Schedule
The first day of class (October 5 Tuesday),
I'll discuss the administrative aspects of the course
and give a brief introduction to the basic ideas of algebra.
If you miss this day, then you shouldn't suffer too much for it,
but you'll want to get the administrative information from me.
The next day (October 7 Thursday), the class will begin in earnest.
The material for the first full week
is to review arithmetic that you should already understand;
this is mostly Sections 1.3–1.5 and 1.7 of the textbook
(although some of it is hidden away in Sections 5.4 and 5.6).
Note that Section 1.2 is not on the syllabus,
although you should already know that material too.
Next, I'll discuss arithmetic identities,
which is mostly in Section 1.6
(although some of it is in Sections 5.2 and 5.4);
I'll apply these to the rules of arithmetic
in Sections 1.4&1.5, 1.7, and 5.4.
Then I'll build on these to introduce algebraic expressions;
these are covered in Section 1.8 of the textbook,
and most of Chapter 5 is also about that (but I'll skip Section 5.5 for now).
I'll also discuss
some material from Section 2.4 involving evaluation of expressions
and some material from Sections 2.5 and 3.1&3.2
that relates to linear expressions.
After that, we'll learn to solve and apply linear equations,
which is most of what Chapter 2 (except for Sections 2.4 and 2.8) is about.
We'll also cover linear inequalities (Sections 2.8 and 8.6)
and some absolute-value equations and inequalities (Section 8.7).
Next, I'll talk about equations in more than one variable,
which is covered in Section 2.4 and most of Chapter 3 (except for Section 3.7);
we'll approach most of this through graphing,
and we'll also graph linear inequalities in two variables (Section 3.7).
Finally, we'll discuss systems of linear equations,
which is the topic of Chapter 4
(except for Section 4.6, which we won't cover).
If there's time, we'll also do Section 5.5,
which can serve as a sort of preparation
for Intermediate Algebra.
In total, we'll cover Chapters 1–5 from the textbook
(except skipping Sections 1.2 and 4.6),
as well as Sections 8.6&8.7.
It's a lot of material for 10 weeks, so the class has to move pretty fast;
please talk to me early if you need help!
Here is a more detailed list of topics and sections from the textbook.
The size of this list will not match our time in the course;
where I follow the book's order more closely, the list is more condensed.
- Introduction:
Section 1.1 (October 5): Success in mathematics.
- Arithmetic:
- Section 1.3 (October 7):
The number systems and the real number line;
- Sections 1.4&1.5 (October 7&12):
Adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing integers and fractions;
- Sections 1.7 and 5.4 (October 12):
Exponents (evaluating exponential expressions);
- Section 1.6 (October 12): Properties of real numbers;
- Section 1.7 (October 12&14): The order of operations;
- Section 5.6 (October 14): Scientific notation.
- Algebraic expressions:
- Section 1.8 (October 14): Algebraic expressions (evaluating);
- Section 2.4 (October 14): Evaluating formulas;
- Section 5.1 (October 19): Polynomials (degrees and terms);
- Section 1.8 (October 19): Algebraic expressions (simplifying);
- Section 5.1 (October 19): Adding and subtracting polynomials;
- Sections 5.2 and 5.4 (October 21): Multiplying and dividing monomials;
- Section 5.3 (October 21): Multiplying polynomials;
- Section 2.5 (October 26):
Problem solving (translating phrases to expressions);
- Sections 1.4&1.5 (October 26): Arithmetic (word problems);
- Sections 5.1–5.3 (October 26):
Algebraic expressions (word problems);
- Section 3.1 (October 28):
The rectangular coordinate system and tables of values;
- Section 3.2 (October 28):
Graphing equations in two variables
(formulas only, by plotting points).
- Equations and inequalities:
- Section 2.1 (October 28):
Linear equations (determining solutions);
- Sections 2.8 and 8.6 (November 2):
Linear inequalities (graphing and solution sets);
- (midterm November 4)
- Sections 2.1&2.2 (November 9):
Solving straightforward linear equations (no word problems);
- Section 2.3 (November 11):
Tricks for linear equations (no word problems);
- Section 2.8 (November 11):
Solving linear inequalities in one variable (no word problems);
- Section 8.6 (November 11): Compound inequalities (compact only);
- Sections 2.1–2.3 (November 16):
Solving linear equations (word problems);
- Section 2.5 (November 16): Word problems: direct translation;
- Sections 2.8, 8.6 (November 16):
Solving linear inequalities in one variable (word problems);
- Sections 2.6&2.7 (November 18): Word problems: special cases;
- Section 8.6 (postponed to December 16): Compound statements;
- Section 8.7 (postponed to December 16):
Absolute value equations and inequalities.
- Equations in two variables:
- Section 2.4 (November 23): Solving formulas for a variable;
- Section 3.1 (November 23): Equations in two variables;
- Section 3.2 (November 23): Graphing equations in two variables;
- Sections 3.3–3.5 (November 30): Slope and lines;
- Section 3.7 (December 2):
Linear inequalities in two variables.
- Systems of equations:
- Sections 3.6 (December 2): Parallel and perpendicular lines;
- Sections 4.1–4.3 (December 7):
Solving systems of linear equations (no word problems);
- Sections 4.2&4.3 (December 9):
Solving systems of linear equations (word problems);
- Sections 4.4&4.5 (December 9):
Solving problems using systems of linear equations.
- (final exam December 14)
- Preparation for Intermediate Algebra:
- Section 5.3 (December 16):
Multiplying polynomials (special forms);
- Section 5.5 (December 16): Dividing polynomials.
The last day to drop the course with a full refund is October 12 Tuesday;
the last day to drop at all is November 29 Monday.
On November 8 Monday, I will turn in midterm grades to the college;
this is why the midterm exam
is one class day earlier, on November 4 Thursday.
By November 9 Tuesday,
these should be available
on
WebAdvisor
(and mailed to you if they're poor);
your final grades should be available on December 21 Tuesday.
Go back to the course homepage.
This web page was written between 2003 and 2010 by Toby Bartels,
last edited on 2010 December 16.
Toby reserves no legal rights to it.
The permanent URI of this web page
is
http://tobybartels.name/MATH-0950/2010FA/schedule/.
