Group Project Assessment

Please use the link below to assess your group members' (and your own) contributions to the group project.  You must be logged in to your missouri western account to see the survey below. Alternatively you may use this link to fill out the survey https://docs.google.com/a/missouriwestern.edu/forms/d/14EVQT92Uwj6xqMrTsu26GWVO6INSiLAVqs98INUimj0/viewform?usp=fb_send_twt. This survey must be filled out by Friday, April 22 to count towards your grade.  Not every group has the same number of members, so you may leave blank any slots that are extra for your group.  Just click next to get to the end so that you may submit your answers.

Group Presentations - Week 13

Your group presentations are scheduled for in class this week.  Your group assignments are posted on the blog - you have been assigned to present either Tuesday or Thursday.  Your (typed) final project is due in class on Thursday.  The guidelines for the final project are posted on the blog and in your google drive folders.  You have also received an email with the guidelines attached.

Many of you have struggled with typing mathematics in your project drafts.  I have uploaded a small example to the blog to show you how to use Microsoft Word to type equations.  I have also uploaded a document explaining how to write mathematics in full sentences.  

I will be sending a separate email with a link to a google form to evaluate your group members' contributions.  Please fill out the form when you receive it. 

Finally, I will reopen the WebWork homework this week.  It will remain open until April 30.  You may go back and complete any assignments that you missed throughout the semester.  I would strongly encourage you to do this, not only to bring up your homework grades, but also to prepare for the final exam. 

Baby Boy McCune

Kieran Mark McCune arrived April 11, 2016, weighing in at 7 lbs, 11oz and measuring 20 inches long.  Baby and mom are doing well.

Financial Math - Week 12

Remember that I will be out on maternity leave the rest of the semester.  Dr. Rice or Dr. Waters will be filling in as your sub.  Your Financial Math exam is scheduled on Thursday, April 14.  The review for the exam can be found on the right side of the blog; please make sure you have it printed out to discuss in class on Tuesday.

Your last draft of objectives for the group project are due on Tuesday, April 12.  These need to be typed and submitted in your google drive folders.  I will give you feedback on them as quickly as possible.

Good luck on the exam this week!

Financial Math - Week 11

This week we are finishing up our discussion of financial math with amortized loans.  We will be talking about how to refinance a loan and what effect paying ahead on a loan has on your loan.  The formulas for these two problems are a little more complicated than the other formulas we have used thus far this semester, so you'll want to be sure to spend extra time working the homework and sample problems over this material.

Don't forget that next week you will have an exam over financial math.  The exam review is available in the links on the right side of the screen.

Also, don't forget that your final presentations of your group project will be given in class the week of April 19-21.

MAT110(E):05 Group Project Presentation Assignments

Tuesday, April 19

Group 1 - Euler's Pi
Alexis Picket
Tara Brock
Elle Haight
Pam Snyder

Group 2 - BaSiL Pizza
Lyle Simon
Shelby Lasley
Beau Hill

Group 3 - Cookie Fantastico
Savannah Gully
Samantha Robinson
Brittney Williams
Andrea Ebling



Thursday, April 21

Group 4 - Pizza Math/Best Ice Cream
Sean Gray
Taylor Smith
Duncan Miller
Leba Korovou

MAT110(E):04 Group Project Presentation Assignments

Tuesday, April 19

Group 1 - Cookie Crumble
Danyel Becker
Shan Xiong
Jenifer Yang

Group 2 - Espressoself
Abby Sexton
Robert Vardiman
Maiya Jackson
Riley Trowbridge

Group 3 - Pizza Joe
Sarah Raynor
Nayelly Barron

Group 4 - The Coffee Hut
Paige Griffee
Megan Bailey
Brandon Harrison


Thursday, April 21

Group 5 - Food and Junk and Stuff
Andrew Garrett
Sara Pepper
Sean Taylor
Colton Locke

Group 6 - Kalena Pizza Shop
Octavia Riley
Kalena Thompson
Brooklyn Hinton

Group 7 - Danni's Pizza Delivery Co
Connor Haynes
Danni McMiller
Stephon Weaver
Markell Harmon

Group Project - Final Guidelines

Your group project presentations will be on Tuesday, April 19 and Thursday, April 21.  Your written project will be due in class on Thursday, April 21.  You should follow the following guidelines in constructing your final project and presentation. (These guidelines have also been uploaded to your google drive folder.)

Math 110E Group Project Final Draft Guidelines

            The final component of your group project is made up of two components – a large writing assignment and a presentation.  Your job will be to not only solve the problem, but to present the solution so that others understand your solution.  This is a group project; it is expected that every member of a group actively participate in the project and contribute to the final result.  Groups should be 2-4 people in size.  Below are the general guidelines that should be followed in writing the final draft of your project.

The Written Portion (50 points):

• The paper should be typed in 12 point font, double spaced with one inch margins, and should be 7-12 pages in length (including any pictures and data tables) and stapled.
• Each group member’s name should be included on the title page
• Include any outside references or sources used cited in proper APA or MLA format
• The written portion of the paper will be due in class on Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Presentation (40 points):

• 10-20 minutes in length
• Should be given as if you were presenting your results to an investor.
• Presentation should include at least 3 of the objectives you solved to help improve your business.
• You should use PowerPoint to create your presentation and use any charts and/or graphs to help support your case.
• Presentations will be given the week of April 19-21.  You will be assigned a presentation date by April 12.

Individual Contribution (10 points):

·      Each group member will evaluate the contributions of their fellow group members throughout the project.

The following questions will be considered in grading of the project:

Paper quality and accuracy:

• Did they use proper grammar?
• Are the ideas well organized?
• Did they use proper referencing of data and formulating of work?
• Did they correct errors from initial drafts?
• Does the paper contain numerical accurate data?
• Did they use proper mathematical formulas and vocabulary?

Presentation and Creativity:

• Do the display of data and graphics contribute to the work?
• Were they creative in the development of the project?
• Is the paper properly pitched to the intended audience?
• Was the presentation clear?
• Was the presentation consistent with the information given?

Financial Math - Week 10

Class on Tuesday, March 29th is canceled. You should read the notes over the unpaid balance method and average daily balance method (slides 38 - 48) and try the homework.  I will answer any questions you have on Thursday and we will start with annuities.  The video below gives a nice example of how to use the average daily balance.  Please watch the video to help you calculate the finance charge. 

The next video below shows how to find the finance charge using the unpaid balance method.

Challenge Problem: Look up several credit card offers (at least 3).  Describe the offers that you find.  What benefits do they offer? How is the interest calculated? What is the interest rate? Describe the advantages and disadvantages to each card.  Be sure to include links to your references.

Group Projects

Just a friendly reminder - your drafts for the Probability and Statistics Objectives for the group project were due last Friday.  If your group did not complete this draft, please let me know when you have uploaded it to your google drive so that I can give you feedback on these objectives before you turn in the final project. 

Your Financial Math Objectives have been uploaded to your group google drive folders.  You should begin working on those now.  When you submit your draft, it should be a single typed document containing all of the work to answer the two objectives.  I will be uploading directions for your final draft and group presentations soon, so that you can begin compiling all of your work into one document. 

Financial Math - Week 9

We will be starting the Financial Math unit this week in class.  Please make sure you print out the notes and bring them with you to class.  We will start this week with a discussion of interest - simple interest and compound interest.  There will be a lot of formulas in this unit, and you will need to practice with them to get comfortable using them.  I will provide you with the formulas (unlabeled) for the exam, so you need to focus on identifying what formulas apply to what problems.  In addition, it will be very important to remember your calculator for class every day in this unit - you don't want to have to do these calculations by hand!

Those of you in MAT099 should have been reviewing logarithms and exponentials in that class recently.  We will be using logarithms to help solve problems in this unit; if you need additional review of logarithms, please see me.  The webpage below is also a good source of review for problems involving logs and exponents.

Exponential and Logarithmic Equations

Challenge Problem: If I invest my money into an account earning 4.13% interest, compounded weekly, determine how long it will take for my investment to double.

Probability and Statistics - Objective 2

The video below provides some guidance to answering objective 2 of the Probability and Statistics objectives for your group project.

New Blog Prompt - Probability

The blog post below is due by Friday, March 18.  

Your blog post this week should have two parts.  First, give me an update on your group projects.  How are the projects going? Is your group working well together? I know not all groups are able to find time to meet.  This is fine if you are dividing the work and still communicating with one another via email.  Just keep in mind, you will all share the same final grade on the projects. 

For the second part of your blog post, please visit the site below.  This website provides many applets to model probability experiments.  Of particular interest to you may be the examples under "Finite Sampling Models", "Dice", and "Games of Chance".  Play with 2 or 3 of the applets and in your blog, describe the applets you chose.  How do they model the probability experiment? How could you actually find the probabilities being modeled?

Probability Applets

Week 8 - Probability and Statistics completed and Exam 2

This week we will be finishing up statistics on Tuesday, followed by a review for the exam.  Please be sure to print the exam review and work the problems before coming to class.  You will be randomly assigned a problem from the review to post on the board and will earn extra credit for posting a correct solution.  For this reason, there is no challenge problem this week.

Our exam will be in class on Thursday.  Make sure that you are on time to class and bring your calculator, pencil, and eraser.

Week 7 - Statistics, continued

This week we will be finishing up with statistics with a discussion of normal distributions and confidence intervals.  This material can be a little tricky, so make sure you get a good head start on the homework.

Our Probability and Statistics Exam will be next Thursday, March 10.  There is a lot of material in this section, so you should start studying early for this exam!  You should think of this material in 3 chunks - counting, probability, and statistics.  You have a lot of resources to help you study - webwork homework and associated worksheets, handouts given in class, and the study guide below.  Please print this study guide and work out the problems for class on Tuesday.  You will be presenting your solutions on the board in class on Tuesday.

Probability and Statistics Review


Challenge Problem: Suppose the scores on a standardized exam follow a normal distribution with mean 78 and standard deviation 9.  What score must you receive to be in the top 10%?

Week 6: Probability and Statistics

This week, we will be finishing up the notes on probability and moving on to statistics.  Make sure you are keeping up with the webwork homework.  After Tuesday, you should be able to do all of the questions about probability. Statistics is the study of data.  We will start by looking at ways to organize numerical data and to compute some basic numerical summaries.

Your first drafts of the group project have been graded.  I have commented on the files in your google drive folder.  Make sure you can see the comments and let me know if you have any questions.

Challenge Problem: Research the Monty Hall Problem.  Describe the problem and how probability can be used to answer the problem.

Exam 1 Meetings Quiz

For Exam 1 Meetings Quiz, if you scored below a 70 on exam 1, you must meet with me by Tuesday, February 23 to earn full credit on the quiz.  Bring Exam 1 with you and we will go over the exam and discuss ideas to help you do better on the next exam.

If you scored 70-100, you have a 10 out of 10 on the quiz.  You do not have to meet with me, but are welcome to do so.

If you scored 61-69, you have a 5 out of 10 on the quiz.  If you meet with me, you will receive a 10 out of 10.

If you scored 60 or below, you have a 0 out of 10 on the quiz.  If you meet with me, you will receive a 10 out of 10 on the quiz.

Please look over my office hours to find a time to come talk to me.  You don't have to make an appointment during office hours; it will just be first come, first served.  If none of my office hours work for you, please set up an appointment with me to meet.  (Generally 2-3pm on TR are also a good time to meet with me, even though those are not office hours.)

Week 5: Probability and Statistics

Just a friendly reminder about assignments due this week:

Tuesday, February 16 - Graph Theory Group Project Drafts Due

Thursday, February 18 - Graph Theory Blog Post Due

Please don't forget about these due dates.  Your group project drafts should be typed and placed in your google drive folders.

Last week, we started discussing some methods of counting.  This week, we will continue with methods of counting on Tuesday with a discussion of combinations and permutations.  With permutations, the order in which we choose things matters; with combinations, the order won't matter.  A mneumonic to help you remember this is "committee - combination"; "president - permutation".

We will then move on to probability.  You'll want to pay close attention to the vocabulary and formulas in this section.  You should also make sure that you get comfortable with the notation.  For example, P(E) is the probability that event E will occur.

Challenge Problem: In the game of Euchre 5 cards are dealt from a deck consisting of the 9, 10, J, Q, K, A of hearts, diamonds, spades, and clubs. The ideal hand would consist of both J's of a given color and the A, K, Q of one of the suits.  (So, Jack of hearts, Jack of diamonds, and A, K, Q of diamonds would be one ideal hand, for example.)  Find the probability of getting an ideal hand.

Week 4: Graph Theory and Probability and Statistics

Our graph theory exam is in class on Tuesday this week.  Please make sure you review your notes, the worksheets on WebWork, and the review sheet handed out in class.  Be sure that you arrive on time to class Tuesday to make sure you have all of the available time to complete your exam.  You will only need a pencil, eraser, and calculator for the exam.

We will be starting our Probability and Statistics unit on Thursday with a discussion of methods of counting.  Be sure to print the Probability and Statistics notes out and bring them to class with you Thursday.  You will also want to be sure to bring your calculator to class every day for this unit.

Don't forget to complete the Graph Theory objectives for your group projects.  These are due next week.  You should post your solutions in your group google drive folder.

Challenge Problem: The combination n choose r is written C(n, r).  You can compute combinations using Pascal's Triangle.  This triangle has many interesting properties beyond being used for computing combinations.  Research Pascal's Triangle and explain how to use it to find C(6, 4).  Then describe 2 other interesting properties of Pascal's Triangle.

Graph Theory Blog Prompt - Due Thursday, February 18

We've talked about several applications of graph theory in our first unit this semester, including the Traveling Salesperson Problem, applications to networks, and other applications.  For this blog post, I would like you to read one of the articles below and write a 2-3 paragraph response to the article.  Tell me which article you chose and give a brief summary of the article, explaining how graph theory was applied.  Finally, tell me what you thought of the way they applied graph theory in the article.  Were you surprised that graph theory applied in this situation?

“Is Graph Theory Key to Understanding Big Data?”

“Network Theory sheds new light on origins of consciousness”  

Explained: Graphs from MIT News

"New approach to vertex connectivity could maximize networks’ bandwidth” 

“Sudoku and Graph Theory”

“Rebooting the Human Genome” 

Graph Theory Exam Review

Below is a link to the review for our Graph Theory Exam.  The exam will be in class on Tuesday, February 9, 2016.  Please print the review and bring it to class with you on Thursday.  You should look over the problems before coming to class and be prepared with questions that you have over the material.

Graph Theory Exam Review

Week 3 - Graph Theory: Trees and Kruskal's Algorithm

This week we will be finishing up the graph theory material with a discussion of trees and spanning trees.  A tree is just a connected graph which contains no circuits.  We will be concerned with finding subgraphs of graphs which contain all the original vertices and are trees.  These are called spanning trees.  Kruskal's algorithm gives us a way to find a spanning tree of minimal weight in a weighted graph. This algorithm should feel familiar to you; it is very similar to the Side Sorted Algorithm, except now our goal will be to end up with a spanning tree rather than a Hamiltonian circuit.

Challenge Problem: A connected graph G has 18 vertices.  How many edges does a spanning tree of G have?  How many vertices does a spanning tree of G have? What can one say about the number of edges G has?

Beginning of the Semester Survey

Please fill out the survey at the link below by Tuesday, February 2.

Start of Semester Survey

Group Project - Part 1

Math 110(E) Group Project Spring 2016

In this project, you will be opening a business on campus, and looking to expand your business further.  You will be applying the material that we learn about graph theory, probability, statistics, and financial mathematics to model your project.  Your final project will be due in class April 21, 2016.  As a final project, you must type a report summarizing your findings for all the objectives.  Your report should read as one continuous document, not a piecing together of different ideas.   The report must also show all details necessary to answer each objective.  You will present your results in a 15-20 minute presentation in class on April 19, 2016 or April 21, 2016.  Your presentation should be aimed at potential investors in your company.  You will summarize what you’ve done so far to improve your business and explain why the investors should invest in you.  Give your ideas for the future of your business and why you would benefit from their investment.  You are strongly recommended to use PowerPoint to give your presentation.  You are also encouraged to bring any handouts to support your case. 

You will be working on this project in groups of three.  You will have until February 2, 2016 to select your own group.  After this date, anyone who has not signed up with me to be in a group will be given a group assignment.

Due: February 4, 2016: First, you must select a type of business to open.  You should choose one of the following businesses: (1) Pizza Joint, (2) Ice Cream Shop, (3) Cookie Company, (4) Coffee Shop.  As a group, select a business type and create a name for your business.

You will receive new objectives at the start of each unit. 

Graph Theory Objectives: Draft due February 16, 2016

Graph Theory Objective 1:  Your business on campus has been successful, and you want to start adding customers from the St Joseph community.  You have been assigned to take pamphlets door to door in a portion of the community.  See Dr. McCune for your assigned region.   (A sample region is pictured below.) Given your map, create a graph to represent the area you’ve been assigned.  Develop a route that minimizes the number of streets that you must repeat.  Can you visit all the streets without repeating any streets? Why or why not? Explain, using a theorem from class.  If you cannot do it without repeating streets, what method from class can you use to try to minimize the number of streets repeated?

Graph Theory Objective 2: Your pilot business on campus at MWSU has been successful.  You want to expand your customer base to include college students in the Kansas City area.  In particular, you want to advertise your business to students at William Jewell College, the University of Missouri-Kansas City, Rockhurst University, Avila University, Johnson County Community College, and Park University.  Use google maps to find the distance between each of these schools and create a table to display the information.  Then create a graph to display this information.  You want to spend the day advertising your business to students at each school.  Using a concept from graph theory, find the best route to visit each school to advertise your business, beginning and ending at UMKC.   Be sure to show all of your work and explain why you used the method you chose.

Week 2: Graph Theory - Hamiltonian Paths and Circuits

This week we will be moving into Hamiltonian Paths and Circuits and weighted graphs.  A weighted graph is just a graph with numbers (weights) on the edges.  Our goal will be to use weighted graphs and Hamiltonian circuits to solve the Traveling Salesman Problem that we discussed last week.  We will see three algorithms for solving this: The Nearest Neighbor Algorithm, The Side-Sorted (or Best Edge) Algorithm, and the Repetitive Nearest Neighbor Algorithm.  We will also discuss how to solve this using Brute Force.  You will need to memorize each of these algorithms.  We will end the week with a discussion of trees and spanning trees. 

Don't forget to keep up with the homework on WebWork.

Challenge Problem: The picture below is the floor plan for a section of prison rooms.  If all the doors are open, is it possible for a guard to enter this section at the entrance, pass through each door locking it behind him, and then exit without ever having to open a door that has been previously locked?  Answer by turning this into a graph theory question.  You may describe your graph by giving the vertices and edges or post a picture of your graph in your blog.  Your solution should include a path in the graph you create.

How to Email Your Professor

Every semester, I receive an email that looks something like the following:


hey mrs. mccune.  what did we do in class today?  also, i don't know how to do number 2.


There are several issues with this email.  First, you should address your instructors as Professor or Dr.   to decrease your risk of insulting them.  (I am Dr. McCune.)   Second, if you must miss class, please acknowledge that you are responsible for the material covered in your absence.  I am happy to give a brief recap of what you missed, but please remember to first consult the syllabus and the notes before composing your email.

If you need help with a problem, please be clear about which problem you need help with.  For example, number two on the webwork Graph Theory set 1.  You should tell me what you've tried so far and specifically what part of the problem is giving you trouble.  It is often useful to include an attachment with a picture of your work so that I can best point you in the right direction to solve the problem.

Finally, be sure to sign your email with your name, course number, and section.  It is especially difficult to respond to an email if I don't know who the sender is.

Wikihow has a nice summary of how to email a professor, which you should apply when emailing any of your professors on campus.

How to Email a Professor

Welcome to MAT110(E) - Week 1: Graph Theory

Welcome to MAT110/MAT110E!  You should be enrolled in MAT110 if you have a 22 or higher on the ACT or passed the math placement exam (MPE) with a 70 or higher.  Otherwise, you should be enrolled in MAT110E and MAT099.  Keep in mind that if you fail MAT099, you will fail MAT110E as well, regardless of your exam and homework scores in MAT110E.  Hence, it is imperative that you attend and actively participate in your MAT099 section. 

Our semester will be broken into three units: Graph Theory, Financial Math, and Probability and Statistics.  I hope that you will enjoy learning a little bit about each of these topics and how they are used in your everyday life and the world around you. I'm looking forward to a great semester!

We will be kicking off the semester this week with an introduction to graph theory.  A graph is a collection of vertices (think dots) and edges (think lines) between the vertices.  We can use graphs to study many things in the world around us.  For example, a graph can represent streets and intersections from a map (see The Traveling Salesperson Problem), computer networks, social networks, or even be used to study DNA (see A Graph Theoretical Approach to DNA Fragment Assembly).  By the end of this week, you should know what a graph is and be able to describe several properties of a graph. 

A little bit about me: I am in my fourth year as an Assistant Professor of mathematics here at Missouri Western State University.  Before coming to MWSU, I spent a year as a visiting assistant professor at Ashland University.  I received my PhD from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 2011. (Go Big Red!)  My husband is also a mathematician at William Jewell College.  We have a 22-month old daughter who is a bundle of energy and absorbs all our free time and we are expecting a baby boy this April. This summer we took our daughter hiking in the Great Smoky Mountains where she hiked a mile on her own and got to see a black bear.

Please ask for help as soon as you are having trouble with this class.  You can visit me in my office (Agenstein 135K).  Peer tutoring is also available (for free) through the Center for Academic Support.

Challenge Problem #1: Sketch several examples of graphs.  Determine the degree of the vertices in each graph.  When you add the degrees of all the vertices, you will always get an even number.  Why is that?