Homework
This semester, we are trying out a new system of doing homework in
MAT127
by mixing weekly assigned "classical" problem sets with web-based homework
(to be completed online).
You are encouraged to discuss homework problem together.
However, each student must write up the homework or complete the corresponding
web-based homework individually!
Homework will be assigned weekly; check here for the specific weekly assignments.
Note that the odd-numbered (paper) problems have answers in the back of the textbook.
You should nonetheless try and solve these problems without recourse to the answer key, and
should write the problem up carefully in your own words even if you have consulted the book
for the final answer: always show your work.
You will also complete part of the homework problems via a
web interface provided by
the publisher of the textbook. One of the benefits of the web-based system is
that it will provide immediate feedback about whether your answers are right and wrong.
Web-based homework problems are much like the usual ones: you need to give
answers to a series of short questions, some of them multiple-choice, others not.
The only difference is that instead of doing it on paper, you are doing it over the
Internet. You can access the web interface
from any computer which has an Internet connection, whether from home, from one of
the University SINC sites, or say from an Internet cafe in Paris. No special software is
required: all you need is a relatively recent Web browser.
Also, you can do the web-based homework whenever you want (of course, before the deadline).
You can look at the problems, or even print some of them, then go home, think them over,
and come back later with your answer. In fact, this is perhaps
the recommended way of doing the web-based homework.
Please note that each problem has many variants, and different students are given
different variants. So do not try to compare your answers to that of your classmates.
The web-based assignments are set up so you can do "unlimited logins",
which means you can work on the assignment for a while, then leave and
come back later. For this you will NEED to
click on the Save Progress
button; do NOT click on the
End Assignment button before you are
finished with the homework and are ready to submit it for grading. There
is NO way to edit your answers after
clicking on End Assignment.
Warning: If you do
not click Save Progress before logging
out or closing your browser window, the program may end the assignment
for you due to (long) inactivity (say more than 10-15 minutes).
Thus it is very important to click
Save Progress
if you wish to come back to the assignment at a later time.
If you submit an answer and get it wrong, you get another
try, although you lose part of a point for each wrong answer you give.
You have 3 tries; after the third incorrect answer,
the problem will be permanently marked "incorrect".
For any questions regarding web-based assignments please contact
Michael Chance
(office: Math 4-122, e-mail mchance at
math.sunysb.edu). Please include your Name and SB id and put
MAT127 in your subject line, or you will NOT get an answer to your email!
Registration and logging in
Before you can use the web-based homework web site, you will
need to register for the system and choose your user name and password
(this is separate from registering for the course!). To do so, please follow the instructions below.
If you don't have a computer, you can use the ones in the University
SINC sites,
or most public computers such as those in libraries.
This system doesn't work well with customized versions of Internet Explorer,
such as the browser for AOL. Many people have had good success using the
free Mozilla browser. We use the Mozilla
Firefox browser to set up the assignments, and haven't had any problems.
The first thing you have to do is to get set up with the system if you
haven't done so already. Here's how:
-
Go to the iLRN site and click on First Time Users.
- Put "Stony Brook" in the search box, click Search, then
select SUNY - STONY BROOK from the list on the right.
- On the next page, enter the key
E-2SG5NR3P9Y9T7
where it wants the Course Access Code, and enter your email
address.
- On the next page, specify a password.
- On the last page, fill out the rest of the information.
It is important you give your name and student ID number
correctly so that you can get credit for your work.
Please enter your last/first name and Stony Brook ID exactly as
they appear in your registrar record.
- Finally, when you log in, the system will check that you have an
appropriate Java plug-in installed, and have popup windows
enabled.
For problems/questions regarding setting up an account for the web-base homework
please contact Michael Chance
(office: Math 4-122, e-mail mchance at
math.sunysb.edu).
Please include your Name and SB id and put
MAT127 in your subject line, or you will NOT get an answer to your email!
Printing homework assignments
It may seem that you have to do your homework at the computer. This
is not the case (although you certainly can if you wish).
You can log in, print out your homework assignment, do the work, and
enter the answers later. Here's how to do this (it isn't obvious):
-
From the page where you select the assignment you want to do, click
the Take button if you haven't started the assignment
yet. When the page comes up, click Start.
-
When the first problem comes up, if you don't have time to do it now,
click Print in your browser menu. Do this for each problem
you would like to print out. You may then click
Save Progress and come back later
to enter your answers for the assigned homework.
Homework Policies
Web based homeworks are due at noon on Thursdays
in the week following the week in which they appear; for example,
the web based homework, assigned in week 1, is due Thursday Sept 8.
It is better to work on the problems well before the due date, both
because you'll learn better and because you'll save yourself headaches
when the inevitable computer glitch happens.
All other (paper) homework assignments are due in the first class-meeting following
the week in which they appear: for example the problems for the week
8/29-9/4 are due Tue, Sep. 6 for sections 2 and 3 and Wed, Sep. 7 for sections 1 and 4.
Late homeworks will not be accepted.
Basic guidelines for submitting homework:
- Every student must have the following heading on his assignment:
- Surname, Name
- University ID Number
- Date Submitted
- MAT 127/ Prof *****
- Assignment (e.g., 7.2: 24, 32, 36)
- One problem per page. You may use both the front and the
back sides of a page.
- All of the homework pages MUST be stapled together.
- Do not use GRAPH paper for homework.
- Use black or dark blue ink when writing up
answers for your homework assignments. Do NOT use RED
ink and do NOT use PENCIL.
- A complete solution will include the following:
- The statement of the problem
- An organised presentation of ideas leading to a solution
- An answer that is circled or boxed
- If a problem has mutliple parts it should be solved as
though each part were a separate problem, following
the order in which parts are listed.
- NO WORK = NO CREDIT. This is especially valid for problems whose
answer is given at the end of the book!
- Any breech of academic integrity will be pursued accordingly.