| Date posted |
Message |
| 5/15/2020 |
Epilogue:
Some of might have a fractional final grade since each quiz grade was scaled
by a factor of 2.5, and not all TAs have incorporated rounding in computing
the points on which your letter grade is based. In the end it does not matter
since I did the rounding up when computing your letter grade.
For example, if you got 847.5 point, I rounded that to 848 points and
you go an A-, not a B+.
|
| 5/14/2020 |
a.
I have computed the grading scale for your letter grade.
It can be found at the bottom LEFT of the home page,
below the heading "Grading scale (takes into account Spring 2019 grades)".
If you examine it then you will see that essentially only the cutoff between
A- and A has changed: It dropped from 900 to 885 points. For all other grades
you did better rather than worse than the Math 148 class of one year ago.
Note though that I dropped the other cutoffs by two points (tree points in
the case of the D to C- cutoff). This means in effect that everyone who only
needed one or two points to get that next better grade did obtain it.
You can expect to see your letter grades in BB no later than Saturday afternoon.
at most as many people in this class will get an F
as was the case a year ago.
b.
This semester was a tough one for everyone,
and I do hope that things will be back to the way they were
when the Fall semester starts.
Please accept my best wishes for your future,
academic and otherwise. -- Michael Fochler --
|
| 5/12/2020 |
There were some errors in part c of my 4/29 announcement.
You will like this corrected version even better. I meant to say the following:
It is to be expected that your performance is negatively affected
by having to do online learning, worrying about the pandemic, etc.
We will change the grading scale as follows:
Your letter grade will be based on the grades of Spring 2019 in the sense that
•
there will be at least as many people in this class getting an A
as was the case a year ago,
•
at least as many people in this class will get an A- or better
as was the case a year ago, ...
•
at least as many people in this class will get a D or better
as was the case a year ago, ...
•
at most as many people in this class will get an F
as was the case a year ago.
|
| 5/3/2020 |
UTS tutoring for Math 147 on May 6 from 4:30-6:30 pm:
This message is from Sarah Gnage, the UTS tutor for Math 147.
"I will be holding a final review session on May 6 (this upcoming Wednesday)
from 4:30-6:30 pm.
Students can sign up via starfish, and once they sign up,
I will send out an email with the zoom link for the session.
I have some materials planned if the students have no specific questions,
but I am hoping that they come prepared with focused questions on specific
topics that they have trouble with seeing as the review session is
the day before the exam and, they should have a majority of their
studying done by then."
Sarah's email: sgnage1@binghamton.edu.
|
| 4/29/2020 |
a.
Prof. Carlip has posted the slides through #38 on his website
b.
Everyone's midterm #1 points will be increased by one point.
This results in an average comparable to that of the
Spring 2020 Math 148 midterm.
c.
It is to be expected that your performance is negatively affected
by having to do online learning, worrying about the pandemic, etc.
In case this assumption turns out to be correct we will change the
grading scale as follows:
Your letter grade will be based on the grades of Spring 2020 in the sense that
•
there will be as many people in this class getting an A as was the case a year
ago,
•
as many people in this class will get an A- as was the case a year ago, ...
•
as many people in this class will get an F as was the case a year ago.
|
| 4/23/2020 |
I got some results from yesterday's exam which led me
to the decision to boost the points of the second midterm.
It will not be known until middle of next week what algorithm will be used,
but this announcement should assuage your worries about your grades.
|
| 4/21/2020 |
a.
Tomorrow's midterm will be available on your SECTION(!) BB
from 1:10 until 2:10.
b.
The format is quite similar to that of a quiz given on BB,
just a lot bigger. You will not be asked to upload any files: Input
is done by mouse clicks and typing.
•
Computational problems will be mostly handled as multiple choice questions.
The numbers from which you select your answer are so much different
from each other that rounding errors will not affect your choice.
c.
SSD students with extended time have been notified by their TA about the
time during which the exam is accessible: this depends on the amount
of extra time they have been allotted
|
| 4/13/2020 |
The second midterm is scheduled for a duration of 60 minutes.
It will take place on Wednesday, April 22
from 1:10 PM until 2:10 PM,,
NOT 6:30 PM - 7:30 PM as was originally planned.
The exam will be available on Blackboard only during that time frame.
The exception:
If you are an SSD student with extra time then you may start earlier.
This is best explained by example:
Let us assume that you are given time and a half.
Then the exam will be accessible for you between 12:40 PM and 2:40 PM:
You will have your full 90 minutes to complete the exam only if
you start no later than 1:10 PM,
since Blackboard will not allow you to work on it past 2:40 PM.
|
| 4/13/2020 |
a.
Error on my home page:
The date/time of the final exam is
Thursday May 7, 2020, 12:50 PM - 2:50 PM online,
NOT Thursday May 7, 2020, 5:40 PM - 7:40 PM online.
I have corrected the home page.
b.
Scope of the second midterm: Ch.13 - ch.24 of the text but NOT
ch. 22 on the population survey. About 30% of the exam will deal with
material similar to that on the canceled midterm.
|
| 4/1/2020 |
a.
The Zoom recording for today's lecture is now available.
b.
The link for the Harpur College revised Pass/Fail regulations is
https://www.binghamton.edu/harpur/pass-fail-policy.html
.
Please be sure to read this carefully. The only item particular for my class:
I'll give a Pass for letter grades D - A, and an F will remain an F.
|
| 4/1/2020 |
Prof. Carlip has posted his slides up to lecture 30 on his website.
I am currently on #14 of lecture 28.
Since you now have clearly legible slides that you can read in advance
I will again mostly use my webcam during the Zoom lectures.
|
| 3/31/2020 |
a.
Good news from Prof. Carlip: He will make his slides available to you.
That may take a while since he must make some modifications to his existing
version. I'll notify as soon as that is done.
b.
Changes to the Course Materials page:
•
I have now posted the correct link to the practice exam.
•
The Zoom recording for Monday's lecture is now available.
|
| 3/28/2020 |
a.
I have published the exercises suggested by Prof. Carlip
through ch.26 of the text.
b.
I have a comment to make on an announcement Paul Barber, the coordinating TA,
gave on the BB A 0 (lecture) section where he complained about the low
performance in his sections, something that was echoed by the other TAs:
Since the beginning of this semester
I told you more than once that you, the students, and I, the instructor,
have an unwritten agreement: I do not complain if you, the students,
do not attend lecture, and you do not complain about the grade you
will get.
This having been said, let me remind you that all online lectures
have been and will be recorded. The links are published on the
course materials page.
|
| 3/28/2020 |
I have posted the now canceled midterm 2 on the course materials page,
both the original version you would have been given during the exam and
the version with solutions. The are meant for you to practice: Time yourself
on the version without solutions, and then see how you did by checking
your answers against the published ones.
|
| 3/20/2020 |
The course materials page now contains a subsection titled
'Recorded Zoom Lectures'.
|
| 3/19/2020 |
a.
This website has undergone another major change within less than a week.
It now is the official place for all information concerning Math 147.
Do not look for clarification of anything on Prof. Carlip's website,
since now everything is done according to my rules.
There is one exception: Prof. Carlip's website is the only place where you
can, at least at this point in time, access his
lecture slides
!
b.
Of particular importance will be the section titled "Your Grade"
near the bottom of the home page. You will see that midterm 3 has been
renamed midterm 2, that your grades will add up to as much as 1000 points,
and that your quiz scores will be multiplied by a factor of 2.5.
|
| 3/18/2020 |
The info on the course materials page concerning Zoom has been corrected:
some of it was the version that applies to faculty only.
|
| 3/12/2020 |
a.
I have been informed that I am now officially the instructor of the
Math 147 course. It seems that it will take more time until Prof. Carlip
is well enough to resume his teaching duties.
We all should be grateful to Prof. Carlip for his willingness to make his
material available both to you, the students, and me, the instructor.
I do not know at this point in time whether Prof. Carlip is willing to let me
continue the use of his slides. If not so then I will follow the text itself
very closely, so you should start looking at the book more extensively than you
may have done before.
b.
You know by now that Wednesday's exam will not take place.
I am afraid that I also have to change the
'take the average of midterms 1 and 3'
option, since the (currently) latest update of the
BU coronavirus webpage
which is titled
'A message to students from Provost Donald Nieman',
states the following:
<<..... Previously completed quizzes, assignments or tests
should not be reweighted to change their percentage of
the final grade unless students opt in to the changes. .....>>
There is not a reasonable time frame within which
a brand new exam can be produced (since it would have to be open book),
so I plan to proceed as follows, but
WHAT FOLLOWS IS NOT YET OFFICIAL:
There will only be one more midterm for this course,
and it will take on April 22, the date of what
we currently call midterm 3.
This exam will count for 200 points, and the final exam will count for 400.
In this way we have allocated the 150 points of the
canceled midterm to those other two exams.
Again, please note that THE ABOVE IS NOT YET OFFICIAL
|
| 3/15/2020 |
|
a.
This entire website has been updated with the changes required by
the switch to distance learning which will take effect,
for this course, on Thursday, March 19, the day after midterm 2.
|
|
Be sure to review in particular the course materials page and the syllabus!
b.
All TAs will give their March 17 discussion sections in the classroom,
but they will
bring their laptops and also allow you to follow the discussion section via
Zoom. If your section is on Tuesday then this is your chance to bring your own
equipment (computer with webcam + headset!) and get rid of all the bugs
since you can talk to your TA + fellow students if something does not work.
c.
The time to request a makeup exam is now long past.
Your only option now is to take the averaging option. Note the following:
|
Again:
Your deadline for notifying your TA that you want to
skip midterm 2 and take the average of #1 and #3 instead
has been exended
to Wednesday (the day of the exam), 4:00 PM.
|
|
d.
Here are the names of the students who will take the exam at UTC since they
cannot start at 6:30 due to a scheduling conflict:
•
Ahmetaj, Liridona
•
Aris, Lorenzo
•
Aranoff, Ben
•
Colossi, Margaret
•
Fittry, Jillian
•
Miller, Richard
•
Nwachukwu, Nicole
•
Nwachukwu, Stephanie
•
If you are not on that list then I did not apply for your UTC spot.
In that case forward the original email when you made that request
to your TA and cc me. Your email subject msut contain the fragment
"NOT ON UTC MAKEUP LIST" if you want to get quick attention.
|
| 3/14/2020 |
a.
One more time: Next week's midterm
will be held in lecture hall.
It will NOT be given online!
Your deadline for notifying your TA is Wednesday (the day of the exam), 4:00 PM.
If your request is not addressed to your TA (with me in the cc) then
YOUR REQUEST WILL BE IGNORED!
b.
Review one more time the previous announcements about the midterm.
It should be clear to you that the part about makeup exams is out of date,
since there will be no makeup exams. Instead we will average the grades
for the first and third midterm (IF you notify your TA by email,
as discussed above).
c.
Prof. Carlip has published his lecture slides through lecture 23
You now have all his material covering the material up to ch. 17 of the text,
and thus everything that might appear on the second midterm.
d.
There will be a major update to this website, probably on Tuesday,
which will reflect the changes due to the switch to distance learning.
|
| 3/12/2020 |
Absolutely important for you to follow:
If you are concerned about your health and decide to leave campus
before the exam, and you choose to take the average of midterms
1 and 3 for your grade then
You must email your request to your TA, and put me in the
cc. Your TA is in charge of all record keeping that concerns
your grades!
Be sure to put your full name and your
section into the subject so your TA will not
ignore your email!
This policy covers all emails you may have sent me earlier
today. You MUST SEND THEM A SECOND TIME TO YOUR TA!
|
|
|
| 3/12/2020 |
a.
Additional announcements for today:
Next week's midterm
will be held in lecture hall.
It will NOT be given online!
b.
I have been asked again to publish Prof. Carlip's lecture slides
and I must tell you again that I am not authorized to do so.
Read the book! Scope for the exam is ch.13 - 17.
c.
No makeup exams for the second midterm after Thursday, March 19:
Instead we will average your grades for midterm 1 and midterm 3.
|
| 3/12/2020 |
a.
No makeup exams for the second midterm after Thursday, March 19:
Instead we will average your grades for midterm 1 and midterm 3.
b.
As of right now I do not have a single request for a midterm 2 makeup.
I remind you that the deadline to make such a request is TODAY!
If you contact me after this date with an unforeseen emergency then
either of the following will happen:
•
If you can take the midterm on Thursday and IF I can get you a spot at UTC
(They close after 3/19) then I'll schedule you at UTC.
•
If that does not work out for whatever reason then I will proceed as follows:
Your scores for midterms 1 and 3 will be averaged
and that average is counted for midterm 2..
|
| 3/7/2020 |
a.
I have extracted Prof. Carlip's announcements relevant for the
adminstration of the second (and also the third except for date and time)
midterm. You can access the links as follows:
Announcements from lecture slides
#14
•
#15
•
#17
•
#18
•
#20
•
#21
b.
And here is again the link to
my additional announcements
on the first page of the midterm.
The page is from midterm 1, but my rules will not change for
midterm 2.
c.
Read this carefully
if you have a scheduling conflict for one of the three midterms:
The course materials page now points to the Excel file
exam-conflict-math147-A09-doe-jane.xlsx.
Download this spreadsheet and process it according to the instructions
given on that webpage.
If you have sent an email to Prof. Carlip and/or to Prof. Fochler
about such a conflict then you still must provide that spreadsheet!
•
As of now there is nobody asking to start the exam later
due to a scheduling conflict!
•
If you have had a tragic event or you are an athlete with a sports event
which prevents you from taking the exam at the scheduled time then you
must notify me and your TA no later than Thursday, March 12.
As of right now there is no athlete or person with a tragic event
asking for a deferral.
d.
I will schedule the students with a letter of accommodation with UTC,
according to the same rules as for midterm 1
e.
I have extracted the homework assignments from Dr. Carlip's lecture slides
and published them on the Homework tab.
|
| 2/23/2020 |
a.
Two items concerning the upcoming midterm deserve special emphasis:
•
Index card size is 5 x 3. Larger size cards will be confiscated.
Both sides may be utilized.
•
Not even scientific calculators are allowed. Review the sample picture
of an admissible calculators on one of Dr. Carlip's announcements.
More advanced calculators will be confiscated.
b.
Dr. Carlip's website now contains all lectures up to lecture 14.
c.
The homework page now contains the homework sheet from Dr. Carlip's
lecture 15 slides (not available yet to the students).
|
| 2/22/2020 |
a.
Here is one more time the link for
Dr. Carlip's announcements
for midterm 1
b.
And here is one more time the link for
my additional announcements
for midterm 1
Read all of the above plus the 2/16-2/19 announcements carefully!
One correction to (b):
The cover page of your midterm
will state that there are 9 problems on p.2-6. Instead you will find only
eight problems on p.2-5.
|
| 2/19/2020 |
Lecture hall assignments for midterm 1:
•
LH 1 if your TA is Sara Bey (A04, A05, A06, A09, A11)
or Paul Barber (A01, A08)
•
LH 2 if your TA is Zhou Wang (A02, A03, A10)
•
LH 8 if your TA is Xinhai Zhang (A07, A12, A13)
•
Students with an SSD letter should have gotten notifications by
now when to report at the testing center for the exam.
As of right now there is no athlete or person with a tragic event
asking for a deferral.
|
| 2/18/2020 |
a.
Read this carefully
if you have a scheduling conflict for one of the three midterms:
The course materials page now points to the Excel file
exam-conflict-math147-A09-doe-jane.xlsx.
Download this spreadsheet and process it according to the instructions
given on that webpage.
If you have sent an email to Prof. Carlip and/or to Prof. Fochler
about such a conflict then you still must provide that spreadsheet!
b.
I have scheduled for midterm 1
the students with a letter of accommodation with UTC,
but it may take a few days before the confirmations are sent out.
|
| 2/16/2020 |
a.
The upcoming midterm:
•
I extracted the announcements for the first midterm from Prof. Carlip's
lecture 13 slides.
Click here!
•
The subsequent announcements for midterm 1 take precedence over those
of Prof. Carlip in case there should be a contradiction:
•
All students with SSD letters of accommodation will take the exam
at the testing center.
Those who have time and a half (everyone except Samantha P.)
may start the exam as early as 8:00.
•
No athlete has come forward asking for makeup.
at the testing center,
and no one asks for a makeup exam due to a family tragedy.
•
Makeup exam: If you have a qualifying event
send an email to me and cc your TA before Friday, 2/24, 8:00 PM.
If you are an athlete and have an event on the date of the midterm then
email us immediately!
If you are ill: No makeup exam without a Dr.'s note! NO EXCEPTIONS!
See to it that you check into Decker on the day of the exam
in time for being accepted as a walkin. I believe that must be before 11:00 AM.
•
Reread Prof. Carlip's syllabus about allowable calculators and index cards.
If you bring a programmable and/or graphing calculator, we will
confiscate it!
Do not forget your calculator and bring a spare or at least
spare batteries!
•
Click here
for the rules and regulations you will find on the cover page
of the actual exam.
Be sure you understand the penalties for noncompliance,
in particular, if you use another student's exam!
b.
There is a tutor from UTS (University Tutoring Services) for Math 147.
Her name is Sarah Gnage (sgnage1@binghamton.edu).
I'll post more info about her times of availability
once she sends it to me.
I believe you can find out about signing up
for sessions with her at uts@binghamton.edu.
c.
I have extracted all homework assignments from Dr. Carlip's slides
and posted the PDFs to the homework page of this website.
|
| 2/12/2020 |
a.
I emailed to you a PDF that contains links to tutorials
for straight line equations and the use of the summation symbol.
You have already seen me use that summation sign in lecture,
and you need to understand straight lines (also covered in ch. 7
of the text) to do linear regression.
I cannot force you to work through those tutorials, but chances are
that you'll get a better grade if you do
|