MATH 110: Materials - importance of homework

COLLEGE ALGEBRA MATH 110		Southwestern Adventist University
Distance Education	Lawrence E. Turner, Jr., Ph.D.

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Importance of Homework

The key to successful completion of any mathematics course is homework! There is no shortcut. It takes time and practice! However, with diligence to homework, it is not hard to earn a passing grade.

The table gives the average percent that you will need on the tests and final exam to earn a given grade for a designated homework percentage.

The left-hand column is the homework percentage earned. Each of the other columns is for a specified overall grade.

As an example, if you earn 90% of the homework, then you would need to average 70.5% on the tests in order to earn a B grade for the course.

Test Average Needed to Earn a Grade

homework	A 90% overall	B 76% overall	C 62% overall	D 50% overall

100%	86.1%	66.7%	47.2%	30.6%
95%	88.1%	68.6%	49.2%	32.5%
90%	90.0%	70.5%	51.1%	34.4%
85%	91.9%	72.5%	53.1%	36.4%
80%	93.9%	74.4%	55.0%	38.3%
75%	95.8%	76.4%	56.9%	40.3%
70%	97.8%	78.3%	58.9%	42.2%
65%	99.7%	80.3%	60.9%	44.2%
60%	----	82.2%	62.8%	46.1%
50%	----	86.1%	66.7%	50.0%

Of course, this is only part of the picture. Generally the more homework you do, the better you will do on the tests. Keep in mind that with the extra credit available on the homework, you can keep your homework percentage at or above 100%. Of course, if you earn more than possible homework through extra credit, only the 100% figure of the points will be used in calculating your grade.

The typical A student will have close to 100% of the homework and will earn an average on the tests in the mid to upper 80% range.

If the best you can do is earn an average on the tests of 50%, then you can still earn a C grade by keeping your homework in the 90% range (actually 92.9% or above).

A student who is diligent in doing all the homework and extra credit can earn a passing grade of D with only 30.6% test average, or a grade of C with only a 47.2% average. It really is hard to fail College Algebra!!

If we extend this chart to lower percentages of homework, another important fact emerges:

homework	A 90% overall	B 76% overall	C 62% overall	D 50% overall

50%	----	86.1%	66.7%	50.0%
40%	----	90.0%	70.6%	53.9%
30%	----	93.9%	74.4%	57.8%
20%	----	97.8%	78.3%	61.7%
10%	----	----	82.2%	65.6%
0%	----	----	86.1%	69.4%

It is very difficult to earn a good grade in College Algebra if you do not do homework!