MAT 131 Homepage

MAT 131 Syllabus

MAT 131 Exams

Problem Sets

Cooperation

For all problem sets, students are allowed to work together. However, the final answer you turn in must be based on your own understanding and must be in your words. Per university policy, all instances of suspected academic dishonesty will be referred to the academic judiciary.

WebAssign

A portion of each weekly problem set will be completed via WebAssign. There will be 11 WebAssign assignments. Your 2 lowest WebAssign scores will be dropped in computing final grades. The schedule of assignments is below.

• WebAssign Assignment 1: Wednesday, 9/8, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 2: Wednesday, 9/15, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 3: Wednesday, 9/22, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 4: Wednesday, 9/29, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 5: Wednesday, 10/13, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 6: Wednesday, 10/20, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 7: Wednesday, 10/27, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 8: Wednesday, 11/10, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 9: Wednesday, 11/17, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 10: Wednesday, 12/1, 10am.
• WebAssign Assignment 11: Wednesday, 12/8, 10am.

Your 2 lowest WebAssign scores will be dropped in computing final total points.

The best way to access WebAssign is through Blackboard. From within Blackboard, click on the link for your MAT 131 recitation. Then go to the left panel, go almost all the way to the bottom, and click on "Tools". Finally, scroll all the way to the bottom of tools and click on "WebAssign". That should automatically log you into your WebAssign account.

At the beginning of the semester there is a 2 week "grace period" during which you may access WebAssign without an access code. But within the first 2 weeks you are required to purchase a WebAssign access code (either bundled with a textbook, or as a stand-alone access code, whichever you prefer). Without a WebAssign access code, you will not be able to continue accessing WebAssign. That means you will not be able to complete the WebAssign assignments.

You can access the web interface from any computer with Internet access and a recent web browser (the computers in the SINC sites, for instance).

When you first access the WebAssign account, please go to the My Options page (in the upper right of the screen) and put in your email address.

After they are assigned, the online problems may be completed anytime before the assigned deadline. You can look at problems online, print them out, work on them as long as you like, and then answer them in a later Internet session (before the deadline). The online problems are automatically graded with instant feedback.

The online problems are of different types; some are short answer and some are multiple choice. There are different problems and different variants of the same problem. Different students will be assigned different problems. So do not try to compare your answers to another student's answers. As always, you are encouraged to work with other students to understand the course material. However all answers you submit for credit must be based on your own understanding and must be written in your own words.

Doing the Assignment

WebAssign has a variety of different question types, ranging from multiple choice to fill-in-the-blank to symbolic questions. Here are some things to keep in mind as you work through your assignments:

• Some questions require entering symbolic notation. Answer symbolic questions by using calculator notation. You must use the exact variables specified in the questions. The order is not important as long as it is mathematically correct. Clicking on the eye button previews the expression you enter in proper mathematical notation. Clicking on the symbolic formatting help button provides tips for using the correct keystrokes.
• When you click on some WebAssign math questions an input palette will open. This palette, called mathPad, will help you enter your answer in proper notation.
• You can save your work without grading by selecting the Save Work button at the end of the question. After you save your work, it will be available to you the next time you click the assignment.
• Please note that WebAssign will not automatically submit your answers for scoring if you only Save your work. Please be sure to Submit prior to the due date and time.
• You can submit answers by question part or for the entire assignment. To submit an individual question answer for grading, click the "Submit New Answers to Question" button at the bottom of each question. To submit the entire assignment for grading, click the "Submit All New Answers" button at the end of the assignment.
• Some WebAssign questions check the number of significant figures in your answer. If you enter the correct value with the wrong number of significant figures, you will not receive credit, but you will receive a hint that your number does not have the correct number of significant figures.
• While different students may get slightly different versions of the assignment, your questions will be the same every time you return. This means you can print out the assignment, work the problems, and then come back later and put in your answers. Since you get multiple attempts to get the question correct, be sure to leave yourself enough time to rework the problems that you did wrong.
• Each question is (typically) worth one point. If a question has multiple answers, each of those are worth a fraction of a point.
• If you put in a wrong answer for a question and ask to have it graded, you will be told it is wrong and be ably to try again. However, if you put in the correct answer on the second try, you get half credit. On the third try, you get 1/3 credit, and so on.
• If you have issues with the assignment, you can use the "Ask your Teacher" button to send a message to your TA and/or lecturer. You should make it clear which problem you are talking about, and what, specifically, your issue is. Using "Ask your teacher" is prefered to sending an email because your question gets saved with your assignment.