Over the years that I have taught calculus, I have come to realize that there is a singularly important indicator of one's prospects for success. It is not an innate gift that some have and others don't; it is simply one's command of all the tools of precalculus. If you can factor, sketch curves, evaluate trig functions, compose functions, add rational expressions, manipulate exponentials and logarithms, and generally swim in the precalc sea, then you are ready to understand and appreciate calculus for the beautiful and powerful subject it is. Thus...

This quarter you will be required to (mostly) complete a personal pie chart of topics from precalculus using the ALEKS customized precalculus course that has been set up for us.

Specifically, you will log on to the ALEKS website and register using the secret access code that I will pass out on the first day of class. Once in, you will be able to take a little tutorial about how to enter answers in ALEKS and will then be prompted to take an "Initial Assessment."

I did exactly this to see for myself how it should work. It took me about 75 minutes to do the initial assessment (you can take breaks and do it piecemeal if one 75 minute sitting sounds unpleasant.) Once I was done, ALEKS scored my work and made my personal "pie" illustrating what I was good at and what I needed to work on. (I got 211/215, by the way; the first person to beat my score on their initial assessment will receive a prize of immeasurable worth.)

Grading for the ALEKS component of our course is simple: you all have 20 ALEKS points right now and will keep these 20 points by completing 90% of your pie by midnight on Friday of the fourth week (10/16). If you don't complete 90% of your pie by this deadline, that 20 points is gone for good. It's that simple.

Now, you might do the initial assessment and be 90% or more complete after a couple of hours if your precalc is solid. On the other hand, if ALEKS finds that your precalculus is weak in several areas, it might take you a little bit each day for the first four weeks. It all depends on where you start. Please get started as soon as possible and don't wait until the last minute. Please do your own work -- the 20 points (a bit over 6% of your grade) are to give you an incentive to do it, but mostly this ALEKS is designed for you to see if your skill set is up to par. If it isn't, perhaps Math 141 isn't the place for you.

Don't hesitate to ask me if you get stuck trying to navigate ALEKS, I'll do my best to help guide you through that 90% threshold. Good luck!