Finite Mathematics, Section 4
Math 139
Spring 2004

Instructor: Prof. Dr. rer. nat. Henri Schurz
Time: MWF 10:00am - 10:50am, Location: WHAM 306
Office Hours: MWF 9:00am - 9:50am, 11:30am - 12:30pm
(Last Update: 04/13/04)

Old sample exams and solutions are available from the central departmental webpage on courses!


  • Textbook: Finite Mathematics: An applied approach, 7th Edition. by M. Sullivan, Prentice Hall, Boston, 2000.



    Read this Without Tears: WHAT IS EXPECTED OF YOU (From "Teaching at the University Level" by Stephen Zucker, Notices Amer. Math. Soc. 43 (1996), p. 863):

  • 1. You are no longer in high school. The great majority of you, not having done so already, will have to discard high school notions of teaching and learning and replace them by university-level notions. This may be difficult, but it must happen sooner or later, so sooner is better. Our goal is more than just getting you to reproduce what was told you in the classroom.
  • 2. Expect to have material covered at two to three time the pace of high school. Above that, we aim for greater command of the material, especially the ability to apply what you have learned to new situations (when relevant).
  • 3. Lecture time is at a premium, so it must be used efficiently. You cannot be "taught" everything in the classroom. It is YOUR responsibility to learn the material. Most of this learning must take place outside the classroom. You should be willing to put in two hours outside the classroom for each hour of class.
  • 4. The instructor's job is primarily to provide a framework, with some of the particulars, to guide you in doing your learning of the concepts and methods that comprise the material of the course. It is not to "program" you with isolated facts and problem types nor to monitor your progress.
  • 5. You are expected to read the textbook for comprehension. It gives the detailed account of the material of the course. It also contains many examples of problems worked out, and these should be used to supplement those you see in the lecture. The textbook is not a novel, so the reading must often be slow-going and careful. However, there is the clear advantage that you can read it at your own pace. Use pencil and paper to work through the material and to fill in omitted steps.
    • (till here: extracted from Joe Mashburn (Uni Dayton)/ joe.mashburn@udayton.edu)
  • 6. Do not expect that exam problems are exactly the same as in homework problems. Homework problems should be understood to strengthen and to improve your knowledge on subject related issues.
  • 7. Work with your TA's as much as you can and form study groups if necessary, ask subject related questions, and be active.
  • 8. Read further additional literature (Do not stick to course material completely!). The professors can always give you more literature hints.
  • 9. Make always written notices what the instructor tells you about the subject, work through your course notes after the lectures promptly and continuously.
  • 10. We all expect mutual respect, polite, correct, honest and sincere personal behaviour on student's and instructor's side as it should be common among human beings.

  • Course Description: This course is the first treatment of major mathematical, but calculus-oriented topics of sets, counting, elementary probability, line sketching, linear systems of equations, matrices, linear programming and the simplex algorithm. It is meant to be a basic introduction for beginners into something what is called "finite math" somewhere.

  • Prerequisites and Development of Contents: This course should be accessible to any student with a $C-$ in College Algebra / Precalculus or placement exam. However, I strongly advice you to review your knowledge which you should know from high school math in your previous carrier. I will always assume that you profoundly know the facts from that part, including most important standard formulas. The content of this course itself should very nearly coincide with that of our textbook, running through chapters 6, 7, 1 and 2. I am not perfect. However, be sure that I will do my very best to please you and your expectations.

  • Readings, Problem Sets, Exams: Readings and problem sets will be from the text and my manuscript, and it will be assigned in classes and perhaps additionally published at my homepage. Exams will cover all material covered in the lectures, recitation classes and/or the readings. The authors seem to have put some fair effort into their presentation from very practically oriented point of view, and her approach is probably quite different from what you've seen before (hopefully not). Thus, I really encourage you to read the book as lectures advances and to be aware of the symbol page of our course (see below).

  • Exam Dates:



  • Grading Strategies - Grade Distribution:

    Course Syllabus (To be uploaded, Last Update: 01/12/04) - You will need an utility like ghostview to read it!

    Course Symbol Page (Last Update: 01/12/04) - You will need an utility like ghostview to read it!



  • Remarks for the Prerequisites and First Week:



  • Remarks for the 1st Midterm Exam:



  • Remarks for the 2nd Midterm Exam:



  • Remarks for the 3rd Midterm Exam:



  • Remarks for the Final Exam:



  • Current Course Outline (Last Update: 04/13/04, Need to be Revised):



  • Remarks for Homeworks, Quizzes and Recitation Classes:



  • Homework Assignments (Revised in class, if necessary):