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Intermediate algebra |
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Date
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Activities |
| ANN: You will see two MML (MyMathLab) assignments due Tuesday, August 31 (meaning midnight at the end of Tuesday). The first is "Chapter O Homework" which will cover the MML interface including how to enter answers. Also, "Section 13.1 Homework" will cover the material we cover this week (Thursday) in class. Those are both due this upcoming Tuesday. The syllabus will explain how we will usually have MML due the Tuesday after the week we finish the notes in class. In class, we introduced ourselves to each other and talked over some bits from the syllabus and class policies. I would like you to get MML set up as instructed on the syllabus and start on "Chapter O Homework" before next class. Although, you have through midnight Tuesday to get it and the other MML assignment fully done. I handed out a handout for the Math Resource Center (MRC) which is our tutoring location. I will also do a bit of a demo for MML next time to help you get started. | |
Aug. 26 |
ANN: Remember that Chapter O Homework will be due in MML this upcoming Tuesday, Aug. 31. We did not get through the 13.1 Class Notes so we will postpone the due date for Section 13.1 Homework until Tues., Sep. 7. However, you could certainly start on it if you had time. In class, I handed out an amendment to my office hours. Please put it in your binder in front of the syllabus. I demonstrated MML, focusing on homework and the Ask My Instructor option. The interface is somewhat different than what is described on the syllabus. The stuff I describe is still there; it just looks different. We started the Class Notes for 13.1, getting through example 4 and its check. I also handed out Graphing calculator basics and Things to know about your calculator to help you get started on the graphing calculators. People who have TI84 calculators should follow instructions for the TI83 if no TI84 instructions are listed. With this exception in mind, you can skip paragraphs that talk about calculators other than yours. (I do have somewhat outdated instructions for the TI85 and 86 which are older models and very few people have them.) |
| ANN: Remember that Chapter O Homework will be due in MML tonight Tuesday, Aug. 31. Also, homework for Sections 13.1, 13.2, and (likely) 13.3 will be due the following Tuesday so work on those too. In class, we finished the Class Notes for 13.1. We started the Class Notes for 13.2, getting through example 1 and its check. I handed out Tips for factoring trinomials of the form x^2 + bx + c and Rules for Divisibility. They were stapled to the 13.2 Notes in class. | |
Sep. 2 |
ANN: Chapter O Homework in MML was due Tues., Aug. 31. However, you can still do it (in full or in part) for 50% credit. Only problems finished after the due date are subject to the 50% late penalty. ANN: You will see that Section 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 Homework assignments are due this upcoming Tuesday, Sep. 7 in MML. [I was actually told at the end of class that Section 13.1 homework was mistakenly still due Aug. 31. I have since changed that.] In class, we finished the class notes for 13.2. We discussed Tips for factoring trinomials of the form x^2 + bx + c and Rules for Divisibility that were stapled to the 13.2 Notes. We then started the Class Notes for 13.3/13.4. Most of the notes consist of doing the worksheets which were stapled together in class. I did cover the definition of a perfect square trinomial at the bottom of page 1 of the notes, but then we went on to cover the four-part worksheet series. We started with Factoring trinomials: Part 2: Reverse FOIL Method as it relates to section 13.3 whose MML homework is due next Tuesday. We then discussed Factoring trinomials: Part 3: Cross-product method and Wrap-up which is essentially just another way to write this method. Also stapled to the 13.3/13.4 Notes were Factoring trinomials: Part 1: Introduction, Factoring by grouping, and A-C Method and Factoring trinomials: Part 4: Upside Down method. Those two parts of the worksheet packet will be discussed next week as a part of section 13.4. The A-C method is what the book calls "factoring by grouping" in section 13.4. |
| (Monday, Sep. 6 is Labor Day -- no school.) ANN: Exam 1 over chapter 13 will be available Thurs., Sep. 16 through Wed., Sep. 22. You will do it at home on your own time. Please use your Notes and MML Homework but do not consult other people when you are taking the exam. ANN: Remember that Section 13.1, 13.2, and 13.3 Homework assignments are due tonight Tuesday, Sep. 7 in MML. We do go quickly and you will see probably three more assignments due the following Tuesday. So, you should work on it a little at a time, doing a few problems every day or so. That way, the homework will not feel so cumbersome on the due dates. ANN: I was told at the end of class last time that Section 13.1 homework was mistakenly still due Aug. 31. I have since changed that to its proper due date of Sep. 7. If MML gave you a late penalty, please go back into the assignment and re-save your work by midnight tonight when it is really due. That will remove any late penalty for Section 13.1 Homework. In class, we finished the Class Notes for 13.3/13.4. We essentially covered the other two parts of the Factoring Worksheet four-part series by covering Factoring trinomials: Part 1: Introduction, Factoring by grouping, and A-C Method and Factoring trinomials: Part 4: Upside Down method. I told students they should use the method(s) they like best when you do the homework, even if MML suggests one particular method. We started the Class Notes for 13.5, getting through example 4. We will continue next time. | |
Sep. 9 |
ANN: Remember that the MML Homework for Sections 13.4 and 13.5 are both due Tuesday night. In class, we discussed the examples on page 2 of the Class Notes for 13.3/13.4. I had emailed students (Wednesday) that they should do them if they wanted and we would go over them today. We then finished the Class Notes for 13.5. I added two problems (at the end of those Notes) that were not on the printed versions I handed out but are now on the online version. We then started the Class Notes for 13.6, getting through example 4. There is a worksheet called Solving Equations by Factoring stapled to these Notes in class. Next time, I will ask that you do it but we are not there yet. |
| ANN: Exam 1 over chapter 13 will be available Thurs., Sep. 16 through Wed., Sep. 22. You will do it at home on your own time. Please use your Notes, book, and MML Homework but do not consult other people when you are taking the exam. You will see Chapter 13 Review Homework due Sep. 22 as well which will help you study. You will have two hours to do the exam and it must be done in one session. You must do all the homework up to a 20% score to open the exam. That way, you won't accidentally enter the exam when you have not seen the homework. In class, we finished the Class Notes for 13.6. There is a worksheet called Solving Equations by Factoring stapled to these Notes in class. I asked students to do it and we will discuss it next time. We then started the Class Notes for 13.7, getting through page 2. There is a worksheet called Story problem pieces stapled to these Notes in class. For next time, I ask that you do it and we will go over it if needed at the beginning of class. The Solutions are also online under Assorted Handouts and Tutorials if you want help before Thursday. | |
Sep. 16 |
ANN: Exam 1 over chapter 13 is available today through Wed., Sep. 22. You will see Chapter 13 Review Homework due Sep. 22 as well which will help you study. Please use your Notes, book, and MML Homework but do not consult other people when you are taking the exam. In class, we discussed the worksheets from last time from 13.6 and 13.7 and then finished the Class Notes for 13.7. |
| I took the day off as a personal day. | |
Sep. 23 |
I had to take a sick day to care for kids. Please watch the 14.1 video available in MML. We will discuss the section, at least briefly, maybe more, next time. |
| ANN: I am giving students who scored less than 70% on Exam 1 the opportunity to redo it to get a better score. If this applies to you, I emailed you earlier. If you choose to do this, complete the exam by Tues., Oct. 5. The better score will stand. If you scored 70% or higher and want to take advantage of this, contact me and I will set it up for you as well; I just did not do it automatically. In class, I handed out the Class Notes for 14.1 and we discussed some main points and several examples. Specifically we discussed all of page 1, page 2 through example 1, examples 4 and 6, all of page 4, example 8 and the calculator work that follows, and example 11. This set of Notes has a worksheet called Simplifying rational expressions: Cancelling common factors. Do it for next time; I will show you my answers at the start of class. We then started the Class Notes for 14.2, getting through example 3. | |
Sep. 30 |
I had to cancel due to illness. |
| I showed off my work on the 14.1 worksheet Simplifying rational expressions: Cancelling common factors and we discussed it. We then finished the Class Notes for 14.2. We then went on to take a reduced look at the Class Notes for 14.3 since you also watched the video on MML for this section. We covered all of pages 1 through 4 and example 10. Even though we are done with the section, we postponed the due date for MML 14.3 until Oct. 12 to give more time. | |
Oct. 7 |
ANN: I will take a sick day on Tuesday, October 19 to go to the dentist. We will not have class. ANN: I asked for volunteer notetakers to share their notes with Mark as he needs them. We got a few volunteers lined up. ANN: Exam 2 over chapter 14 and section 16.2 is scheduled to be available starting Thurs., Oct. 21 but we will talk later about it. In class, we covered the Class Notes for 14.4. There is a worksheet called Adding and Subtracting Rational Expressions stapled to it. Please do it for next time and we will discuss it at the beginning of class. |
| ANN: I am taking a sick day next Tuesday, Oct. 19 and will not hold class. ANN: Exam 2 is available from Thursday, Oct. 21 through Wed., Oct. 27. It will cover chapter 14 (14.1 - 14.6) and section 16.2. We will cover chapter 14 this week and section 16.2 next Thursday. In class, we discussed the 14.4 worksheet from last time. We then covered the Class Notes for 14.5. | |
Oct. 14 |
ANN: I am taking a sick day next Tuesday, Oct. 19 and will not hold class. ANN: Exam 2 is available from Thursday, Oct. 21 through Wed., Oct. 27. It will cover chapter 14 (14.1 - 14.6) and section 16.2. You will have two hours to take the exam in one session. You will do it at home or in a campus computer lab on your own time. Please use your Notes, book, and MML Homework but do not consult other people when you are taking the exam. We will cover section 14.6 today and section 16.2 next Thursday. In class, we covered the Class Notes for 14.6. |
| I will take a sick day and there will be no class. | |
Oct. 21 |
ANN: Exam 2 is available from today, Thursday, Oct. 21 through Wed., Oct. 27. It will cover chapter 14 (14.1 - 14.6) and section 16.2. You will have two hours to take the exam in one session. You will do it at home or in a campus computer lab on your own time. Please use your Notes, book, and MML Homework but do not consult other people when you are taking the exam. Do not forget to do the Chapters 14 and 16.2 Review Homework assignment before the exam. In class, we covered Class Notes for 16.2. Attached to these Notes is a worksheet called Solving absolute value equations which we spent some time doing and then discussing. |
| ANN: Exam 2 is available through Wed., Oct. 27. ANN: I have decided to split chapters 17 and 18 up into two separate exams. So, Exam 3 will only cover chapter 17 and will be available Nov. 18 through Thanksgiving and past a bit. In class, we started the Class Notes for 17.1, getting through example 7. We will finish next time. There is a worksheet stapled to it called Domain of Radical Functions. Do it for next time please. | |
Oct. 28 |
ANN: I am giving students who scored less than 70% on Exam 2 the opportunity to redo it to get a better score. If this applies to you, I emailed you earlier. If you choose to do this, complete the exam by Wed., Nov. 3. The better score will stand. If you scored 70% or higher and want to take advantage of this, contact me and I will set it up for you as well; I just did not do it automatically. Also, some people were locked out of the Exam because of a Catch 22 caused by the Late Work Deadline and so those people have through Nov. 3 to do the Exam as well as the retake if they need it. In class, we discussed the worksheet from 17.1 and then finished the Class Notes for 17.1. We then started the Class Notes for 17.2, getting through page 3. |
| I had to miss due to illness. | |
Nov. 4 |
We finished the Class Notes for 17.2. We worked on the Class Notes for 17.3, getting through example 6. |
| ANN: No school on Thurs., Nov. 11 for Veteran's Day. ANN: Exam 3 (added to syllabus) will be over chapter 17 (17.1-17.7) only. It will be available Thursday, Nov. 18 through Mon., Nov. 29. The extra days are because it falls over the Thanksgiving break and I wanted to give you plenty of time. In class, we finished the Class Notes for 17.3. We then worked through the Class Notes for 17.4. | |
Nov. 11 |
Veteran's Day -- no school |
| ANN: Exam 3 (added to syllabus) will be over chapter 17 (17.1-17.7) only. It will be available Thursday, Nov. 18 through Mon., Nov. 29. The extra days are because it falls over the Thanksgiving break and I wanted to give you plenty of time. In class, we worked through the Class Notes for 17.5 and started the Class Notes for 17.6, getting through example 5. There are two worksheets attached to these Notes. The first one, Radical equations: Verbal model worksheet, will give you some practice and investigate the verbal model method as discussed in the Notes. Do it if you want and I will show you my work next time. The second worksheet, Solving radical equations, we will see later in the Notes. | |
Nov. 18 |
ANN: Exam 3 (added to syllabus) will be over chapter 17 (17.1-17.7) only. It is available today, Thursday, Nov. 18 through Mon., Nov. 29. The extra days are because it falls over the Thanksgiving break and I wanted to give you plenty of time. In class, we discussed the worksheet from 17.6 and then completed the Class Notes for 17.6. An additional 17.6 worksheet called Solving radical equations should be done for extra practice; I will discuss it next time. We then covered the Class Notes for 17.7. We did have to skip division of complex numbers which was example 6 on page 4. The topic has been deleted from the homework and exam. The worksheet Manipulating complex numbers 3 is attached to these Notes and will be discussed next time; Do it please. |
| ANN: Exam 3 (added to syllabus) will be over chapter 17 (17.1-17.7) only. It is available through Mon., Nov. 29. Remember that there is a Chapter Review assignment like the other exams. In class, we covered the Class Notes for 18.1. | |
Nov. 25 |
Thanksgiving break Nov. 24-26 -- no school |
| Class cancelled due to cybersecurity threat. | |
Dec. 2
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Class cancelled due to cybersecurity threat. |
| ANN: For Math Tutoring Help during our cybersecurity-related outage, call 618-468-4118. ANN: I do not have access to email as of yet. We will hold class this week. I have postponed the Chapter 17 Review Homework and Exam 3 (Chapter 17) so that they are now due Dec. 16. We will cover 18.2 and 18.3 this week and call it quits on lecturing. That will give us just sections 18.1 – 18.3 on the last exam, which will be due Dec. 16. You will see one Review Homework assignment for chapter 18 to help you study. For both exams (3 and 4), everyone has two attempts available in case you do not get the grade you want the first time around. Know that Thursday, Dec. 16 is the last day of the semester. Do not forget about the sections' homework assignments for 18.1, 18.2, and 18.3 which are due Tues., Dec. 14. In class, we started the Class Notes for 18.2, getting through the top half of page 5. We will begin next time at example 8. Attached to these Notes are the handouts Instructions for programming your calculator (TI82, 83, 84, 85, 86), Quadratic formula program for the TI-83, and QUADFORM program instructions. This is optional but if you want some experience programming your calculator, you can input this relatively simple program. The first handout gives general instructions; the second handout is the program itself; the third handout is specific instructions for using the program. | |
Dec. 9 |
ANN: I do not have access to email as of yet. We will not have class next week but I will be available in my office and, hopefully, by email. ANN: Remember that you have the sections' homework assignments for 18.1, 18.2, and 18.3 which are due Tues., Dec. 14. You have also two exams, one for chapter 17 (if you have not already done it) and the other for 18.1-18.3, both due Dec. 16. You will see one Review Homework assignment for chapter 18 to help you study. In class, we finished the Class Notes for 18.2 and completed the Class Notes for 18.3. |
| no class scheduled | |
Dec. 16 |
last day of semester; no class scheduled |