Math V04 (TR) Start Page, Fall 2008
Introduction and Announcements
Welcome to the start page for Math V04 (College Algebra) at Ventura College. Michael Bowen (email) will be teaching this course during the fall 2008 semester.
Important note: This web page is not a substitute for attending class; regular attendance is an expectation of this course. Modifications to homework assignments, and other important news announced in class, may not appear on this page for several days. You are still responsible for all assignments and in-class announcements even if they do not appear here! If you wish to verify information on this page, please contact the instructor.
Textbook Information
This text is required:
- Author: R. Blitzer
- Title: College Algebra, Fourth Edition
- ISBN-10: You may obtain either 0536268193 or 0132191415
- ISBN-13: You may obtain either 9780536268198 or 9780132191418
- VC bookstore price before tax: New $102.59; Used $76.95 (includes student supplement)
Holidays
Classes at Ventura College will meet Monday through Friday each week of the semester, excepting only the dates listed below.
- Monday 1 Sep 2008 (Labor Day)
- Monday 10 Nov 2008 (Veterans Day)
- Thursday and Friday 27–28 Nov 2008
Final Examination
Date/time: Thursday 11 December 2008, 12:30 p.m.
Be sure that your big party to celebrate the end of finals occurs after the appropriate date. Requests for administration of early or late finals that require the instructor to reschedule his work or make a special trip to campus are subject to a deduction of points, regardless of the reason for the request.
Grading Status
Check whether final grades are posted yet for your course.
Current Assignments
- These are listed in reverse chronological order.
- Note: "EOO" (every other odd) means to do problems
1, 5, 9, 13, 17, 21, 25, 29, 33, 37, 41, 45, 49, 53, 57, 61, etc. - Note: Please do "E.C." (extra credit) problems on a separate sheet of paper from the regular assignment.
| Due Date | § | Title | Problems | E.C. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 Dec 2008 |
Final Examination (Chapters 5–8) Optional study problems suggested at right Bring your Chapter 5/6/7/8 homework to the final to turn in (up to 20 points credit) |
(For students with minimal study time) Page 532 (Chapter 5 Test): 4; 5 Page 601 (Chapter 6 Test): 3–8 ALL; Page 645 (Chapter 7 Test): 1–9 ALL (for #9, note that each person is standing at a focus of the ellipse); Page 724 (Chapter 8 Test): 17; 18 |
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(For students with additional study time) The above plus Page 530 (Ch. 5 Review Exercises): 25–35 ALL; Page 599 (Ch. 6 Review Exercises): 15–27 ODD; 38–45 ALL; Page 643 (Ch. 7 Review Exercises): 1–37 ODD; Page 722 (Ch. 8 Review Exercises): 61–69 ALL; and Even-numbered problems from the ranges of the Chapter 5, 6, 7, 8 homework assignments |
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| 9 Dec 2008 | 5.4 | Systems of Nonlinear Equations in Two Variables | 1–41 ODD | 58 |
| 6.3 | Matrix Operations and Their Applications | 9–15 ODD; 27–35 ODD | — | |
| 6.4 | Multiplicative Inverses of Matrices and Matrix Equations | 1–27 ODD; 37; 41 | — | |
| 6.5 | Determinants and Cramer's Rule | (Extra credit only; see next column) | 24; 26; 38; 40 | |
| 2 Dec 2008 | 7.3 | The Parabola | 1–41 EOO | — |
| 8.5 | The Binomial Theorem | 1–47 ODD | — | |
| 27–28 Nov 2008 | No class (holiday) | |||
| 25 Nov 2008 | Chapters 4, 5, 6 | (For the time being, we are skipping these chapters) | — | |
| 7.1 | The Ellipse | 1–35 ODD; 37–49 EOO | — | |
| 7.2 | The Hyperbola | 1–31 ODD; 33–41 EOO | — | |
| 20 Nov 2008 |
Chapter 3 Test Optional study problems suggested at right |
(For students with minimal study time) Page 396 (Chapter 3 Test): 1; 2; 3; 6; 7; 8; 9; 11; 12; 13; 15; 24; 25 |
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(For students with additional study time) The above plus Page 393: 1–7 ALL; 11–14 ALL; 17–37 ALL; 41–47 ALL; 71–73 ALL; and Even-numbered problems from the ranges of the Chapter 3 homework assignments |
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| 18 Nov 2008 | 3.5 | Rational Functions and Their Graphs | (No assignment) | — |
| 3.6 | Polynomials and Rational Inequalities | 1–37 EOO | — | |
| 3.7 | Modeling Using Variation | (No assignment) | — | |
| 11 Nov 2008 | 3.2 | Polynomial Functions and Their Graphs | 1–39 ODD; 41–61 EOO | — |
| 3.3 | Dividing Polynomials; Remainder and Factor Theorems | 1–13 EOO; 17–45 ODD | — | |
| 3.4 | Zeros of Polynomial Functions | 9–23 ODD; 39–51 ODD | — | |
| 10 Nov 2008 | No class (holiday) | |||
| 4 Nov 2008 | 3.1 | Quadratic Functions | 1–43 ODD | — |
| 28 Oct 2008 |
Chapter 2 Test Optional study problems suggested at right |
(For students with minimal study time) Page 294 (Chapter 2 Test): 1–34 ALL |
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(For students with additional study time) The above plus Page 291: 1–27 ALL; 29–44 ALL; 45ab; 46–103 ALL; and Even-numbered problems from the ranges of the Chapter 2 homework assignments |
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| 23 Oct 2008 | 2.7 | Inverse Functions | 1–49 EOO | 69 |
| 2.8 | Distance and Midpoint Formulas; Circles | 1–57 EOO | — | |
| 14 Oct 2008 | 2.5 | Transformations of Functions | Finish the problems from last week's assignment | — |
| 2.6 | Combinations of Functions; Composite Functions | 1–77 EOO | — | |
| 7 Oct 2008 | 2.4 | More on Slope | 1–17 ODD; 33; 34 | — |
| 2.5 | Transformations of Functions | 1–117 EOO | — | |
| 30 Sep 2008 | 2.2 | More on Functions and Their Graphs | 1–21 EVERY OTHER ODD; 23–69 ODD | — |
| 2.3 | Linear Functions and Slope |
Optional → 1–57 EOO; 59–71 ODD Although the homework is optional, you are responsible for knowing this material for the Chapter 2 exam; it is a review of y = mx + b and y − y1 = m(x − x1), except they now use f(x) instead of y |
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| 23 Sep 2008 | 2.1 | Basics of Functions and Their Graphs | 1–91 ODD | — |
| 18 Sep 2008 |
Chapter 1 Test Optional study problems suggested at right |
(For students with minimal study time) Page 183: 1–23 ALL; 28–34 ALL; 40–44 ALL |
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(For students with additional study time) The above plus Page 181: 15–35 ODD; 39–81 ODD; 87–101 ODD; 111–121 ODD; and Even-numbered problems from the ranges of the Chapter 1 homework assignments |
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| 16 Sep 2008 | 1.7 | Linear Inequalities and Absolute Value Inequalities |
Optional → 1–25 ODD Required → 29–93 EOO |
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| 9 Sep 2008 | 1.4 | Complex Numbers | 1–43 ODD | — |
| 1.5 | Quadratic Equations |
Optional → 1–81 ODD; Required → 83–107 ODD |
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| 1.6 | Other Types of Equations | 1–77 EOO | — | |
| 2 Sep 2008 | P.6 | Rational Expressions | 1–61 EOO | 68 |
| 1.1 | Graphs and Graphing Utilities | 13–27 ODD; 41–45 ODD | — | |
| 1.2 | Linear Equations and Rational Equations | 1–49 EOO; 69–79 ODD | — | |
| 1.3 | Models and Applications | 37–57 EOO; 61–79 ODD | — | |
| 1 Sep 2008 | No class (holiday) | |||
| 26 Aug 2008 | — | Syllabus Worksheet (obtain a copy) | ||
| P.1 | Algebraic Expressions and Real Numbers | 1–37 ODD, 51–101 ODD | — | |
| P.2 | Exponents and Scientific Notation | 23–63 ODD | — | |
| P.3 | Radicals and Rational Exponents | 1–105 EOO | — | |
| P.4 | Polynomials | 1–81 EOO | — | |
| P.5 | Factoring Polynomials | 1–101 EOO | — | |
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Future Assignments (tentative): The instructor may make changes to this list from time to time.
Students must not rely on printed versions of this list; instead, they should check the live online version periodically for possible updates.
Students who work ahead and complete one or more assignments in advance are taking a risk that the assignment(s) may change before the due date, in which case the advice in the preceding sentence is particularly applicable.
In any case, students are responsible for completing the assignments as finalized in the Current Assignments section above, and should not expect to earn extra credit for completing tentatively assigned exercises that are later modified or removed from this list.
- (Due dates have been designated for all remaining assignments; please see above)
- Course Handouts and Study Aids:
- The documents listed below are available for viewing or download. Please read the following bullets carefully before selecting any documents.
- To view documents in PDF format, we suggest that you first download and install the Adobe® Acrobat Reader™ on your computer if you have not done so previously. This free software is a de facto standard Web document viewer that will enable you to access content at this and many other websites. Alternatively, you may also use other software products capable of displaying or printing PDF format files (several such products are available for download, some at no cost). We recommend that you select this version of any document that you need to print on paper (for example, to replace a lost copy).
- Documents in HTML format are best for on-screen reading. Although these can usually be printed, they are not specifically designed to be printer-friently. Thus, the formatting may be odd in some cases, depending on the combination of software and printer, and text may spill over the margins onto two or more pages.
- Documents in DOC format were created using Microsoft® Word. If this software is installed on your computer, we suggest that you use it to view these documents. If you do not have this software, you can still view Word documents if you first download the Word Viewer. This is free software from Microsoft that will permit you to open (but not modify) documents created using any of the most recent versions of MS Word.
- Documents in PPT format are PowerPoint® presentations. If this software is installed on your computer, we suggest that you use it to view these documents. After your document opens in PowerPoint, press the F5 button to view the slide show in full-screen mode. If you do not have this software, you can still view PowerPoint documents if you first download the PowerPoint Viewer. This is free software from Microsoft that will permit you to open (but not modify) documents created using any of the most recent versions of MS PowerPoint.
- Handouts links
- Course Information: (HTML) | (PDF)
- Course Requirements and Grading, Side 1: (HTML) | (PDF)
- Course Requirements and Grading, Side 2: (HTML) | (PDF)
- Tips for Success: (HTML) | (PDF)
- Standards of Student Conduct and Classroom Rules (HTML) | (PDF)
- Syllabus Worksheet: (DOC) | (PDF)
- Instructor's Schedule (PDF; not really a handout; this is a copy of the printed schedule that appears on the instructor's office door)
- Study aids links
- Multiplication Tables: (DOC) | (PDF)
- Divisibility Rules: (DOC) | (PDF)
- Sieve of Eratosthenes (PDF) with directions (finds prime numbers) (HTML)
- Powers of Ten Tutorial (off-site; requires Java™ Runtime Environment [free download] to be installed and enabled on your computer): (HTML)
- Translating English Phrases Into Algebraic Expressions: (DOC) | (PDF)
- Multilingual Vocabulary for Mathematics (possibly helpful for students whose first language is not English): (HTML)
- Basic Algebra Review: (DOC) | (PDF)
- Basic Geometry Review: (PPT) | (PDF)
- Transformations of Functions (may require downloading and installation of free software to view all portions; see the page itself for details): (HTML)
