1-5 lowest quizzes. Mind you, if you regularly blow off practice
problem sets (a.k.a homework) and choose not to pay attention in class, you may still end
up with more than 5 low quizzes! Also, remember that there is NO make-up exam nor
quiz in this course if you miss class on an exam/quiz day! Therefore, you must manage
your class attendance carefully in order to maximize your success in this course.

TENTATIVE DAILY SCHEDULE AND PRACTICE PROBLEM SETS:

WEEK# DAY DATE TENTATIVE SECTION COVERED Practice Problem Sets/

Class Discussion Sets (CDS)
1 Monday 23 Aug. 1.1 Functions Defined by Tables P.08: 09-14/CDS: 12;14
1.2 Functions Defined by Graphs P.15: 11-17/CDS: 14;16
Wednesday 25 Aug. 1.3 Functions Defined by Formulas P.25: 21-25/CDS: 22;24
1.4 Average Rate of Change P.32: 09-12/CDS: 10;12
2 Monday 30 Aug. 2.1 Constant Change and Linear Growth P.53: 23-27/CDS: 24;26
Wednesday 01 Sept. 2.2 Linear Functions and Graphs P.65: 19-23/CDS: 20-22
3 Monday 06 Sept. Labor Day – University Closed
Wednesday 08 Sept. 2.3 Piecewise Linear Functions P.74: 13-18/CDS: 16;18
4 Monday 13 Sept. 2.4 Fitting Linear Models to Data P.90: 09-14/CDS: 12;14
Wednesday 15 Sept. HERE COMES EXAM I !
5 Monday 20 Sept. 3.1 Percentage Growth and Interest P.110:14-18/CDS:16;18
Wednesday 22 Sept. 3.2 Percentage Decrease and Half-Life P.120:13-18/CDS:16;18
6 Monday 27 Sept. 3.3 Natural Growth and Decline in the P.133:17-22/CDS:20-22
World
Wednesday 29 Sept. 3.4 Fitting Natural Growth Models to Data P.145:09-18/Do Even - CDS
7 Monday 04 Oct. 4.1 Compound Interest and Continuous P.163:18-13/CDS:20;22
Growth
Wednesday 06 Oct. 4.2 Exponential and Logarithmic Functions P.178:19-24/CDS:22;24
8 Monday 11 Oct. 4.3 Exponential and logarithmic Data P.192:13-22/Do Even - CDS
Modeling
Wednesday 13 Oct. HERE COMES EXAM II !!
9 Monday 18 Oct. 5.1 Quadratic Functions and Graphs P.211:16-24/CDS:22;24
Wednesday 20 Oct. 5.2 Quadratics CDSghs and Lows P.221:13-18/CDS:16;18
10 Monday 25 Oct. 5.3 Fitting Quadratic Models to Data P.234:17-22/CDS:20;22
Wednesday 27 Oct. 6.1 Solving Polynomial Equations P.254:11-16/CDS:14;16
11 Monday 01 Nov. 6.2 Solving Pairs of Linear Equations – P.269:11-20/CDS:18;20
Many Ways
Wednesday 03 Nov. 6.3 Linear Systems of Equations P.283:14-23/Do Even - CDS
12 Monday 08 Nov. 6.4 Polynomial Data Modeling P.298:10-13/CDS:10;12
Wednesday 10 Nov. HERE COMES EXAM III !!!
13 Monday 15 Nov. 7.1 Limited Populations P.316:15-20/CDS:16;18
Wednesday 17 Nov. 7.2 Fitting Logistic Models to Data P.328:13-18/CDS:14;16
14 Monday 22 Nov. 7.3 Discrete Models and Chaos P.343:11-17/CDS:13;16
Wednesday 24 Nov. 8.1 Periodic Phenomena and Trigonometric P.364:13-23/CDS:20;22
Functions
25-27 NOVEMBER ----------------------- THANKSGIVING FURLOUGH
15 Monday 29 Nov. 8.2 Trigonometric Models and Periodic P.373:11-15/CDS:12;14
Data
Wednesday 01 Dec. HERE COMES EXAM IV !!!!
16 Monday 06 Dec. Last Day of Classes --- Review Review …Review …Review
Wednesday 15 Dec. Final Exam (8:30 PM – 9:45 PM)

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 REMARKS: As noted above, the daily schedule table contains provisions for Practice
Problem Sets and Classroom Discussion Sets. You need not hand in the practice problem
sets, but is a bad idea if you choose not to do them. We will go over some of the even-
numbered practice sets during the next class period. Additionally, the Student Solutions
Manual (SSM) provides you with detailed solutions for the odd-numbered practice sets.
And if you still need help in addition to these practice sets, please give me a call, or better
yet, email me (or just show-up) as it is possible that you catch me at the office!

References

[1] Dweck, C. (2006). Mindset: The New psychology of success – How we can
learn to fulfill our potential. New York: Random House.

[2] Hull, T.H., Balka, D. S., & Miles, R. H. (2009). A Guide to Mathematics
Coaching: Processes for increasing student achievement. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE.

[2] National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and

standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: National Council of Teachers
of Mathematics.

[3] National Research Council (2004a). Engaging Schools: Fostering high school
students’ motivation to learn. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

Class
Attendance is REQUIRED in this course
Attendance
The University of Texas System and The University of Texas at Dallas have
rules and regulations for the orderly and efficient conduct of their business. It
is the responsibility of each student and each student organization to be
knowledgeable about the rules and regulations which govern student conduct
and activities. General information on student conduct and discipline is
contained in the UTD publication, A to Z Guide, which is provided to all
registered students each academic year.
Student
Conduct and
The University of Texas at Dallas administers student discipline within the
Discipline
procedures of recognized and established due process. Procedures are defined
and described in the Rules and Regulations, Board of Regents, The University
of Texas System, Part 1, Chapter VI, Section 3, and in Title V, Rules on Student
Services and Activities of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.
Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of
the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations (SU 1.602, 972/883-6391).

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 A student at the university neither loses the rights nor escapes the
responsibilities of citizenship. He or she is expected to obey federal, state, and
local laws as well as the Regents’ Rules, university regulations, and
administrative rules. Students are subject to discipline for violating the
standards of conduct whether such conduct takes place on or off campus, or
whether civil or criminal penalties are also imposed for such conduct.

The faculty expects from its students a high level of responsibility and
academic honesty. Because the value of an academic degree depends upon the
absolute integrity of the work done by the student for that degree, it is
imperative that a student demonstrate a high standard of individual honor in his
or her scholastic work.

Scholastic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, statements, acts or

omissions related to applications for enrollment or the award of a degree, and/or
Academic the submission as one’s own work or material that is not one’s own. As a
Integrity general rule, scholastic dishonesty involves one of the following acts: cheating,
plagiarism, collusion and/or falsifying academic records. Students suspected of
academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary proceedings.

Plagiarism, especially from the web, from portions of papers for other classes,
and from any other source is unacceptable and will be dealt with under the
university’s policy on plagiarism (see general catalog for details). This course
will use the resources of turnitin.com, which searches the web for possible
plagiarism and is over 90% effective.

The University of Texas at Dallas recognizes the value and efficiency of

communication between faculty/staff and students through electronic mail. At
the same time, email raises some issues concerning security and the identity of
each individual in an email exchange. The university encourages all official
student email correspondence be sent only to a student’s U.T. Dallas email
address and that faculty and staff consider email from students official only if it
Email Use
originates from a UTD student account. This allows the university to maintain a
high degree of confidence in the identity of all individual corresponding and the
security of the transmitted information. UTD furnishes each student with a free
email account that is to be used in all communication with university personnel.
The Department of Information Resources at U.T. Dallas provides a method for
students to have their U.T. Dallas mail forwarded to other accounts.
The administration of this institution has set deadlines for withdrawal of any
college-level courses. These dates and times are published in that semester's
course catalog. Administration procedures must be followed. It is the student's
Withdrawal
responsibility to handle withdrawal requirements from any class. In other
from Class
words, I cannot drop or withdraw any student. You must do the proper
paperwork to ensure that you will not receive a final grade of "F" in a course if
you choose not to attend the class once you are enrolled.

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 Procedures for student grievances are found in Title V, Rules on Student
Services and Activities, of the university’s Handbook of Operating Procedures.

In attempting to resolve any student grievance regarding grades, evaluations, or

other fulfillments of academic responsibility, it is the obligation of the student
first to make a serious effort to resolve the matter with the instructor,
supervisor, administrator, or committee with whom the grievance originates
(hereafter called “the respondent”). Individual faculty members retain primary
responsibility for assigning grades and evaluations. If the matter cannot be
Student resolved at that level, the grievance must be submitted in writing to the
Grievance respondent with a copy of the respondent’s School Dean. If the matter is not
Procedures resolved by the written response provided by the respondent, the student may
submit a written appeal to the School Dean. If the grievance is not resolved by
the School Dean’s decision, the student may make a written appeal to the Dean
of Graduate or Undergraduate Education, and the deal will appoint and convene
an Academic Appeals Panel. The decision of the Academic Appeals Panel is
final. The results of the academic appeals process will be distributed to all
involved parties.

Copies of these rules and regulations are available to students in the Office of
the Dean of Students, where staff members are available to assist students in
interpreting the rules and regulations.

As per university policy, incomplete grades will be granted only for work
unavoidably missed at the semester’s end and only if 75% of the course work
Incomplete has been completed. An incomplete grade must be resolved within eight (8)
Grades weeks from the first day of the subsequent long semester. If the required work
to complete the course and to remove the incomplete grade is not submitted by
the specified deadline, the incomplete grade is changed automatically to a grade
of F.
The goal of Disability Services is to provide students with disabilities
educational opportunities equal to those of their non-disabled peers. Disability
Services is located in room 1.610 in the Student Union. Office hours are
Monday and Thursday, 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.; Tuesday and Wednesday, 8:30
a.m. to 7:30 p.m.; and Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
The contact information for the Office of Disability Services is:
The University of Texas at Dallas, SU 22
Disability
PO Box 830688
Services
Richardson, Texas 75083-0688
(972) 883-2098 (voice or TTY)

Essentially, the law requires that colleges and universities make those
reasonable adjustments necessary to eliminate discrimination on the basis of
disability. For example, it may be necessary to remove classroom prohibitions
against tape recorders or animals (in the case of dog guides) for students who

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 are blind. Occasionally an assignment requirement may be substituted (for
example, a research paper versus an oral presentation for a student who is
hearing impaired). Classes enrolled students with mobility impairments may
have to be rescheduled in accessible facilities. The college or university may
need to provide special services such as registration, note-taking, or mobility
assistance.

It is the student’s responsibility to notify his or her professors of the need for
such an accommodation. Disability Services provides students with letters to
present to faculty members to verify that the student has a disability and needs
accommodations. Individuals requiring special accommodation should contact
the professor after class or during office hours.
The University of Texas at Dallas will excuse a student from class or other
required activities for the travel to and observance of a religious holy day for a
religion whose places of worship are exempt from property tax under Section
11.20, Tax Code, Texas Code Annotated.

The student is encouraged to notify the instructor or activity sponsor as soon as

possible regarding the absence, preferably in advance of the assignment. The
student, so excused, will be allowed to take the exam or complete the
assignment within a reasonable time after the absence: a period equal to the
length of the absence, up to a maximum of one week. A student who notifies
the instructor and completes any missed exam or assignment may not be
Religious
penalized for the absence. A student who fails to complete the exam or
Holy Days
assignment within the prescribed period may receive a failing grade for that
exam or assignment.

If a student or an instructor disagrees about the nature of the absence [i.e., for
the purpose of observing a religious holy day] or if there is similar
disagreement about whether the student has been given a reasonable time to
complete any missed assignments or examinations, either the student or the
instructor may request a ruling from the chief executive officer of the
institution, or his or her designee. The chief executive officer or designee must
take into account the legislative intent of TEC 51.911(b), and the student and
instructor will abide by the decision of the chief executive officer or designee.
Off-campus, out-of-state, and foreign instruction and activities are subject to
Off-Campus state law and University policies and procedures regarding travel and risk-
Instruction related activities. Information regarding these rules and regulations may be
and Course found at
Activities http://www.utdallas.edu/BusinessAffairs/Travel_Risk_Activities
.htm. Additional information is available from the office of the school dean.

These descriptions and timelines are subject to change at the discretion of the
Professor.