MTH 250 College Geometry
Text: College Geometry, second edition, David Kay (ISBN: 0-321-04624-2)
Course Purpose: To satisfy the Euclidean & non-Euclidean Geometry requirement
for the 6-12 Math teaching endorsement in Virginia
Software: Geometer's Sketchpad, 5th edition (student version in bookstore or on
the web from key curriculum press at https://keydrm.keypress.com/v3/orders/new?product=gsp
Get the pemanent student version for $29.95
Prerequisite: completion of MTH 174 or equivalent (i.e., completion of
Calculus 2). See paragraph below.
Instructor: Jon Wilkin
Office: none, I am Adjunct Prof, retired from full time after 42 years
Phone: 703-536-5290 no calls before 9AM or after 9PM
e-mail: jwilkin@nvcc.edu
web site: http://www.nvcc.edu/home/jwilkin/
Office hours: Please arrange an online meeting
This course is specially for the 6-12 Math Teaching Endorsement. It is not
appropriate for either the 6-8 math endorsement or the Algebra 1 add-on
endorsement. For those, mth 150 is the correct choice. It is offered this term,
but it is an “in the classroom" course at the Alexandria Campus .
The prerequisite for mth 250 is mth 174 (i.e., a full year of calculus).
The course requires you to prove many results as we develop two geometries from an
axiomatic viewpoint. While the prerequisite is that year of calculus, this course
and abstract algebra (mth 200, available in the fall term) are the courses most
students seeking the 6-12 endorsement find the most difficult. As such, my
experiences says that 250 and 200 should be the taken after all the other required
courses are completed. Your are “most ready” at that time for these two courses.
This class, while a distance class, is a lecture course (with lectures T and Th at
4:30, delivered to your favorite computer with a broadband internet connection.
The URL is enova.nvcc.edu.. As it says again in this syllabus, assignments may not
be submitted late and the two exams must be taken on the specified dates. Lectures
are interactive - you can always ask questions or make comments. Also, lectures
are recorded and available for you the remainder of the term. There is a
Blackboard discussion board to interact with your fellow students. Class notes
will be posted on Blackboard, as will exam solutions .
The tentative schedule shows the sections covered each week, as well as test dates.
I will post weekly the required turn in problems. You may work together on the
assignments, but the assignments you turn in must be typed or handwritten by you. The turn in assignments will count, in total, 40% of the course grade. These must
be submitted no later than the first class meeting of the week after they are
assigned. If you don't turn in assignments via e-mail, I must have the paper copy
by the same deadline. Thus the assignments given for week 1 are due prior to the
first meeting in week 2. Late assignments will not be accepted. See the paragraph
below about word processors. Specific Sketchpad problems must be submitted as Sketchpad files as an attachment to an email.
Exams
There will be two exams, on the second class meeting on the given week. Each exam
will count 30% of the grade, 60% total. There will be a Sketchpad question as part
of each exam. The Sketchpad problem will be done individually, with me, by
appointment the week of the exam. For the paper-pencil exam the questions will
include definitions and true-false problems, computation problems and proofs. A
list of axioms and theorems will be provided with the exams - that list is on my
web site. The exams are not given on Blackboard.
The paper-pencil exams must be taken on the specified date. The exam must be
started between 3:30 and 5:00. Exams are taken in at any NVCC testing center or at
your designated testing center. You must have the exam pass, printed from
Blackboard, and a picture ID for the testing centers. If you take the exams at a
testing center other than a NOVA campus, please have the completed exam emailed to me at jwilkin@nvcc.edu and wilkinjon@gmail.com, as well as returned to ELI by mail.
Grades
I will determine letter grades using this scale:
A90–100
B80–89
C65–79
D60–64
F0–59
Cheating
Cheating on either exam will result in failing the course. Cheating means giving or
receiving help during the exam, or obtaining a copy of the exam in advance.
Turning in assignments which you didn't type or write yourself will result in a
grade of 0 on that assignment, as will turning in solutions which you have copied
from another source, such as a solutions manual or a web site. The only assistance
that I consider satisfactory and appropriate is from your fellow students and from
me. Don't expect that our tutoring services will have a 250 tutor. Our tutoring
services stop with 174, Calculus 2.
Important dates
The last day to withdraw and receive a tuition refund is Friday, 27 Jan.
Withdrawals after that date, through W 21 March, will result in a W grade on your
transcript, but no tuition refund.
However, after 21 March, I will not approve any requested withdraws from this
course. In any event, if you wish to withdraw on or prior to W, 21 March, I will
not be responsible for a withdraw – that is your responsibility. Thus, if you wish
to withdraw from this course on or before 21 March, YOU must do so on Novaconnect
by that date. If, at any time, you decide to withdraw, do so. I will not accept as
an excuse for not withdrawing such as “The computer system was working not
correctly when I tried to withdraw on the last day.” or “The computer system was
down.”
If you wish to audit, you must discuss that request with me by , 27 Jan. Just
requesting audit status doesn't mean I will agree - in fact, I don't think there
are many valid reasons to audit a course, and usually will not sign audit
requests.
There are no classes at the college on 16 January and the week of 5 March.
Assignments
If you are going to teach mathematics, you will be writing math a lot, probably on
the computer. For the required “turn-in” assignments, I prefer that they are typed
using a word processor using an equation editor. Please use any of these:
EXP (www.expswp.com, $250)
Scientific notebook (http://www.mackichan.com/index.html?products/snb.html~mainFrame, $99)
OpenOffice, using included math editor, (www.openoffice.org, free download)
Word, with MathType
or the word processor in sketchpad .
For diagrams in non-Sketchpad assugnments, you can copy and paste Sketchpad
diagrams into a word processor. However, sketchpad specific problems are to be
submitted as sketchpad files. If you feel you can't use a word processor for the
assignments, then please hand write them in dark ink, scan the pages to pdf format
to submit electronically.
For reading my postings, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader.
MTH 250 Tentative Schedule Spring 2012 on next page.
MTH 250 Tentative Schedule Spring 2012
(“skp” means “sketchpad”)
week of 9 Jan 1.3
2.1
week of 16 Jan 2.2
2.3
week of 23 Jan 2.4
2.5
week of 30 Jan 2.6
3.1
week of 6 Feb 3.2
3.3
week of 13 Feb 3.4
3.5
week of 20 Feb Exam 1 (exam on Th, 23 Feb, start between 3:30 and 5)
covers all above sections
week of 27 Feb 3.6
3.7
week of 12 Mar 3.8
4.1
week of 19 Mar 4.2
4.3
week of 26 Mar 4.5
6.1
6.2
week of 2 April 6.3
6.4
week of 9 April Exam 2 (exam on 12 April, start between 3:30 and 5)
week of 16 April 5.1
5.2
week of 23 April 5.3
5.4
week of 30 April turn in last assignment; discuss
complete course evaluation on blackboard