M 121 - College Algebra

Hey guys, here are some problems and concepts that you should study for Exam 1!

First, note that all general ideas and concepts are fair game for the online exam, which is about coverage rather than depth.  For the written exam, we will focus on depth of conceptual understanding with a small number of problems.  To help you study for the written exam, here are some problems in the Review on pages 207-214 to help you study:

1. You will need to be able to simplify a fairly complicated complex number expression. Use problems 54, 56, and 57 to study.

2. You will need to be able to solve a rational equation involving quadratic solutions. Use problem 81 to study.

3. You will need to solve a radical/root equation involving more than one radical expression. Use problems 89-91 to study.

4. You will need to solve an absolute value inequality. Use problems 120 and 121 to study.

Some additional problems that you can use to study from the Chapter Test on page 213 are 7, 13, 19, and 23.  You can find solutions for these problems in the Student Solutions Manual (around page 121).

Hey guys, here are some problems and concepts that you should study for Exam 2!

First, note that all general ideas and concepts are fair game for the online exam, which is about coverage rather than depth.  For the written exam, we will focus on depth of conceptual understanding with a small number of problems.  To help you study for the written exam, here are some problems in the Review on pages 334-343 to help you study:

1. You will need to be able to determine if a function is even, odd, or neither using the method of substitution described in 2.2.  Use questions 28-30 in the review to study.

2. You will need to be able to determine combinations of functions such as f + g, f - g, f x g, and f / g, and determine the domains of the combinations.  Use questions 76-84 in the review to study.

3. You will need to be able to determine the composition of two functions and determine the domain of the composition.  Use questions 85-88 in the review to study.

4. You will need to be able to determine whether or not a function has an inverse, and if so determine the inverse function.  Use questions 91-99 in the review to study.

5. You will need to be able to convert a general form equation of a circle to standard form and determine the location of the center, length of the radius, and domain and range of the circle's equation.  Use questions 109-111 in the review to study.

Some additional problems that you can use to study from the Chapter Test on pages 341-342 are 2, 3, 8, 10, 13, 14, 16-23, and 31-33.

You can find solutions for most of these problems in the Student Solutions Manual (pages 65-79).

Hey guys, here are some problems and concepts that you should study for Exam 3!

First, note that all general ideas and concepts are fair game for the online exam, which is about coverage rather than depth.  For the written exam, we will focus on depth of conceptual understanding with a small number of problems.  To help you study for the written exam, here are some problems in the Review on pages 456-459 to help you study:

1. Graph a polynomial by describing its end behavior, locating zeros and their multiplicities, determining symmetry, and using points (like the y-intercept) to approximate the shape of the graph.  Study review problems: 19-24 on page 457.

2. Use the Rational Zeros Theorem, Descartes's Rule of Signs, polynomial division, the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra, and the Linear Factorization Theorem to write a polynomial in factored form.  Study review problems: 49 and 50 on page 458 (use the processes from problems 40-48).

3. Graph a rational function by determining its horizontal/vertical asymptotes, zeros, holes, and key points (like the y-intercept).  Study problems 59-64 on page 458.

4. Solving a rational inequality by analyzing the graph of a rational function equal to zero.  Study problems 72-74 on page 459 (pay particular attention to number 73).

Hey guys, here are some problems and concepts that you should study for Exam 4!

First, note that all general ideas and concepts are fair game for the online exam, which is about coverage rather than depth.  For the written exam, we will focus on depth of conceptual understanding with a small number of problems.  To help you study for the written exam, here are some problems in the Review on pages 533-540 to help you study:

1. Problem 1: Graph a given exponential function and its logarithmic inverse in the same coordinate plane.  Review problems: Page 539, #1, 2.

2. Problem 2:  Expand and condense logarithmic expressions using the properties of logarithms.  Review problems: Page 539, #6-9

3. Problem 3: Solve an exponential equation with unlike bases using the concepts of logarithmic expansion (properties of logarithms) and change of bases for the purpose of calculation.  Review problems: Page 539, #11-14

4. Problem 4: Solve a logarithmic equation using the one-to-one property of logarithms and give the correct solution set of the equation by  determining extraneous roots generated by the solving process.  Review problems: Page 539, #15-18