Class Information

Course Title Math 1316: Plane Trigonometry

Instructor Kameryn Williams

Website http://kamerynjw.net/teaching/2022/math1316fall/

Email kameryn.j.w [ at ] shsu ( period ) edu

Class Hours and Room Tuesday/Thursday

• (Section 07) 12:30–1:45, DRCB 319

• (Section 08) 9:30–10:45, CHSS 226

Office Hours

• M/W 9:00–1:00, T 2:00–3:00, or by appointment.

Office LDB 413

Textbook See below.

Course Description Topics include coordinate systems, circular functions, solutions of triangles, identities, trigonometric equations, and inverse functions.

Prerequisite Passing score on MATH TSI Assessment, or equivalent.

Course Learning Objectives Through this class you should improve on the following skills.

• Analyze trigonemetric functions and equations.

• Use trigonemetry to find quantitative information about triangles.

• Interpret trigonemetric graphs.

• Apply this knowledge to solve real-world problems.

Grading Policy

See here for full information about grading. Below is a summary on how grades are earned in this class.

And a summary of the mastery levels.

Textbook Information

The official textbook for this class is Trigonometry, 8th ed., McKeague and Turner. Texas state law requires official textbooks to be chosen well in advance of the semester, and it was chosen by others before I knew I would be teaching this class. This textbook is optional. No homework will be assigned from it, nor will I ever require you to have access to it. Homework will be done through the free online system MyOpenMath. And if you want a textbook to reference, I suggest the free online OpenStax book Algebra and Trigonemetry, rather than pay money for the official textbook.

In sum, the cost of required books, materials, etc. for this class is $0. I suggest you look into what your books for other classes cost and, if it would save you money overall, opt out of the bookstore’s Bearkat Bundle program. This program charges you a flat fee based on your total credits taken each semester to provide you with required textbooks, etc. If you have other classes which, like this one, cost significantly less than the Bearkat Bundle credit fee (approx. $27 per credit), you could save money by opting out of the program and buying your books yourself.

Class Structure

Class meetings are 75 minutes, and will mostly consist of lecture, with the occasional in-class work. Due to the long class time, we’ll take a short (5 minute or so) break about halfway through. Some class days will be used as quiz periods. (See the Quiz Policy below for more info.)

Attendance Policy

No portion of your grade is directly based on attendance. That said, I strongly advise you to attend every class. Like most math classes, the material in this class builds upon itself, so that if you fall behind early it is very difficult to get back on track.

Additionally, quizes will be held in-class.

Homework Policy

Part of the requirements for your grade involves the online homework, done through the MyOpenMath.com website. This is a free and open source online math homework system. Info about how to log in will be posted on the class discord site. There is a homework assignment for each day of class, with the exception of quiz period days. Each homework assignment is due by 11:59pm the night before the next class period. You can retry problems until you get full points. (Strictly speaking, the software requires me to put in a limit but I set it high enough that you shouldn’t run out.) I encourage you retry the homework problems until you get all points.

MyOpenMath includes a “late pass” system to handle extensions. The way this works is, you can use a late pass on an assignment to push back the due date by 72 hours, with no need to ask me for permission. I set the system to give everyone lots of late passes, so you shouldn’t be in danger of running out. That said, you should try to finish every homework by the original due date, since it’s an important part of learning the material so you can demonstrate mastery on the assessments.

Info about how to access the MyOpenMath site for the class can be found on the Blackboard site and the class discord.

Quiz Policy

Regularly throughout the semester we will use a class day as a quiz period for you to take mastery quizzes. Each quiz period you can take quizzes for the topics we’ve covered so far. For each quiz I’ll give you feedback and assign you a number from 0 to 3 giving your level of mastery of the material. You can retake quizzes in later quiz periods until you are happy with your mastery level, with the highest number going in the gradebook. (You should be shooting for at least a 2, or a 3 in the most important topics (topics 1 and 3) or if you want a B or C.)

Each quiz is a single sheet of paper, front and back, consisting of conceptual questions and computational problems. The conceptual questions ask you to give definitions, explain concepts, and so on, while the computational problems ask you to do calculations with a concrete problem. Acheiving mastery (3) on a topic is based on correct answers on both the conceptual and computational problems.

For some computational problems you will need a calculator. Due to how assessments work, you will need a separate calculator, not something on your phone or tablet or computer. Your calculator will need to have the trig functions, and work with both degrees and radians. You can find a scientific calculator with these functions online or at stores in the 10–20 dollar range, and this is the only money I am asking you to spend for this class (besides pencil and paper to take notes).

Communication Policy and Office Hours

Announcements will be posted to the public course website and class discord. I will use blackboard only for the gradebook feature.

There is a discord server for this course, which is a place to contact me, ask questions, and discuss course material with your classmates. You can also email me, but that is less likely to be seen as quickly. If you do email me, please mention the class number (Math 1316) in the subject of the message.

Office hours are held multiple times in the week, to give you an opportunity to ask questions and receive help in-person outside of class time. If you prefer to meet virtually via zoom, or to meet at a different time, please contact me to arrange that.

Covid Policy

Per the governor’s orders, the university is not allowed to require you to vaccinate nor institute a mask mandate. That aside, I encourage you to get vaccinated, including booster shot(s), if you have not yet already done so. You can get vaccinated through the Student Health Center, who also offer covid testing. Both vaccines and testing through the SHC are free of cost.

The CDC recommends indoor masking in areas with significant or high transmission rates.

If you have a positive covid test, or have strong reason to think you may have covid pending a test, you should self-isolate. Contact me so I know you will miss class and we can work out how you can continue to follow class progress during your quarantine.

Academic Honesty

The work you present is expected to be your own. For many majors, mathematics classes form part of the core base of skills you need to succeed in later classes, and you are harming the future version of yourself if you try to avoid learning the material for this class.

Cheating, plagiarism, and other forms of academic dishonesty are not tolerated.

Accessibility

Students with disabilities are legally entitled to reasonable accommodations to ensure equal access to education. Any student who feels they may need accommodation based on the impact of a disability should contact the Students with Disabilities office. I am committed to providing students with equal access to this class, and am happy to work with you to ensure reasonable accommodations. Because the accommodations offered are usually forward-looking modifications rather than mitigating poor grades you may have already received due to your disability, it is important to get in touch with the office as soon as you can. Further information and contact details can be found on their website.

The ADA defines a disability as a medical condition that substantially limits one or more major life activities—including things like walking sleeping, taking care of yourself, learning, and regulating your emotions—or major bodily functions. If you have a medical condition—including mental health conditions—that significantly interferes with your schoolwork, you probably qualify. You do not need to disclose your condition to your instructors to receive accommodations.

Other Campus Resources

• The Student Health Center offers healthcare resources to students, including covid vaccines and testing.

• The Counseling Center offers counseling services to students.

• The Academic Success Center offers tutoring and other academic support to students.

• The on-campus food pantry supports students who face food insecurity.

Additional Information

Further information about campus-wide policies for all classes, can be found at this site.