Message Board Guidelines

• Appropriate use of the message boards
• Privacy and the message boards
• How to ask a good question
• How to answer someone else's question
• How to input math equations on a message board (or in email)

Since we are using the Blackboard message boards (discussion boards, discussion forums, bulletin boards, whatever you want to call them) in this course, it is important that everyone clearly understand how you should make use of them. Fortunately, if you keep in mind one simple rule, you should be okay:

The message boards are a part of this math class. Therefore, you should behave in using them like you would in a real classroom.

Everything else pretty much follows from this. The offiicial ACC policy on classroom behavior is:

Classroom behavior should support and enhance learning. Behavior that disrupts the learning process will be dealt with appropriately, which may include having the student leave class for the rest of that day. In serious cases, disruptive behavior may lead to a student being withdrawn from the class. ACC's policy on student discipline can be found in the Student Handbook page 32 or on the web at: http://www.austincc.edu/marketng/handbook/student_handbook_02-03.pdf

In particular, when you are posting to the message boards, please follow these rules:

• Always be polite and respectful when posting a message. (You don't have to "suck up" to people or pretend to be "Mr/Ms Happy". Just try to say things in a way that doesn't insult or put down other people.)
  
  
• If you disagree with someone, please say so in a diplomatic way. Would you be hurt/insulted/offended if someone else sent you something like what you wrote? If so, then you shouldn't be posting it. (Good: "When I worked this one out, I got x=7. In the third line of your answer, it looks like you forgot to multiply the -1 all the way through the parenthesis." Bad: "Don't you know anything? The answer is 7. Pay attention to your signs. It's pretty obvious.")
  
  
• Insults, harassment, and racial/ethnic/sexual jokes will not be tolerated on the message boards under any circumstances.
  
  
• Since this is a math class, please do not get into discussions about non-math related topics. It's fine to mention other things in passing (you don't have to think about all math all the time), but please try to stay basically on-topic. (This isn't such a big deal on the "Introductions and General Questions" section of the board, but don't go too wild...) If you want to really discuss other stuff in depth with someone, please do that in private email.
  
  
• No commercial content will be allowed on the message boards. (No ads, spam, etc.) If you have any doubt about the appropriateness of something, ask me.
  
  
• Private email should not be used to harass, insult, spam, etc. However, if you want to discuss other non-math things or to just have a discussion that isn't posted for everyone to see, email is the appropriate way to do that.
  
  
• Please try to avoid internet slang and other "public" message board behaviors (i.e., avoid "flame wars", don't write messages in all capital letters, stay away from internet acronyms, etc.). So, for example, the following message would not be such a good idea: "d00d, ch3k 0ut #7. tH4t j3rk sez anser iz 6 bUt i w4s rotfl sins i no its 4"
  

Honestly, I think most of these things are pretty obvious if everyone just uses common sense.

A note about how I will participate in the discussion boards:

I will not generally jump in to answer questions right away. If someone else can answer it, I would rather they got a chance first (otherwise nobody would ever get all their class participation points in...). However, I will try to keep tabs on the answers that are given and the questions that haven't gotten answered yet. If someone's answer isn't correct, I will try to jump in and make a comment (don't worry, I'm not going to try to embarrass anyone; everyone makes mistakes, including me). If a question has gone unanswered for a while, I will also try to post an answer. If I miss your question, however, please feel free to send me an email.

• Remember that you are asking someone else for help. Therefore, it is up to you to make it as easy for them to help you as possible (they are, after all, doing you a favor). For example, this means that you should put the original problem you are asking about in your message. Don't just say "On problem 37, what do you do first?" (Why should they bother to look it up? You should include the problem number in case they do want to look it up, however.)
  
  It also means that you have to make a real effort to make your message clear and understandable and to be careful how you enter the math (see the section below on inputting math into the message boards). You should also enter a subject for your message that tells people what to expect. ("Question" or "Help!" aren't really very useful subjects...) and try to describe your question in the body of the message as well as you can.
  
  
• You are asking someone for help, not to work the problem for you. So "How do you work this problem?" is not an acceptable question. If you have no idea what to do, you could ask "How do I get started on this?" or "What are the instructions really asking me to do here?" Or, if you have gotten started already "What is the next step?" And, of course, there is the ever popular "I solved the problem this way <insert work here> Can anyone see where I went wrong?"
  
  
• If you skip important steps, people won't be willing to try and guess what you did (or what you did wrong). See the examples below for more details.
  
  
• Don't ask trivial questions just to get your class participation credit (because you won't get any for this). If you honestly don't have any questions on the homework, think about any questions you have about how the math in that section is used or what happens in more complicated situations. You don't have to restrict your questions to just be over homework (in fact, I would really like to see some interesting discussions develop about some of these topics). Also, don't repeat someone else's question. If someone else has already asked a question about a specific homework problem or topic, read their question first to see if it answers your question. If not, then you may ask your question.
  
  
• Don't wait until the last minute to ask questions. Ask them as you come across them; someone else may notice it and answer pretty quickly. Be sure to look around for other questions while you are there. Some might give you a clue (or you might be able to answer someone else's question).

When you answer someone else's question, remember that your goal is to be helpful. Always try to answer questions like you want other people to answer your questions. (Think golden rule here and you should be fine...) Here are some guidelines to follow when answering questions:

• Remeber that you are not supposed to do the work for someone else; you are trying to give them help. Tell them what to do next, find where they made a mistake in their work, or explain something they aren't getting; don't just give them the problem all worked out.
  
  
• Do not ever insult or make fun of someone or their question. Everyone has questions and everyone should be able to ask those questions without being ridiculed. If you feel you can't respond to a question in a respectful manner, then don't respond at all. (Also, avoid the temptation to "show off" when answering a question. It isn't helpful and it can become very annoying after a while.)
  
  
• Remember that the goal of all of this is to help everyone learn math. Here is an important secret about learning math: You don't really understand math until you can explain it to someone else. So, believe it or not, you get just as much out of answering questions as you do out of asking them.
  
  
• If you need to refer to part of the original post, I suggest you cut and paste the parts you need to make it clear where the mistake occurred.
  
  
• Avoid "Me too" answers ("Yeah, I agree with what he said. You forgot to distribute through the parenthesis."). If you have something more to add to someone else's answer, that's fine, but you have to actually add something to the discussion to get credit.
  
  
• Try to scan the message boards pretty regularly (every day or two would be great) so that you can help people out reasonably quickly (and hopefully they will do the same for you). Besides, this gives you more choices of questions to answer for your class participation grade.

Here are some examples of good and bad answers (with the class participation grade, 0-2, that the message might receive):

In response to the following question:

On pg 131, prob 37:

Simplify:
-5x (3x^2 - 2x) + 7x^2

= -15x^3 - 10x + 7x^2
= -15x^3 + 7x^2 - 10x 

But the answer manual 
says -15x^3 + 17x^2 
What did I do wrong? 

Some possible replies:

Reply	Grade	Comments
Check your signs, doofus.	0	Do I really have to say anything about the attitude here? Just say no... Also, it doesn't give any real indication of where the problem is (and only gets part of the problem)
You distributed through the parenthesis wrong.	1	This correctly identifies the problem (both problems come from this mistake) It could be more helpful, however.
When you multiplied through the parenth. here: -5x (3x^2 - 2x) + 7x^2 you forgot to multiply the -5x times -2x, so you should have gotten: = -15x^3 + 10x^2 + 7x^2 Combine like terms now...	2	Very clear explanation Quoted original work Leaves the rest of the problem for the poster to finish

 

In response to this (different) question:

Solve:
3 (x - 4) - 2 = 5x + 7
3x - 12 - 2 = 5x + 7
3x - 14 = 5x + 7


What is the next
step? I know I need to
get it to look like
x = 5 (or whatever) How?

Some possible replies:

Reply	Grade	Comments
You work it like this: 3 (x - 4) - 2 = 5x + 7 3x - 12 - 2 = 5x + 7 3x - 14 = 5x + 7 -2x = 21 x = -21/2	0	This isn't help, it is just the solution (showing off a bit). It also skipped an important step the person was clearly not getting. (If I were in a good mood, I might give this 1 point...)
For the next step, you need to get all the x's on one side and the numbers on the other. If we move all the x's to the left side: 3x - 14 - 5x = 5x + 7 - 5x -2x - 14 = 7 We can then move the numbers to the right side: -2x - 14 + 14 = 7 + 14 -2x = 21 Now finish it.	2	This is very good (probably a bit more thorough than most people will do) You don't have to type things out in as much detail as I did here. See below for the short version
Get all x's on one side and all numbers on other. 3x - 14 - 5x = 5x + 7 - 5x -2x - 14 = 7 -2x - 14 + 14 = 7 + 14 -2x = 21 Now finish	2	This isn't quite as nice as the previous version, but it still gets the point across in plenty of detail

 

Unfortunately, there isn't an easy way to enter standard math notation into the message boards (or email). You have to do the best you can using plain text. Here are some basic rules:

• Use the following symbols:
  • Multiplication: * (so 2*3)
  • Division: / (so 5/7)
  • Powers: ^ (so 3^2 = 9, or x^3)
  • Absolute value: | (so |-7| = 7; you find this symbol on the \ key)
• Use plenty of parentheses. This is esepecially true when writing fractions. Here are some examples:
  • x - 4 / 7 isn't clear; does this mean x - (4/7) or (x-4)/7?
  • 3x / (x-2)
  • (2/3) - (-3/5)
• Add in some extra spaces around +, -, and =. It is just easier to read.

Examples: (These examples are from a Basic Math Skills course that I borrowed from Mary Parker, but the basic issues are the same. You probably won't need to show quite as many steps when you do your work. Think of it as a quick review of some Basic Math skills...)

In many cases there are easier and better ways to show the
work using paper and pencil. Use those easier and better
ways as you do homework and on the test.

Example 1: Factor 252 completely.

Solution:
252 = 2 * 126
= 2 * 2 * 63
= 2 * 2 * 7 * 9
= 2 * 2 * 7 * 3 * 3
= 2 * 2 * 3 * 3 * 7

Comments: Notice that, although the factor tree is a nice
way to find the factors, it is not convenient to put it into
an email message. And, on tests, sometimes students show
the factor tree, but neglect to show the final factored
form for the answer. So it is good to practice this.
Also, notice that it is not convenient to show exponential
notation using only text. You should be able to show
exponential notation when you take the test, of course.)

---

Example 2: Solve 4*5+7*10 = 4x + x

Solution:
4*5+7*10 = 4x + x
20+70 = 5x
90 = 5x
90/5 = 5x / 5
18 = x

Comments: Sometimes students prefer to skip steps.
On a test, you must show all steps to get full credit.
Even in working problems for practice, you should write
all the steps until you can see them in your mind so
clearly that you don't need to write them in order to see them.

---

Example 3: Multiplying fractions:
Do the indicated operation: (12/35)*(14/45)

Solution:
(12/35)*(14/45)
= (12*14) / (35*45)
= (2*6*2*7) / (5*7*9*5)
= (2*3*2*2) / (5*3*3*5)
= (2*2*2)/(5*3*5)
= 8/75

Comments: Many students actually multiply together the
two numerators and the two denominators in the first step.
They get large numbers and then have to reduce the
resulting fraction. Since the numbers are so large,
many students make mistakes in reducing. It is much
easier to indicate what should be multiplied and then
factor them before multiplying to get large numbers.
Then it is easy to see how to reduce the fraction.

---

Example 4: Adding fractions.
a. Find a common denominator for 28 and 42. Show all work.
b. Use that to add 11/28 + 5/42. Show the equivalent
fractions and your answer.

Solution:
a. 28=2*2*7 and 42=2*3*7, so denom = 2*2*3*7 = 84
b. 11/28 + 5/42
= 11/(2*2*7) + 5/(2*3*7)
= (11*3)/(2*2*7*3) + (5*2)/(2*2*3*7)
= 33/84 + 10/84
= (33+10)/84
= 43/84

Comments:
Students often want to find the common denominator by
"inspection." That doesn't work in all cases. It's a
good idea to use a method that will always work. And,
of course, remember that you only need to find a common
denominator when adding or subtracting fractions,
NOT when multiplying or dividing fractions.

---

Example 5: Solving percent problems.
To find the selling price of a TV, the dealer multiplies
the wholesale price by 130%. If the selling price of a
particular TV was $195, what is the wholesale price of the TV?

Solution: Let x = the wholesale price

Wholesale price / wholesale percent = original price / original percent
x/100 = 195/130
x*130 = 195*100
(x*130)/130 = (195*100)/130
x = 150
So the wholesale price is $150.

Comments: There are several different ways to correctly
write the ratios needed here, but there are also some
incorrect ways. To receive full credit for your solution,
you must show the ratios you use and they must be correct.
See my supplemental handout on this section for more
discussion of the ratios.

---

Example 6: Order of operations: Perform the indicated
operations and simplify.
16 + 20 / 5 * 2 - (-7)
= 16 + 4 * 2 - (-7)
= 16 + 8 - (-7)
= 24 + ( +7)
= 31

Comments: Sometimes students can get the correct answer
while doing more than one operation per step. But almost
no one can reliably get them correct in that fashion.
Show all steps, one at a time. Also, students often do
not notice that the rule says "multiplications and divisions,
in order, from left to right." In this problem, that means
the division comes before the multiplication, since the
division comes first.

---

Example 7: Adding positive and negative numbers
Simplify: -13 - (-4) - 8 + (-6)

Solution:
-13 - (-4) - 8 + (-6)
= -13 + (+4) + (-8) + (-6)
= -9 + (-8) + (-6)
= -17 + (-6)
= - 23

Comments: Students who try to do problems like these
in any fashion less well-organized than this almost
always miss some of them on tests.
1. Replace each subtraction with addition of the opposite.
2. Keep each step equivalent to the one before it.
3. Do one operation in one step.
4. Keep doing steps until you have done all the operations.

---

Example 8:

Find the perimeter and area of the figure in p. 457, F5.2 #136.
(This figure is a rectangle surmounted by a semicircle. The triangle
at the bottom of the figure is not relevant either to the area or
perimeter of the overall figure.)

Solution:

Perimeter = distance around the circular part of the semicircle +
length of bottom + length of left side + length of right side

perimeter = (1/2)*(2*pi*r) + 15 + 4.2 + 4.2
perimeter = 23.55 + 15 + 8.4
perimeter = 46.95 meters

area = area of semicircle + area of rectangle
area = (1/2)*(pi*r^2) + l*w
area = (1/2)*(3.14* 7.5^2) + 15*4.2
area = 88.3125 + 63
area = 149.3125 meters^2

Comments:

1. Notice that the radius of the semicircle is 15/2 = 7.5

2. Recall that the perimeter of a circle is 2*pi*r and since
this is half a circle, we need half that for the perimeter
of the semicircle. Use the same idea for the area.

3. Notice also that all measurements are in meters and so the
result for the perimeter will be in meters and the result for
the area will be in square meters.

4. Also notice that I denote the square of a number as 3*3=3^2=9

---

Example 9:

Convert 30 miles per hour to feet per second.

Solution: Need miles / hour = feet / second
So we need to divide by miles and multiply by feet
to get the length done. That's 5280 feet / 1 mile.

And we need to multiply by hours and divide by seconds.
We can do that in one step or two steps.
Here's how to condense two steps to one:
(hours / minutes) * (minutes / seconds)
So we have: (1 hours / 60 minutes) * (1 minutes / 60 seconds)
= 1 hour / 3600 seconds (cancelling out the minutes.)

So

(30 miles) / 1 hour
= (30 miles / 1 hour ) * (5280 feet / 1 mile) * (1 hour / 3600 seconds)
= (30 * 5280 * 1) / (1 * 1 * 3600) (feet / seconds)
= ( 5280) / (120) feet/second
= 44 feet/second

---

Example 10: Solve 0.2x + 1.8 = 3.2

Solution:
0.2x + 1.8 = 3.2
0.2x + 1.8 - 1.8 = 3.2 - 1.8
0.2x = 1.4
0.2x / 0.2 = 1.4 / 0.2
x = 7

---

Example 11: The measurement of the second angle of a triangle is 30 degrees
more than the measurement of the first angle. The measurement of the third angle
is 22 degrees less than twice the measurement of the first angle. What are the
measurements of all three angles?

Solution: Let x = measurement of the first angle
Let x + 30 = measurement of the second angle
Let 2x - 22 = measurement of the third angle
first + second + third = 180
x + x + 30 + 2x - 22 = 180
4x + 8 = 180
4x + 8 - 8 = 180 - 8
4x = 172
4x / 4 = 172/4
x = 43
So the first angle is 43 degrees.
Second: x + 30 = 43 + 30 = 73 degrees
Third: 2x - 22 = 2(43) - 22 = 86 - 22 = 64 degrees

Check: Since the three angles of a triangle must sum to 180, we add these and see what it equals. 43 + 73 + 64 = 180.
So it checks!
Answer: The triangle has angles of 43 degrees, 73 degrees, and 64 degrees.