Math 2000.002: Fall 2026
Meets:
MW 2:20-3:40 in Matthews Hall, Room 113.
Instructor: Professor
John Quintanilla
E-mail:: John.Quintanilla@unt.edu.
Office:
General Academic Building, Room 418-D
Office Phone:
None. Instead, please reach me by e-mail to set up an appointment to chat by
Zoom or Microsoft Teams. (The main phone number for the front desk of the
Department of Mathematics is 940-565-2155.)
Office Hours:
Mondays 12:30-2, Tuesdays 9-11, or by appointment. I encourage you to make an
appointment if you’re unable to see me during office hours, as I may not
be able to accommodate drop-in visits. If coming to campus is an issue, you are
welcome to schedule a meeting with either Zoom or Teams.
Required Text:
Discrete Mathematics with Applications, 5th Edition, by
Susanna S. Epp. The textbook is available in both electronic and hardcopy form
from the UNT Bookstore.
Strongly Recommended: The lecture notes for the semester will be available on Canvas. You
are welcome to print these out at home. If you have sufficient print credits,
you also can print these on campus. For more information about procedures and
guidelines regarding the use of printers on campus, please see http://computerlabs.unt.edu/.
Technology: Any standard scientific calculator is acceptable for
this class.
Prerequisite:
Math 1710 (may be taken concurrently by math majors).
Course Introduction
Math 2000 serves as an introduction to higher-level
mathematics for math majors. Previous classes emphasized solving for 
, performing calculations, and mastering algorithms.
By contrast, Math 2000 may be unlike anything that
you’ve ever seen before. Perhaps the closest analogues from your previous
classes are proving trigonometric identities in
Precalculus and (depending on where you went to high school) two-column proofs
in high school geometry.
In this course, you may feel like you’re
learning a brand-new language. Indeed, that is precisely the point. Back in
2010, this course did not exist, and math majors first learned to write
mathematical proofs in Math 3000 (Real Analysis). Back then, Math 3000 had one
of the highest DFWI rates at UNT. In 2010, a former student memorably told me
that, in Math 3000, he was learning new content but also learning a new
language. He told me that he could do one or the other, but
doing both at the same time was really hard.
That conversation was the catalyst for the Math
Department to create Math 2000. In this class, you’re going to learn a
new language that will prepare you for proof-oriented classes like Math 3000
and beyond.
Some general advice before starting the course: If
you’re a math major, you’re in the right place. If you’re
exploring the possibility of becoming a math major, you’re in the right
place. If you’ve enjoyed the previous math classes that you’ve
taken and you’d like to learn more about how mathematicians think,
you’re in the right place.
If you just need another math
course and chose this one only because 2000 < 2700 < 2730, then this may
not be the right class for you. Likewise, if you know that you’re not
going to take Math 3000 in the future, then this may not be the class for you.
The analogy isn’t perfect, but taking Math 2000 without planning to take
Math 3000 later is like taking Precalculus without planning to take Calculus I later.
If this is your situation, I encourage you to scan ahead through the textbook
and/or my course notes to see if this is indeed the type of math class that you
want to take this semester.
Course Topics
The following chapters and
sections of the textbook will be covered according to the projected schedule
below. Dates may change as events warrant.
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Student Responsibilities
·
Student behavior that interferes with an instructor's
ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is
unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional
forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to
leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Center for
Student Rights and Responsibilities to consider whether the student's conduct
violated the Code of Student Conduct. The
university's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional
forums, including university and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups,
field trips, etc.
·
You should read over this syllabus carefully, as I will hold
you responsible for the information herein.
·
Students will be expected to read the chapters carefully,
including the examples in the book.
·
Students will be responsible for obtaining any and all
handouts. If you are not in class when handouts are given, it is your
responsibility to obtain copies.
·
You should begin working now. Frequent
practice is crucial to the successful completion of a mathematics course.
Cramming at the last minute will certainly lead to failure.
·
WARNING: If you are in academic trouble, or are in danger of losing
your financial support, or if your parent or guardian is expecting a certain
grade at the end of the semester... start working today. I will refuse to
listen to any pleas at the end of the semester. You will receive precisely the
grade that you earn.
Grading Policies
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Cooperation is encouraged in doing the homework
assignments. However, cheating will not be tolerated on the exams. If
you are caught cheating, you will be subject to any penalty the instructor
deems appropriate, up to and including an automatic F for the course.
Refer to the following university site for the official policy with regards to
academic dishonesty: http://vpaa.unt.edu/academic-integrity.htm.
In this course, I want you to engage deeply
with the materials and develop your own critical thinking and writing skills.
For this reason, the use of Generative AI (GenAI) tools like Claude, ChatGPT,
and Gemini is not permitted. While these tools can be helpful in some contexts,
they do not align with our goal of fostering the development of your
independent thinking. Using GenAI to complete any part of an assignment, exam,
or coursework will be considered a violation of academic integrity, as it
prevents the development of your own skills, and will be addressed according to
the Student Academic Integrity
policy.
|
A |
90-100% |
Outstanding, excellent work. The student
performs well above the minimum criteria. |
|
B |
80-89.99% |
Good, impressive work. The student
performs above the minimum criteria. |
|
C |
70-79.99% |
Solid, college-level work. The student
meets the criteria of the assignment. |
|
D |
60-69.99% |
Below average work. The student fails to
meet the minimum criteria. |
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F |
0-59.99% |
Sub-par work. The student fails to
complete the assignment. |
The grade of "I" is
designed for students who are unable to complete work in a course
but who are currently passing the course. The guidelines are clearly spelled
out in the Student Handbook. Before you ask, you should read these
requirements.
Unauthorized
Aids During Examinations and Assessments
Students may use only those materials and
resources that are expressly authorized by the instructor for a particular
examination or assessment. Touching, holding, or accessing any unauthorized aid
during the examination period constitutes a violation of the Student Code of
Conduct, regardless of whether the aid is used.
Any item that may be considered an
unauthorized aid must be kept out of view and in a closed container (e.g.
zipped backpack, buttoned purse, etc.) during the entirety of the examination
or assessment.
Unless specifically authorized in writing by
the instructor, prohibited aids include, but are not limited to:
·
Mobile phones and
smartphones
·
Smartwatches and
fitness trackers with communication, recording, or internet capabilities
·
Tablets, laptops,
and other computing devices
·
Earbuds,
headphones, and other audio devices
·
Smart glasses,
cameras, recording devices, and wearable technology
·
Artificial
intelligence (AI) tools, chatbots, and other generative AI technologies
·
Notes, textbooks,
study guides, formula sheets, or reference materials
·
Any other device,
material, or resource not expressly permitted by the instructor
Students are responsible for clarifying any
questions about permitted materials before the examination begins.
Attendance
Attendance is not required for this class.
However, you will be responsible for everything that I cover in class, even if
you are absent. It is my experience that students who skip class frequently
make poorer grades than students who attend class regularly.
Students are expected to attend class
meetings regularly and to abide by the attendance policy established for the
course. This means looking alive in class and working through the examples in lecture
and recitation as we go. It is assumed you will do this. The instructor will
not repeat whole lectures or offer personal lessons in office hours or email. These venues are for specific questions /
problems. You will be responsible for everything that I cover in class, even if
you are absent. In math courses, especially this one, the content will build
upon itself making it very difficult to catch up if you fall behind.
It is important that you communicate with the
professor prior to being absent, so you and the professor can discuss and
mitigate the impact of the absence on your attainment of course learning goals.
Please inform the professor if you are unable to attend class meetings,
especially in cases of illness.
Exam
Policies
·
I expect to give exams on the days shown above. However,
these are tentative dates. I will announce the exact date of each exam in
class.
·
You will be
expected to bring to class a calculator that can perform the calculations
described in class.
·
After exams are returned in class, you have 48 hours to
appeal your grade. I will not listen to any appeals after this 48-hour period.
·
I will not drop the lowest exam score; all will count toward
the final grade.
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Students missing an exam for unauthorized reasons will
receive 0 (zero) points on the exam. Students will be required to provide official
written verification of any authorized absences.
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The Final Examination will be comprehensive in the sense
that problems may come from any of the sections that will be covered during the
semester.
·
The grade of A signifies consistent excellence over
the course of the semester. In particular, an A on the final is not equivalent
to an A for the course.
·
I reserve the right to test and quiz you on problems which
are generalizations of material covered in the class and/or in the text. In
short, the problems may not look exactly like the ones in the book.
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Everything that I say in class is fair game for exam
material. You will be responsible for everything unless I advise you to the
contrary.
Homework
Policies
·
Homework will be assigned and collected via Canvas and will
be due Tuesdays at 11:59 pm. An exception may be made for the final week of the
semester.
·
Homework should be uploaded as a single PDF file.
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I expect the assignments that you turn in to be written
up carefully and neatly, with the answers clearly marked. You must show all
of your work. Messy homework will not be accepted.
·
Entire homework assignments will not be graded. Instead,
only five representative problems will be graded per assignment. As a
consequence, it will be possible to not do the entire assignment and still
receive a perfect score on that particular assignment. Deliberately leaving homework uncompleted is highly unrecommended,
however, as the law of averages will surely catch up with you as the semester
progresses.
·
When computing grades, I will drop the two lowest
homework grades before computing the homework average. Therefore, in principle,
you could get a 100% homework score and also not turn in two assignments during
the semester. I have this policy in case you get sick, a family emergency
arises, etc., during the semester. You will still be responsible for the
material in such assignments during the examinations.
·
I will not give extensions on homework assignments,
nor will I accept late assignments.
Mastery
Assignment Policies
·
Mastery assignments on different topics will be assigned
throughout the semester.
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Unlike regular homework assignments, you can attempt these
weekly, and only your highest score will count toward the final grade.
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As long as you keep attempting a mastery assignment, it will
be reassigned to you in Canvas if you make less than a perfect grade. However, after
two consecutive weeks with no submissions, that mastery assignment will no
longer be automatically reassigned; instead, the student in this situation must
ask the instructor
In order to receive the assignment in the future.
·
For example:
o
If you get a perfect score on your first attempt on
Induction Sums 1, there will be no need to re-attempt Induction Sums 2, 3, etc.
o
As a second
example, suppose that you do not attempt Induction Sums 1 and Induction Sums 2.
v Unless you ask me to reassign this to you, Induction
Sums 3 and higher will not be assigned to you in Canvas.
v Once you ask, Induction Sums 3 will be assigned to
you. Under this scenario, Induction Sums 1 and Induction Sums 2 will be closed.
The good news is that it doesn’t matter. For example:
Ø If you do well on Induction Sums 3, then your scores
on Induction Sums 1 and 2 will be excused for the purposes of computing your
course average.
Ø If you don’t do well on Induction Sums 3 but pass
Induction Sums 4 a week later, then your first three scores will be excused.
And so on.
o
The basic idea is
that only the top score matters for the Mastery Assignments, and so any penalty
for not doing well on an assignment, or even skipping one, will be wiped out
when you eventually pass a future version of the assignment.
o
That said, I do
not encourage you to deliberately skip the Mastery Assignments. Instead, I
encourage you to get these out of the way as soon as possible.
Note to TNT Students
·
If you’re pursuing secondary teacher certification
through Teach North Texas, then you may be aware that you will be required to
construct a preliminary teaching portfolio in EDCI 4500 (Project-Based
Instruction) and a final portfolio during your final semester of student
teaching. Section 2 of this portfolio will ask you to demonstrate your
knowledge of your content field. You may find that some of the assignments may naturally
become artifacts toward part of this task, and so I encourage you to keep your
work after the semester is over to make the eventual construction of your
portfolio easier. You may even want to write (and save for later) a brief
reflection on the artifact you select, rather than try to remember why the
artifact you chose was important once you reach EDCI 4500.
·
The specific indicators in the portfolio related to
knowledge of mathematical content are as follows:
o
Reflect on one or more artifacts in which you state a
mathematical theorem or conjecture and apply both formal and informal
mathematical reasoning to the same conjecture.
o
Reflect on one or more artifacts that show your ability to
describe a mathematical concept that can be represented in multiple ways and
articulate the connections between its representations in clear, expository
prose. Where relevant, identify appropriate technology for exploring the concept
and explain limits the technology may place on the knowledge acquired.
o
Reflect on one or more artifacts that show your ability to
generate a model of a natural phenomenon or describe an already existing model
and evaluate how well the model represents the situation, including
consideration of the risks, costs, and benefits of the alternatives.
o
Reflect on one or more artifacts that show your ability to
identify a topic in your subject area and describe its connection with prerequisite
topics, future topics, and other subjects.
o
Reflect on one of more artifacts that show how you bring out
the historical and cultural importance of your subject material, its
contribution to large ideas, and its significance in today’s society.
Include a specific lesson plan that incorporates the general history and
cultural context of modern science or of mathematics as these fields have
evolved.
·
Just to be clear: the above are suggestions for TNT students.
This is NOT a course requirement for Math 2000.
UNT
Policies
Academic Integrity Policy
According to UNT Policy 06.003, Student Academic Integrity, academic dishonesty occurs when students engage in behaviors including, but not limited to cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty, forgery, plagiarism, and sabotage. A finding of academic dishonesty may result in a range of academic penalties or sanctions ranging from admonition to expulsion from the University.
ADA Policy
UNT makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide a student with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding one’s specific course needs. Students may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. For additional information see the ODA website (https://disability.unt.edu/).
Prohibition of Discrimination, Harassment, and
Retaliation (Policy 16.004)
The University of North Texas (UNT) prohibits discrimination and harassment because of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal or state law in its application and admission processes; educational programs and activities; employment policies, procedures, and processes; and university facilities. The University takes active measures to prevent such conduct and investigates and takes remedial action when appropriate.
Emergency Notification & Procedures
UNT uses a system called Eagle Alert to quickly notify students with critical information in the event of an emergency (i.e., severe weather, campus closing, and health and public safety emergencies like chemical spills, fires, or violence). In the event of a university closure, please refer to Canvas for contingency plans for covering course materials.
Retention of Student Records
Student records pertaining to this course are maintained in a secure location by the instructor of record. All records such as exams, answer sheets (with keys), and written papers submitted during the duration of the course are kept for at least one calendar year after course completion. Course work completed via the Canvas online system, including grading information and comments, is also stored in a safe electronic environment for one year. Students have the right to view their individual record; however, information about student’s records will not be divulged to other individuals without proper written consent. Students are encouraged to review the Public Information Policy and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) laws and the University’s policy. See UNT Policy 10.10, Records Management and Retention for additional information.
Acceptable Student Behavior
Student behavior that interferes with an instructor’s ability to conduct a class or other students' opportunity to learn is unacceptable and disruptive and will not be tolerated in any instructional forum at UNT. Students engaging in unacceptable behavior will be directed to leave the classroom and the instructor may refer the student to the Dean of Students to consider whether the student's conduct violated the Code of Student Conduct. The University's expectations for student conduct apply to all instructional forums, including University and electronic classroom, labs, discussion groups, field trips, etc. Visit UNT’s Code of Student Conduct (https://deanofstudents.unt.edu/conduct) to learn more.
Access to Information
Eagle Connect Students’ access point for business and academic services at UNT is located at: my.unt.edu. All official communication from the University will be delivered to a student’s Eagle Connect account. For more information, please visit the website that explains Eagle Connect and how to forward e-mail Eagle Connect (https://it.unt.edu/eagleconnect).
Student Evaluation Administration Dates
Student feedback is important and an essential part of participation in this course. The student evaluation of instruction is a requirement for all organized classes at UNT. The survey will be made available during weeks 13, 14 and 15 of the long semesters to provide students with an opportunity to evaluate how this course is taught. Students will receive an email from "UNT SPOT Course Evaluations via IASystem Notification" (no-reply@iasystem.org) with the survey link. Students should look for the
email in their UNT email inbox. Simply click on the link and complete the survey. Once students complete the survey they will receive a confirmation email that the survey has been submitted. For additional information, please visit the SPOT website (http://spot.unt.edu/) or email spot@unt.edu.
Survivor Advocacy
UNT is committed to providing a safe learning environment free of all forms of sexual misconduct. Federal laws and UNT policies prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex as well as sexual misconduct. If you or someone you know is experiencing sexual harassment, relationship violence, stalking and/or sexual assault, there are campus resources available to provide support and assistance. The Survivor Advocates can be reached at SurvivorAdvocate@unt.edu or by calling the Dean of Students Office at 940-565-2648.
