Precalculus Standards and Explanations

Below are the objectives students are required to learn in Precalculus

Note:

  • (*) Indicates a modeling standard linking mathematics to everyday life, work, and decision-making.

  • (+) Indicates additional mathematics to prepare students for advanced courses.

  • (CA) Indicates only for California.

I. Number and Quantity [N.]

[N.CN.] The Complex Number System

Perform arithmetic measures with complex numbers.

    • [N.CN.3] (+) Find the conjugate of a complex number; use conjugates to find moduli and quotients of complex numbers.

Represent complex numbers and their operations on the complex plane.

  • [N.CN.4] (+) Represent complex numbers on the complex plane in rectangular and polar form (including real and imaginary numbers), and explain why the rectangular and polar forms of a given complex number represent the same number.

  • [N.CN.5] (+) Represent addition, subtraction, multiplication, and conjugation of complex numbers geometrically on the complex plane; use properties of this representation of computation. For example,

  • because has modulus 2 and argument 120°.

  • [N.CN.6] (+) Calculate the distance between numbers in the complex plane as the modulus of the difference, and the midpoint of a segment as the average of the numbers at its endpoints.

[N.VM.] Vector Quantities and Matrices

Represent and model with vector quantities.

    • [N.VM.1] (+) Recognize vector quantities as having both magnitude and direction. Represent vector quantities by directed line segments, and use appropriate symbols for vectors and their magnitudes (e.g. v, |v|, and ||v||).

  • [N.VM.2] (+) Find the components of a vector by subtracting the coordinates of an initial point form the coordinates of a terminal point.

  • [N.VM.3] (+) Solve problems involving velocity and other quantities that can be represented by vectors.

Perform operations on vectors.

    • [N.VM.4] (+) Add and subtract vectors.

    • [N.VM.4a] Add vectors end to end, component-wise, and by the parallelogram rule. Understand that the magnitude of a sum of two vectors is typically not the sum of the magnitudes.

    • [N.VM.4b] Given two vectors in magnitude and direction form, determine the magnitude and direction of their sum.

    • [N.VM.4c] Understand that vector subtraction v - w as v + (-w), where -w is the additive inverse of w, with the same magnitude as w and pointing in the opposite direction. Represent vector subtraction graphically by connecting the tips in the appropriate order, and perform vector subtraction component wise.

    • [N.VM.5] (+) Multiply a vector by a scalar

    • [N.VM.5a] Represent scalar multiplication graphically by scaling vectors and possibly reversing their direction; perform scalar multiplication component-wise e.g. as c<vx, vy> = <cvx, cvy>.

    • Compute the magnitude of a scalar multiple cv using ||cv|| = |c|v. Compute the direction of cv knowing that when |c|v ≠ 0, the direction of cv is either along v (for c>0) or against v (for c<0)

Perform operations on matrices and use matrices in applications.

    • [N.VM.6] (+) Use matrices to represent and manipulate data, e.g., to represent payoffs or incidence relationships in a network.

  • [N.VM.7] (+) Multiply matrices by scalars to produce new matrices, e.g., as when all payoffs in a game are doubled.

    • [N.VM.8] (+) Add, subtract, and multiply matrices of appropriate dimensions.

    • [N.VM.9] (+) Understand that, unlike multiplication of numbers, matrix multiplication of square matrices is not a commutative operation, but still satisfies the associative and distributive properties.

  • [N.VM.10] (+) Understand that the zero and identity matrices play a role in matrix addition and multiplication similar to the role of 0 and 1 in the real numbers. The determinant of a square matrix is nonzero if and only if the matrix has a multiplicative inverse.

    • [N.VM.11] (+) Multiply a vector (regarded as a matrix with one column) by a matrix of suitable dimensions to produce another vector. Work with matrices as transformations of vectors.

    • [N.VM.12] (+) Work with 2x2 matrices as transformations of the plane, and interpret the absolute value of the determinate in terms of area.

[A.REI.] Reasoning with Equations and Inequalities

Solve systems of equations.

    • [A.REI.8] (+) Represent a system of linear equations as a single matrix equation in a vector variable.

  • [A.REI.9] (+) Find the inverse of a matrix if it exists and use it to solve systems of linear equations (using technology for matrices of dimension 3x3 or greater).

[F.IF.] Interpreting Functions

Analyze functions using different representations, including logarithmic and trigonometric functions.

  • [F.IF.7] Graph functions expressed symbolically and show key features of the graph, by hand in simple cases and using technology in more complicated ones.

    • [F.IF.7d] (+) Graph rational, logarithmic, and trigonometric functions, identifying zeros and asymptotes when suitable factorizations are available, and showing end behavior.

[F.BF.] Building Functions

Build a function that models a relationship between two quantities.

  • [F.BF.1] Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities.

    • [F.BF.1c] (+) Compose functions. For example, if T(y) is the temperature in the atmosphere as a function of height, and h(t) is the height of a weather balloon as a function of time, then T(h(t) is the temperature at the location of the weather balloon as a function of time.

Build new functions from existing functions.

  • [F.BF.4] Find inverse functions.

    • [F.BF.4b] (+) Verify by composition that one function is the inverse of another.

    • [F.BF.4c] (+) Read values of an inverse function from a graph or a table, given that the function has an inverse.

    • [F.BF.4d] (+) Produce an invertible function from a non-invertible function by restricting the domain.

  • [F.BF.5] (+) Understand the inverse relationship between exponents and logarithms and use this relationship to solve problems involving logarithms and exponents.

[F.TF.] Trigonometric Functions

Extend the domain of trigonometric functions using the unit circle.

    • [F.TF.3] (+) Use special triangles to determine geometrically the values of sine, cosine, and tangent for π/3, π/4, π/6, and use the unit circle to express the values of sine, cosine, and tangent for x - π, x + π, and 2π - x in terms of their values for x, where x is any real number.

  • [F.TF.4] (+) Use the unit circle to explain symmetry (odd and even) and periodicity of trigonometric functions.

Model periodic phenomena with trigonometric functions.

  • [F.TF.6] (+) Understand that restricting a trigonometric function to a domain on which it is always increasing or always decreasing allows its inverse to be constructed.

  • [F.TF.7] (+) (*) Use inverse functions to solve trigonometric equations that arise in modeling contexts; evaluate the solutions using technology, and interpret them in terms of context.

Prove and apply trigonometric identities.

  • [F.TF.9] (+) Prove the addition and subtraction formulas for sine, cosine, and tangent, and use them to solve problems.

  • [F.TF.10] (+) (CA) Prove the half angle and double angle identities for sine and cosine and use them to solve problems.

[G.GPE.] Expressing Geometric Properties with Equations

Translate between the geometric description and the equation for a conic section.

  • [G.GPE.3] (+) Derive the equations of ellipses and hyperbolas given the foci, using the fact that the sum or the difference of distances from the foci is constant.

[G.GMD.] Geometric Measurement and Dimension

Explain volume formulas and use them to solve problems.

  • [G.GMD.2] (+) Give an informal argument using Cavalieri's principle for the formulas for the volume of a sphere and other solid figures.

[S.MD.] Using Probability to Make Decisions

Calculate expected values and use them to solve problems.

  • [S.MD.1] (+) (*) Define a random variable for a quantity of interest by assigning a numerical value to each event in a sample space; graph the corresponding probability distribution using the same graphical displays as for data distributions.

  • [S.MD.2] (+) (*) Calculate the expected value of a random variable; interpret it as the mean of the probability distribution.

  • [S.MD.3] (+) (*) Develop a probability distribution for a random variable defined for a sample space in which theoretical probabilities can be calculated; find the expected value. For example, find the theoretical probability distribution for the number of correct answers obtained by guessing on all five questions of a multiple-choice test where each question has four choices, and find the expected grade under various grading schemes.

  • [S.MD.4] (+) (*) Develop a probability distribution for a random variable defined for a sample space in which probabilities are assigned empirically; find the expected value. For example, find a current data distribution on the number of TV sets per household in the United States, and calculate the expected number of sets per household. How many TV sets would you expect to find in 100 randomly selected households?

  • [S.MD.5] (+) (*) Weigh the possible outcomes of a decision by assigning probabilities to payoff values and finding expected values.

    • [S.MD.5a] Find the expected payoff for a game of chance. For example, find the expected winnings from a state lottery ticket or a game at a fast-food restaurant.

    • [S.MD.5b] Evaluate and compare strategies on the basis of expected values. For example, compare a high-deductible versus a low-deductible automobile insurance policy using various, but reasonable, chances of having a minor or a major accident.