2026 Spring Precalculus Syllabus - Mathematics 1022.010

Precalculus

4

In person

TR 1:30-3:10p

Wachman 208

Jessica Babcock

jbbabcock@temple.edu

Wachman 630

TR 9:30-11:00a

Textbook: Stewart/Redlin/Watson's Precalculus: Mathematics for Calculus, 8th edition, and Enhanced WebAssign, Cengage Learning. Students must have access to the 8th edition text. Access to the online homework system, WebAssign, is optional. Students may gain access to the text via any of the following:  

1. Rent the text with WebAssign through the University Bookstore for $118. 
2. Use any of the purchase or rental options available directly through the publisher.  
3. Purchase access to Cengage Unlimited, allowing for access to multiple Cengage products simultaneously for this course and some courses in other departments.
4. Purchase a copy of the 8th edition textbook either with or without WebAssign access through any other vendor they choose, including purchasing a used copy of the book, but it must be the 8th edition. 

Written Homework: 10%; Weekly Quizzes: 10%; Tests 1 and 2: 25% each; Cumulative Final: 30%. Letter Grades: 93-100 A, 90-92 A-, 87-89 B+, 83-86 B, 80-82 B-, 77-79 C+, 73-76 C, 70-72 C-, 65-69 D+, 55-64 D, 50-54 D-, 0-49 F. NOTE: A grade of C or better is needed to move onto Math 1041: Calculus I. A grade of C- or better is needed to move onto Math 1039: Calculus I with Lab.

Mathematics placement, grade of C or better in Math 1021 or transfer credit for Math 1021.  Students with a C- in Math 1021 may also enroll but must also be enrolled in Math 1023.

You will be able to:

1. Appreciate the significance of a strong mathematical foundation and its associated critical thinking and analytical skills and apply these in future endeavors and courses, especially Calculus.
2. Evaluate, graph, and analyze algebraic, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions and straightforward combinations of these functions.
3. Solve problems using algebraic, exponential, logarithmic, and trigonometric equations, and analyze and interpret the solutions.
4. Recognize underlying mathematical principles in a variety of representations and use these principles to identify the appropriate tools to solve problems.
5. Explain, construct, and critique mathematical arguments by focusing on why strategies work. 

This course is designed to be as engaging, worthwhile, and helpful as possible, for this semester and beyond.

Topics include polynomial, rational, radical, and piecewise-defined functions and function operations, one-to-one and inverse functions, exponential and logarithmic functions and equations, trigonometric functions and equations, inverse trigonometric functions, and basic trigonometric identities. 

Weekly Quizzes - dates and material set by instructor; Common Midterms: Test 1: Friday EVENING, February 20th, 5:30-7:00pm; Test 2: Friday EVENING, April 10th, 5:30-7:00pm; Common Final - Wednesday, April 29th, 3:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. 

NOTE: THE FINAL IS SCHEDULED AT A SPECIAL TIME OUTSIDE OF THE REGULAR FINAL EXAM MATRIX.

Learning math can be challenging at times and is best done in an interactive environment. Attendance in class is therefore required. Any time you are absent, be sure to check Canvas and WebAssign and to email one of your classmates to see what you missed. If unforeseen circumstances cause you to miss multiple sessions, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss the situation. You will be allowed no more than 4 unexcused absences during the semester.  You will be penalized one grade notch (e.g. from B to B-) for your fifth absence, and one grade notch for each increment of 4 classes that you miss from that point forward. 

Students will need a device (like a smartphone) to scan and upload a multipage pdf to Canvas for the homework assignments. Absolutely no technology is allowed to be used during quizzes and exams.

The Student Success Center (SSC) at Temple offers Peer Assisted Study Sessions (PASS) and STEM tutoring for this course. During weekly PASS sessions, you work with a trained peer leader and your fellow classmates to practice and explore course content together. Students usually find these helpful and even fun! During STEM tutoring sessions, a tutor will work with you one-on-one to review and understand the concepts in this course. Both programs are free and open to all students in this course. More information about PASS and STEM tutoring, as well as other services offered by the SSC, is available at studentsuccess.temple.edu, by emailing sscdesk@temple.edu, or by calling 215-204-0702. 

Review materials for each test and the final will be available on the course Canvas for review approximately one week prior to each test day. Questions on these reviews will contain homework problems. Please be aware that this review material may not be all-inclusive. Any problem similar to a sample problem or a homework problem may appear on the tests. Please note that you can certainly start reviewing for your exams PRIOR to the release of these materials, using your quizzes and assigned homework from the included sections.

It is important to foster a respectful and productive learning environment that includes all students in our diverse community of learners. Our differences, some of which are outlined in the University's nondiscrimination statement, will add richness to this learning experience. Therefore, all opinions and experiences, no matter how different or controversial they may be perceived, must be respected in the tolerant spirit of academic discourse. 

Please reach out to me if any obstacle is in the way of your success. I am eager to help. ​​​​​​Any student who has a need for accommodations based on the impact of a documented disability or medical condition should contact Disability Resources and Services (DRS) located in the Howard Gittis Student Center South, 4th Floor at drs@temple.edu or 215-204-1280 to request accommodations and learn more about the resources available to you. If you have a DRS accommodation letter to share with me, or you would like to discuss your accommodations, please contact me as soon as practical. I will work with you and with DRS to coordinate reasonable accommodations for all students with documented disabilities. All discussions related to your accommodations will be confidential. Students can learn more about the accommodation process and pre-register on the DRS website. Students may register at any time during the semester, but accommodations are not active until you register, so I recommend doing so as early in the semester as possible.

Freedom to teach and freedom to learn are inseparable facets of academic freedom. The University has adopted a policy on Student and Faculty Academic Rights and Responsibilities (Policy # 03.70.02).

Students will be charged for a course unless dropped by the Drop/Add deadline date. During the Drop/Add period, students may drop a course with no record of the class appearing on their transcript. Students are not financially responsible for any courses dropped during this period. In the following weeks prior to or on the withdrawal date students may withdraw from a course with the grade of "W" appearing on their transcript. After the withdrawal date students may not withdraw from courses. 

Use of generative AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot, etc.) and computational apps (such as PhotoMath, Mathway, SnapMath, etc.) is not permitted in this class. It is essential that you learn the topics in the course for yourself, and using these tools to complete the work is counterproductive to that effort. Therefore, any use of AI tools for work in this class may be considered a violation of Temple University’s Academic Honesty policy and Student Conduct Code, since the work is not your own. A student found to use any such resources will receive a grade of zero on that assignment and may face a charge of academic dishonesty with the Student Code of Conduct Board. 

The grade "I" (an "incomplete") is only given if students cannot complete the course work due to circumstances beyond their control. It is necessary for the student to have completed the majority of the course work with a passing average and to sign an incomplete contract which clearly states what is left for the student to do and the deadline by which the work must be completed. The incomplete contract must also include a default grade that will be used in case the "I" grade is not resolved by the agreed deadline. 

The following academic support services are available to students (all links open in a new tab/window): 
    The Math Consulting Center 
    Student Success Center 
    University Libraries 
    Undergraduate Research Support 
    Career Center 
    Tuttleman Counseling Services 
    Disability Resources and Services 
If you are experiencing food insecurity or financial struggles, Temple provides resources and support. Notably, the Temple University Cherry Pantry and the Temple University Emergency Student Aid Program are in operation as well as a variety of resources from the Division of Student Affairs.

On Tuesdays we will have an in-class quiz unless there is an exam that week. It is important to note, however, that true learning occurs only when students are actively engaged both in and out of class. (This is not just common sense; it is also backed up by decades of research!) Therefore, tasks will be given daily on Canvas in order to prepare you for the upcoming lesson. It is essential that you complete these tasks before coming to class, as the class will be taught with the assumption that these have been done. Students will find it challenging to follow along without having completed all required tasks in their entirety. Some tasks will be optional and therefore worth bonus points. The points you earn through quizzes, Canvas assignments, and other activities will comprise 10% of your grade. Because of the numerous point-earning opportunities given throughout the semester, we will not be automatically dropping any quiz grades. The overall grade will be capped so that no one receives more than 104% for this portion of the grade.   No assessment can be made up once it has been returned. If a quiz is missed due to an excused absence with documentation, it may be able to be made up by the following Thursday, but this is at the professor’s discretion and may depend on the type of quiz.  If such a situation exists where the quiz may not be made up for practical reasons but the student has documentation stating it was necessary to miss class, this one grade will be dropped.

You will receive a list of assigned homework problems from the textbook as well as some supplementary problems for sections 2.3, 3.7, 2.6, and 3.6. The textbook problems are broken into warm-up, required, and challenge problems. The required problems will be collected each week and will be worth 10% of your course grade. You will submit your first attempt at the problems electronically via Canvas. This is graded only on completion and will unlock an answer key which you will use to correct your work. You will then resubmit your complete work, with complete corrections, to a second assignment to receive full credit. The second assignment is required even if you get all answers correct on the first attempt. The warm-up problems are strongly recommended but may be skipped if you are very comfortable with that material. Several problems on the homework list are also available in WebAssign for additional practice. Completing WebAssign problems is optional.

Videos designed by the department have been created to support your success in this course. The links to these videos will be located in the Canvas course and on our department website, https://cst.temple.edu/department-mathematics/undergraduate/courses/supplementary-videos. Students will be assigned videos to watch prior to each class session in preparation for the next class meeting.  Watching these videos is not optional, but is a required component of the course necessary to allow for problem solving and practice with the content to occur in each class meeting.  While watching each video, students will complete a Video Note Sheet making note of essential terminology, all images and content presented in the video (including and especially the explanations provided), and noting at least two questions they have about the content.  This will be submitted on Canvas to earn credit for actively watching the video, and credit will only be assigned for complete Video Note Sheets with all required components included (if you do not include two questions, you cannot earn credit for the assignment).  Additionally, approximately 20 brief Canvas quizzes have been created about the material in these videos.  Students are required to take 12 quizzes throughout the semester – additional quizzes may be taken for Bonus Points.  Points from these tasks will be a component of the Quizzes and Points portion of the grade.

Under no circumstances is the use of personal electronic devices such as phones, computers, smart watches allowed during exams. All such items must be stowed away and out of sight for the duration of the exam. Any student found with such a device during an exam will not be allowed to complete the test, will receive a score of zero for the test, and will be reported to the Student Code of Conduct Board. In addition, under no circumstances, will students be allowed to bring in any kind of papers for use during the exam. Should a student need extra paper during a test, the proctor will provide it. Any student found using papers that they themselves brought into the exam will not be allowed to complete the test, will receive a score of zero for the test, and will be reported to the Student Code of Conduct Board.

While it may be presented in a variety of ways, the language of math is universal. From a young age, mathematical curiosity is present in humans across the globe and the beauty of its absolute truth and the infinite doors it can open are accessible to all. This classroom aims to enhance this atmosphere of embracing mathematical curiosity and the advancement of mathematical knowledge for all students, from all backgrounds. As the instructor, it is my responsibility to foster an environment where all students feel supported in their efforts to learn and understand the content, and are encouraged to offer their own ideas and suggestions to create a deeper learning experience. My intention is that the mutual respect between students and myself will allow for open communication and, when necessary, a dialog may take place regarding ways in which this classroom can be made more inclusive for all. I firmly believe each student in this class has valuable contributions to be made to our collective learning environment, and I will do my best to maintain an atmosphere in which these contributions are highly regarded by all.

Exams can only be rescheduled in cases of document emergencies or unavoidable conflicts, such as another class scheduled at that time. In the case of a DOCUMENTED EMERGENCY that prevents a student from taking a test as scheduled, the student must contact the instructor, the course coordinator (Dr. Meredith Hegg, mhegg1@temple.edu), and the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Dr. Boris Datskovsky, bdats@temple.edu) immediately to discuss alternative arrangements. Documentation must be provided within 48 hours of the missed exam. In case of an unavoidable personal conflict, students must contact their instructor, the course coordinator (Dr. Meredith Hegg, mhegg1@temple.edu), and the Director of Undergraduate Studies (Dr. Boris Datskovsky, bdats@temple.edu) no less than 2 weeks prior to the exam. Documentation may be required. No assessment can be made up once it has been returned. If a quiz is missed due to an excused absence with documentation, it may be able to be made up by the following Thursday, but this is at the professor’s discretion and may depend on the type of quiz.  If such a situation exists where the quiz may not be made up for practical reasons but the student has documentation stating it was necessary to miss class, this one grade will be dropped.

 

Because so many students need, want, and seek help specifically in math, we have also set up the Math TA and CA Consulting Center (MCC) in Wachman Hall. The MCC provides very popular free tutoring with tutors who are experts on our courses. The full schedule will be available on the Math Department website.