About Homework in MAT 127
Spring 2017

Homework

This semester, we will be doing homework in MAT 127 as a combination of web-based homework (completed online) and assignments written up on paper which will be graded by your TA.

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 the schedule for the specific weekly assignments. Note that looking in WebAssign alone is not sufficient, since most weeks there will be additional assignments not in WebAssign.

You will also complete part of the homework problems via a web interface. One of the benefits of the web-based system is that it will provide immediate feedback about whether your answers are right and wrong.

Doing the Web-based Homeworks

Web-based homework problems are much like 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 (although typically students who go to Paris midsemester have trouble keeping up in lectures). 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 probably the best way of doing the web-based homework for most people.

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. Comparing techniques of solving the problems will be helpful, however.

Logging in

If you are registered for the course, an account was created for you on the WebAssign web site. Your username is your Stony Brook NetID (what you use for Blackboard, and your password should be the same as your NetID password (even if you change it).

Make sure that you either log in through blackboard or by this link. If you go to www.webassign.net directly, you will not be able to log in.

If you aren't registered or have other trouble logging in, please send an email to the course coordinator. Please include the number of the recitation you attend, your full name, and your Stony Brook ID number, and your NetID (I don't need the password).

After you login the first time, please go to the My Options page (in the upper right of the screen) and make sure your email address is the one you use.

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:

Homework Policies

Web based homeworks are due at 9 AM on Wednesdays (think "tuesday night before I go to sleep") in the week following the week in which they appear; for example, the web based homework, assigned in week 1, is due the morning of Wednesday, January 31. 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. The due date was picked so that you would have the weekend to work the homeworks, and still have one class meeting before the due date.

Paper homework assignments are due by Wednesday 11am of the following the week in which they appear: for example the problems for the week of January 22 are due on January 31. Here is where to hand in your homework:

  • Lecture 1 (Babak Modami): in class on Wednesday
  • Lecture 2 (Christian Schnell): in class on Tuesday, or at Christian's office (Math Tower 3-117) by 11am on Wednesday
  • Lecture 4 (Tim Ryan): in class on Tuesday, or at Tim's office (Simons Center 510) by 11am on Wednesday

Late homeworks will not be accepted.

Basic guidelines for submitting paper homework:

  • Every student must have the following heading on his assignment:
    • Surname, Name
    • University ID Number
    • Date Submitted
    • MAT 127/Name of Instructor
    • Assignment (e.g., 2.2: 24, 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.
  • Use black or dark blue ink when writing up answers for your homework assignments. Do NOT use RED ink.
  • 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 multiple 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.

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Page last modified on Wednesday, 7 February 2018 at 01:48 PM.