Students in Algebra II are working on a year long project. The focus of the Algebra II curriculum is working on many of the different families of functions. Students have each created their own website where they have built a page for each of the nine function families that we will be learning about this year: linear functions, absolute value functions, quadratic functions, polynomial functions, radical functions, rational functions, exponential functions, logarithmic functions and trigonometric functions. Check out some of their websites and some of the function family videos they have created. We have finished the linear function and absolute function families so far.
We covered a unit on solving systems of equations. We reviewed linear systems with two equations using both substitution and elimination. We also worked on solving systems of linear and absolute value inequalities using graphing. The skills we learned making our videos came in handy here. Then we extended our skills to solving systems of three linear equations with three variables using both our skills in elimination as well as substitution. We even explored using matrices and Gaussian Elimination to solve systems of equations. Of course, we applied our skills to solve some real world problems using systems of equations and even learned how to utilize the TI-84 calculators to solve systems.
The unit we are currently working on is Quadratic Functions. Not only are we learning how to graph quadratic functions by finding the vertex, axis of symmetry and intercepts, but we are learning the skills needed to find these features. One of the major focuses of this unit is solving quadratic equations. We are learning several method for doing this including by factoring, completing the square, using the quadratic formula, taking square roots and even by graphing on our TI-84 calculators. Additionally, we are learning about the imaginary number i and the set of complex numbers since finding x-intercepts often yields complex results.