Frequently Asked Questions

The following are my attempts at replying to some questions that have been asked about the course.

Q: Can I get an entry code for the course?

Reply: To my knowledge, the instructors will not have entry codes to give out until the second week of classes. During the first week of classes, please check STAR regularly. Due to drops, spaces may free up and some people have been able to get into the class that way. After the first week, you will need an entry code. The way this works is that I would give your name and student number to the Math Student Service (543-6830) and you would then contact MSS to get entry code from them.

Q: Why do we have to cover all these materials?

Reply: The course materials are from a recommended syllabus by the math department. The idea is to have a uniform set of materials and problems from which all 124 instructors are to teach. Uniform standard is important because courses and programs that use Math 124 as a prerequisite (such as Math 125) will be expecting that students coming through 124 have mastered these materials.

Q: Why is it that only a small number of the homework problems were graded?

Reply: There is only 1 grader for each section of about 70-80 students. Since the grader is employed to grade for only 6 hours per week per section (for seven weeks in the quarter), that average to about 4.5-5 minutes per student per homework. For this reason, I suggested to the grader to grade carefully 3 selected problems per homework set (1 point per problem), plus 1 point for the number of problems turned in.

Q: Can solutions of homework problems be posted?

Reply: We can post answers to some problems but detailed solutions will not be posted. This is because the same hmwk problems will be used in future quarters, and we wish to reduce the chance of detailed solutions being widely circulated.