Big Sandy Community and Technical College

Course Syllabus
PS Number: 82967 Semester: Spring Year: 2023

Faculty Name: Toufic Saad Title: Professor

Course Prefix and Number: MAT 61 Credit Hours: 4

Course Prerequisites: KCTCS Placement Policy.

Course Title: Foundations of College Algebra

Catalog Course Description: Prepares students to take College Algebra with College Algebra
Workshop. Introduces operations on integers, decimals, and fractions; ratios, proportions, and
percents; simplifying radicals and algebraic expressions; solving linear and quadratic equations;
linear inequalities; solving formulas; factoring; slope and graphing lines.

Instructor Contact Information

Campus Location: Prestonsburg Building & Room: Campbell Science, 120M

Office Hours: (when available to students outside the classroom in my office or online via
Blackboard Collaborate):

• Monday: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. (including 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. online)
• Tuesday: 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. (including 1:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m. online)
• Wednesday: 12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m.
• Thursday: 12:00 p.m.-2:00 p.m.

• You can also contact me to schedule an appointment if the hours above are not convenient
for you. The preferred method to contact me is via Blackboard Messages instead of e-mail.
• I respond to e-mails, Blackboard messages, return phone calls, and answer questions within
48 hours from the date and time they are received.
• I am also available to address questions regarding the course material via the "Ask My
Instructor" feature in Pearson MyLab Math.

Office Phone Number: 606-889-4771 Alternate Phone Number: 606-886-3863, ext. 94771

Best Time to Call: During normal business hours: M-F 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.

KCTCS Email: [email protected]

Special Instructions: Instead of e-mail me, I would prefer that you message me using
Blackboard's Messages feature.

Supervisor Contact Information

Name: Dr. Lisa Music

Campus Location: Prestonsburg Building & Room: Pike 107F

Office Phone Number: 606-889-4760

KCTCS Email: [email protected]

Book Information

Text and Supplies:

Introductory Algebra by Martin-Gay, 6th Edition, Pearson Publishing (Recommended) and a
course charge in order to access the course material including homework assignments online.

KCTCS General Education Competencies

Students should prepare for twenty-first century challenges by gaining: 
 
A. Knowledge of human cultures and the physical and natural worlds through study in the
sciences and mathematics, social sciences, humanities, histories, languages, and the arts.
Method to Achieve Competency:
N/A
B. Intellectual and practical skills, including
 inquiry and analysis
 critical and creative thinking
 written and oral communication
 quantitative literacy
  information literacy
 teamwork and problem solving
Method to Achieve Competency:
In order to address the Inquiry and Analysis; Critical and Creative Thinking domains:
Students will be evaluated in this course by their performance on competency based
questions on the final exam
C. Personal and social responsibility, including
 civic knowledge and engagement (local and global)
 intercultural knowledge and competence
 ethical reasoning and action
 foundations and skills for lifelong learning
Method to Achieve Competency:
N/A
D. Integrative and applied learning, including synthesis and advanced accomplishment
across general and specialized skills. Method to Achieve Competency:
N/A

Course Specific Competencies (Student Outcomes):

Upon completion of MAT 061, the student can: (tasks)
1. Perform operations on integers and decimals.
2. Find the prime factorization and least common multiple of whole numbers.
3. Add, subtract, multiply, divide, and simplify fractions.
4. Simplify ratios and rates, and solve application problems involving proportions.
5. Convert between decimals and percents, and calculate percent change.
6. Simplify radicals and find decimal approximations.
7. Apply common units for length, area, volume, time, currency, or speed.
8. Simplify numeric expressions using the order of operations.
9. Simplify algebraic expressions.
10. Solve linear equations in one variable.
11. Solve a formula for a given variable.
12. Solve linear inequalities in one variable. Write the solution set, including compound
inequalities, in interval notation and set builder notation.
13. Identify and plot points in the Cartesian coordinate system.
14. Find the slope of a line.
15. Graph lines using a table of solutions, slope-intercept form, and intercepts.
16. Add, subtract, and multiply polynomials.
17. Factor polynomials by factoring common factors, grouping, and special products; and
factor general trinomials.
18. Simplify rational expressions.
19. Solve quadratic equations by factoring.
20. Identify and evaluate linear, polynomial, rational, and exponential functions.
21. Solve application problems based on the above competencies

Lab Competencies (Student Outcomes): (Enter N/A if this does not apply.)
N/A

Course Outline:
I. Pre-Algebra
A. Operations on Integers, Decimals, and Fractions
B. Simplifying Radicals
C. Ratios, Rates, and Proportions
D. Percents and Percent Change
E. Measurement and Unit Conversion
F. Order of Operations
G. Translating Between Words and Algebraic Expressions

II. Linear Equations and Linear Inequalities

A. Checking Solutions of Equations
B. Simplifying Algebraic Expressions
C. Solving Linear Equations
D. Solving Linear Inequalities
E. Set-Builder and Interval Notation
F. Solving Formulas
G. Applications

III. Polynomials and Quadratic Equations

A. Polynomial Operations
B. Factoring
C. Simplifying Rational Expressions
D. Solving Quadratic Equations
E. Applications

IV. Graphing
A. Identifying Functions
B. Evaluating Functions
C. Plotting Points
D. Tables of Solutions
E. Intercepts
F. Slope
G. Equation of a Line
H. Graphing Lines

Note: Not all sections will be covered in some chapters. At the discretion of the instructor,
additional topics may be included if time permits.

Course Structure:
Class material video lectures and e-text links are posted online in the course Blackboard shell.
Homework assignments are to be completed online using Pearson MyLab Math.

Technology/Media Component:
N/A

Service Learning:
N/A

Course Requirements and Evaluation:

Homework: 100%

The course activities require that you watch the lecture videos for the designated sections in
their respective chapter modules and complete a total of 38 online homework assignments
using Pearson MyLab Math.

Homework assignments will be required to be completed online using Pearson MyLab Math by
their respective due dates according to the course weekly calendar which is posted in
Blackboard's course shell.

You have unlimited number of attempts to complete your homework assignments.

Homework assignments sessions are not timed.

There will also be four sets of group discussion applications problems required to be
completed. There are two parts to each set:

Part I consists of the discussion questions you will be required to complete by interacting with
others in the group you will be assigned to in order to formulate answers to these problems for
each one of the fours sets. Part I group discussion questions are not graded.

Part II consists of an individual relevant assignment you will be required to complete in Pearson
MyLab Math in order to reflect on the group's solutions discussions. Each one of the four
individual assignments completed in MyLab Math will count as a homework assignment.
if a student does not participate in the discussion problems, he/she will forfeit 50% of the grade
on the corresponding individual MyLab Math assignment that is required to be completed
thereafter.

The group discussion problems will be assigned throughout the semester and are located in the
chapter modules. It is imperative that you complete Part I and II of these discussions questions
problems by the dates stated in the weekly course calendar.
Grading Policy:

90 - 100 = A
80 - 89 = B
70 - 79 = C
Below 70 = F

You grade for the course is calculated by computing the average (mean) of all required 38
homework assignments. Grades will be posted in Blackboard's Gradebook.

Attendance Policy:

Homework assignments need to be completed by the due dates posted online according to the
course weekly calendar which is located in Blackboard's course shell.

Missed Exam Policy:

N/A

Late Assignment Policy:

Classwork submissions are required to be completed on time according to the weekly course
calendar.

Withdrawal Policy:

Students can officially withdraw from class up to the official last day to withdraw from a class
(midterm) and receive a grade of “W”.

After midterm, students wishing to withdraw can do so at the instructor’s discretion. The
instructor will allow the student to withdraw with a grade of “W” by the last day of classes prior
to finals week only if the student has continued to attend the class, participate in the course,
and in the opinion of the instructor, made a reasonable effort to pass the course.

SAFETY STATEMENT
Big Sandy Community and Technical College must remain flexible to meet challenges that may
include epidemics, pandemics, natural disasters, human-influenced disasters, and any and all
threats to the College campus, students, employees, and surrounding communities. To ensure
the safety and well-being of our constituencies, BSCTC maintains the right to move classes
temporarily or permanently to online, remote platforms; to a hybrid section that includes some
face-to-face learning and some remote learning; or to a different campus, location, building, or
time. Additionally, the College reserves the right to institute plans or practices in the physical
classroom/lab/activity spaces and common areas to protect students and faculty. BSCTC will
attempt to make these changes as minimally disruptive as possible and reserves the sole right
to alter the particular type, place, or time for our classes.

Additional information can be found at the following site:

Go here to read the BSCTC Academic Policy & Procedures Web Page