College Algebra at the University of Kentucky
MA 109 is a 3 credit hour class taught by several instructors in several sections. For office hours, meeting times, and contact information, please see the tables below.
College Algebra covers selected topics in algebra, such as a review of high school algebra, the quadratic formula, systems of linear equations, introduction to functions and graphing. Please see this more detailed schedule. In particular, we will cover solving equations (linear, quadratic, rational, exponential, and logarithmic), graphing using the Cartesian coordinate system (with special emphasis on lines and their slopes), solving systems of linear equations (with substitution and elimination), using technology such as graphing calculators, solving applied problems, and general functions (with emphasis on exponential, logarithmic, polynomial, and rational functions).
The 4 credit hour sections of MA109 are designated as a co-requisite course that offer an extra course credit hour. These sections meet the requirements of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education's guidelines for Developmental Education in the STEM field (http://cpe.ky.gov/policies/deved.html), and offer extra practice on pre-requisite materials for students who have not met college readiness benchmarks.
Students in sections 5, 13, 14, or 15 can find their syllabus here.
The Course Bulletin describes this 3 credit hour course as:
Selected topics in algebra. Develops manipulative algebraic skills and mathematical reasoning required for further study in mathematics and use in mathematical modeling. Includes brief review of basic algebra and graphing on the Cartesian coordinate plane, function notation and properties, and solving equations. Also covers special functions including linear, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic. This course is not available for credit to persons who have received credit in any mathematics course of a higher number with the exceptions of MA 111, 112, 123, 162, 201 and 202. Credit not available on the basis of special examination. Prereq: Two years of high school algebra and a Math ACT score of 21 or above or a Math SAT score of 510 or above or a Math SAT2016 score of 540 or above; or UK 096; or appropriate MathIndex; or grade of B or better in MA 111. Math placement test recommended.
The goal of this course is to prepare you to use the basic tools of algebra to manipulate both known and unknown numerical quantities. By succeeding in this course, you should be prepared to study elementary calculus (as presented in MA 123) as well as be able to understand and work with mathematical models in your other courses.
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
For a more comprehensive list of learning goals by unit, please see this document: MA 109 Learning Goals.
It is very important to keep up with your class and to inform your instructor as early as possible of any problems or concerns. Many instructors have hundreds of students, and so there may be delays or special requirements needed to handle what may appear to be simple problems. On the other hand our instructors are highly trained professionals and may be able to help you solve what seem like insurmountable challenges. In either case, the more time the instructor has to consider your case, the more likely you are to have a good result.
Instructors hold drop-in office hours at the times and places listed below. You can stop by to ask questions about the course material or structure. Most instructors also hold office hours in the Mathskeller where you can ask them (or any other instructor present) for help in the course.
| Instructor | Office Location | Office Phone | Office Hours | Mathskeller hours | |
| Melanie Brooks | melanie.brooks@uky.edu | POT 957 | TR 9:30am-11:00am | ||
| Scott Hader | scott.hader@uky.edu | POT 937 | T 2:00pm-3:50pm F 12:00pm-1:00pm |
||
| Calvin Hotchkiss | hotchkiss@uky.edu | POT 827 | MWF 2:00pm-3:00pm | ||
| Charlene Norman | cnorman12@live.com | POT 957 | TR 11:00am-12:00pm | ||
| Katherine Paullin | katherine.paullin@uky.edu | POT 729 | (859) 257-8836 | TR 8:30am-9:30am R 12:15pm-1:45pm |
Active, engaged class participation is required in all sections. Make sure you know when and where your class meets and make sure to bring appropriate materials to class (a way to view the textbook, a place to take notes, any calculator you want to practice using). Your active, engaged class participation is a major component of your final grade.
| Section | Instructor | Room | Time | Exams 1-3 room |
| 001 | Calvin Hotchkiss | CB 214 | MWF 9:00am-9:50am | FB 200 |
| 002 | Scott Hader | CB 214 | MWF 10:00am-10:50am | JSB 121 |
| 003 | Scott Hader | CB 214 | MWF 11:00am-11:50am | JSB 121 |
| 004 | Calvin Hotchkiss | CB 110 | MWF 1:00pm-1:50pm | FB 200 |
| 006 | Charlene Norman | CB 114 | TR 9:30am-10:45am | CB 110 |
| 007 | Katherine Paullin | CB 214 | TR 11:00am-12:15pm | BE 111 |
| 008 | Melanie Brooks | CB 214 | TR 8:00am-9:15am | CB 102 |
| 009 | Katherine Paullin | CB 214 | TR 9:30am-10:45am | BE 111 |
We have a MA 109 Student Guide which is a free resource for you in MA 109. This student guide was created to closely align with the course content being taught in College Algebra at UK.
The textbook College Algebra, by Jay Abramson and other contributors at OpenStax serves as an important reference work for the course. This textbook is available for free online.
Technology such as calculators can be very helpful for exploring mathematics. A simple ($10 to $30) calculator with powers and logs may be needed for some exam questions.
Using the calculator during a test for any reason other than performing the required calculations (for example, to recall a previously stored formula) will be considered cheating. You may use any graphing calculator that is allowed by ACT. Note that you will not be allowed to use the calculator on a cell phone, or any other communication device. Furthermore, you may not use any calculator that has a computer algebra system (CAS) or a QWERTY keyboard. In particular, you may not use the TI-Nspire CAS, any TI-89, any TI-92, the HP 48GII, any HP 40G, any HP 49G, any HP 50G, the Casio Algebra fx 2.0, the Casio ClassPad 300, the Casio ClassPad 330, or any Casio CFX-9970G.
A graphing calculator can be helpful for parts of the course. A standard choice is the TI-84 ($75 to $125). Most graphing calculators have the same basic functions, and you should be able to learn about your calculator by reading the manual. A free online graphing calculator such as Desmos may be easier and cheaper to use while still providing all the conceptual benefits, however it cannot be used on exams, so one should be familiar with whatever sort of calculator one decides to use. Exams require a scientific calculator (powers, e, log; TI-30 series, $10 to $30), or graphing calculator.
For any written solutions to problems in this course, students are expected to submit work that is clear, legible, and well-written. Students should show all their work in an organized manner, using complete sentences to explain their solutions and justify their computations.
The MA 109 Student Guide, textbook, and your instructor's office hours are invaluable resources. Additional resources are outlined below:
Practice exams will be posted in Canvas for each exam. The order of topics has changed significantly, so older exams may not be as useful. They are available upon request but are not recommended for current students.
The Mathskeller is located in CB 063 in the basement of the classroom building. Many Mathematics instructors will hold office hours in the Mathskeller. In addition, limited drop-in tutoring is available. The Mathskeller is open from 9am to 5pm Monday through Friday (except academic holidays) during the semester. Additional information is available at https://math.as.uky.edu/mathskeller/.
The Peer Tutoring Program offers FREE drop-in tutoring for many University of Kentucky (UK) core courses. Offering proactive assistance, the goal of the Peer Tutoring Program is to enhance students' academic experience as early and as often as possible. The Peer Tutoring Program provides a welcoming and friendly atmosphere for students to drop in, as they wish, to seek help on homework or exam prep, or simply to study in a group environment. Peer Tutors are nationally certified, well-trained undergraduate students who have successfully completed the course for which they tutor at UK. This makes them a great resource for questions about a professor or course format in addition to questions pertaining to the course material.
Peer tutoring is offered in several locations: See the MA 109 schedule for more information.
Your final grade is a letter grade A, B, C, D, or E. It is computed from several components (as indicated in the table). Each exam is taken in the evening, and has a very strict absence and cheating policy (be careful not to get a zero on the exam). Homework is completed online and requires internet access. The instructor score will measure active, engaged, in-class participation. It may be based on pre-class online quizzes, in-class activities or quizzes, or post-class online quizzes. Once the semester is over, including the final exam, your total points can be compared against the grading cutoffs table to find the matching letter grade. Any curve will be decided after the final exam is graded, but is unlikely to be significant barring unforeseen circumstances. A typical grade distribution is 20% of students assigned an A, 25% B, 20% C, 10% D, 10% E, and an additional 15% withdrawing. Grade distributions may change from semester to semester, but this provides a rough indicator of the difficulty students as a whole have with the course. Please note that there are limited retakes for the course.
| Grading components | |
| % | Assessment |
| 20% | Exam 1 |
| 20% | Exam 2 |
| 20% | Exam 3 |
| 20% | Final Exam |
| 12% | Online homework |
| 8% | Active participation |
| 100% | Total |
Your letter grade will be determined on the following scale:
| Grading cutoffs | |
| Minimum Percent | Grade |
| 90.00% | A |
| 80.00% | B |
| 70.00% | C |
| 60.00% | D |
| 0.00% | E |
Mid-term grades will be posted in myUK by the deadline established in the Academic Calendar.
There will be three midterm exams and one final exam, all worth 100 points each. Each exam is 120 minutes (2 hours). You must bring your student identification card with you to the exams!
Exams must be taken at the specified times and locations, or an alternate exam must be approved by the instructor. You are expected to take the exam without notes, textbooks, online access, or communication with your peers. You may use a calculator approved for use on the ACT.
| Exam | Date | Time |
| I | Wednesday, February 8, 2023 | 7:30 - 9:30 pm |
| II | Wednesday, March 8, 2023 | 7:30 - 9:30 pm |
| III | Wednesday, April 12, 2023 | 7:30 - 9:30 pm |
| Final Exam | Monday, May 1, 2023 | 6 - 8 pm |
Homework must be submitted online at WebWork, in the appropriate course as accessed from Canvas. Each student is responsible for submitting the assignment in a way and time that the server will accept. Internet outages, different clocks, and other technical difficulties that occur after 5pm on the due date are at your own risk.
The homework due dates are listed in the course schedule. Homework assignments are always due at 11:59 pm. There will be many homework sets throughout the semester. Note that a few of these assignments are due during Prep Week.
There are more than 620 homework points in the course, but the homework grade will be based on your best 550 points, with only 500 points required for full credit. Thus, if you earn X homework points in WeBWork, your homework score will be X/500. If you earn more than 500 points you will earn bonus points; however, the maximum allowed points is 550. (Technically, if you answer X homework problems correctly, your homework percentage will be (min(X,550)/500).
Active participation may require the use of Reef Technologies iClicker which costs about $15 (and can be used on your smart phone, tablet, or laptop). Active Participation may also require taking a short in-class quiz at the beginning (“entrance slip”), middle (“pop quiz”), or end (“exit slip”). You may be expected to bring your own index card to turn in the quiz or you may be asked to complete a Canvas quiz, Desmos activity, or written assignment digitally. Your instructor will determine the method of active participation for your class.
There are a number of important policies that can have a dramatic effect on your understanding and final grade in this course. These policies are intended to be uniform and simple, but if you have not read over them, they may have unexpected consequences.
The University of Kentucky provides an Academic Policy Statements web page, but summaries of policies are listed below.
See the Academic Calendar, the Common Hour Exam schedule, and the Final Exam Schedule.
| Monday, January 9 | First Day of Classes |
| Friday, January 13 | Last Day to Add |
| Friday, January 27 | Last Day to Drop |
| Wednesday, February 8 | Exam 1 (7:30-9:30pm) |
| Wednesday, March 8 | Exam 2 (7:30-9:30pm) |
| Monday, March 13 | Midterm grades |
| Monday, March 27 | Last Day to Withdraw |
| Wednesday, April 12 | Exam 3 (7:30-9:30pm) |
| Wednesday, April 26 | Last Day of Classes |
| Monday, May 1 | Final Exam (6-8pm) |
Active, engaged, in-class participation is mandatory and forms a major portion of your final grade. You should be ready to work when class begins (for example: seated, notes and pencil ready, attention to the front, quiet at 8:00am if the class starts at 8:00am). You should not pack up or leave until class is over (for example: you should still be working at 8:49am if the class ends at 8:50am). You should be prepared to take notes either with pencil and paper or your preferred electronic writing device. If you are meeting your instructor for class via an electronic meeting, please log in on time and stay for the whole class. It is recommended, for maximum benefit, that you have both audio and video access, if possible. If you have special circumstances, please contact your instructor before class begins so that they can excuse late arrivals or early departures. Unexcused late arrivals or early departures may result in significant reduction in participation grade for each day on which they occur.
An absence can only be excused if the instructor is notified within a week of the absence. The choice to excuse the absence is with the instructor, though excuses will be granted (given timely notification) according to University Senate Rule 5.2.4.2: namely (a) serious illness, (b) illness or death of a family member, (c) University related trips, (d) major religious holidays, (e) other reasons deemed reasonable by the instructor. In the case of (c) and (d) notification must be provided one week in advance. In all cases documentation may be requested to ensure the absence does meet the policy. For (a) a University Health Services Tier 2 or Tier 3 excuse is required, or a similar note from a health care provider who will confirm that you are a patient and were seen on the indicated day. Documentation that cannot be verified may result in the absence not being excused.
Absences can affect three major types of grades, and the policies for how absences affect each grade differ: Homework extensions should be requested before the homework solutions are available. Homework is available many weeks in advance, so that absences of type (c) and (d) can usually be handled without recourse to a homework extension. Active Participation measures a continued commitment to engaged and active participation with course content. Consult your individual instructor for details on how this will be measured, and how excused absences affect this measurement. Absences for exams are quite serious. An unexcused exam absence results in 0 for the exam grade, which may lower your final grade by two letter grades. To allow for exceptional circumstances, please speak with your instructor if an alternate exam is needed. We have a number of alternate times available to take each exam, and any reasonable request received before two weeks prior to the exam for one of those times will be automatically granted (excused). On the other hand last minute requests or requests that would require undue hardship are likely to be rejected (unexcused) or only given with a severe point penalty. Absences of type (a) and (b) should be reported within 24 hours of the exam to ensure that a reasonable accommodation can be found. Exam absences not reported within a week are automatically unexcused and result in a zero on the exam.
The University of Kentucky is committed to our core values of diversity and inclusion, mutual respect and human dignity, and a sense of community ( Governing Regulations XIV ). We acknowledge and respect the seen and unseen diverse identities and experiences of all members of the university community ( https://www.uky.edu/regs/gr14 ). These identities include but are not limited to those based on race, ethnicity, gender identity and expressions, ideas and perspectives, religious and cultural beliefs, sexual orientation, national origin, age, ability, and socioeconomic status. We are committed to equity and justice and providing a learning and engaging community in which every member is engaged, heard, and valued. We strive to rectify and change behavior that is inconsistent with our principles and commitment to creating a safe, equitable, and anti-racist environment. If students encounter such behavior in a course, they are encouraged to speak with the instructor of record or the college's diversity officer, who is charged with addressing concerns about diversity, equity, and inclusiveness (uky.edu/inclusiveexcellence/college-diversity-inclusion-officers). Students may also contact a faculty member within the department, program director, the director of undergraduate or graduate studies, the department chair, or the dean. To submit an official report of bias, hatred, racism, or identity-based violence, visit the Bias Incident Support Services website (https://www.uky.edu/biss/report-bias-incident). Official DEI Statement here.
Please notify your instructor in advance if you need accommodations due to disability. Exam accommodations require one week notice to get everything in place. Most accommodations can be worked out with the disability resource center. They will provide you with a letter for your instructor that should make finding accommodations easy. You should still check with your instructor that everything looks fine (and arrange a private meeting if details need to discussed).
All assignments, exams, quizzes, and exercises completed by students for this class should be the product of the personal efforts of the individual(s) whose name(s) appear on the corresponding assignment. Cheating or plagiarism is a serious offense and will not be tolerated. Any potential cheating case will be thoroughly investigated, and could lead to failure in the course or even expulsion from the university. See Student Rights and Responsibilities in the University Senate Rules (Sections 6.3.1 and 6.3.2) for information on cheating, plagiarism, and penalties. A summary of recent changes to rules on cheating can be found at the academic ombud website. The Senate-maintained web page of Academic Offenses Rules for Undergraduate and Graduate Students also lists all applicable course policies on academic offenses.
Students are expected to be actively participating during class. Students are also expected not to distract others. If you arrive late, leave early, are distracted by your phone, or are otherwise not actively engaged with the class you may not receive credit for participating that day. If you are disrupting class, you may be asked to leave.
College Algebra is traditionally a very difficult class, and many of your classmates will be having a hard time adjusting both to the university and to the demands of the class. You are expected to treat your classmates with respect. It is reasonable to disagree, but you should express your disagreement respectfully. Personal attacks or statements denigrating another on the basis of race, sex, religion, sexual orientation, gender or gender expression, age, national/regional origin or other such irrelevant factors are considered a severe disruption. Harassment will not be tolerated.
The University of Kentucky faculty are committed to supporting students and upholding the University's non-discrimination policy.
Discrimination is prohibited at UK. If you experience an incident of discrimination we encourage you to report it to Institutional Equity & Equal Opportunity (IEEO) Office, 13 Main Building, (859) 257-8927.
Acts of Sex- and Gender-Based Discrimination or Interpersonal Violence: If you experience an incident of sex- or gender-based discrimination or interpersonal violence, we encourage you to report it. While you may talk to a faculty member or TA/RA/GA, understand that as a "Responsible Employee" of the University these individuals MUST report any acts of violence (including verbal bullying and sexual harassment) to the University's Title IX Coordinator in the IEEO Office. If you would like to speak with someone who may be able to afford you confidentiality, the Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) program(Gatton Student Center C316) and Bias Incident Support Services in the Office of Institutional Diversity, the Counseling Center (104 Mandrell Hall), and University Health Services are confidential resources on campus.
Homework score and active participation score continue as usual. Homework is due and the typical measures of in-class participation will be present. No papers or exams will be given during Prep Week.
University Senate rule 4.3.3 allows department chairs to prevent a student from registering in a course for a third time, unless a student has withdrawn for urgent, non-academic reasons. The Department of Mathematics enforces this rule for students attempting a fourth registration in MA 109, 110, 113 and 137.