There Goes January!

Welp, there goes our last day of January! Can you believe that when you come back next week it will already be February?!

Anyways, Finite took their second half of Exam 1 today, so nothing to see here.

Algebra II closed out January by looking at how to solve systems of equations using matrices. This was primarily done on the nSpires and is hard to explain how to do them here. Just make sure both equations are in standard form: Ax + By = C. Other than that, see the notes for all the juicy deets.

It’s a Three-some!

I don’t know about you but it seems that everything comes in threes. Today was no different.

In Algebra II, we looked at solving a system of three equations. This wasn’t too terribly difficult but we had to really use some algebraic manipulation and our mind power to solve some of these systems. Have no fear though, tomorrow is all on the calculator.

In Finite, we had the first part of Exam 1 (unless you weren’t going to be here tomorrow, then you took both parts).

I’ll be out tomorrow, so everyone have a fantastic week. In the words of the late Marvin Zindler, “I hope you have good golf, good tennis, or whatever makes you happy. Maaarrrrvinnnn Zindler – Eye. Witness. News”

All Together Now, Y’all!

In both classes, today was about putting everything together into one nice, neat package.

In Algebra II, we did this back looking at how to solve systems using the three different methods we’ve covered so far. These methods included graphing, substitution, and elimination. Each method has it’s own set of pros and cons. If both variables are on one side, perhaps elimination is best. If one variable is already solved for, perhaps substitution is best.

In Finite, we put it all together by reviewing for our first test, which is tomorrow and Friday.

Sometimes, Substitutions are Good

Sometimes, you just can’t beat a good substitute. Whether it’s in a recipe or perhaps even the teacher being out, we need substitutes and they are a part of life.

In Algebra II, we looked at solving a system of equations using substitution. The basis here is to solve one equation for one of the variables and then plug whatever you got for that variable into the second equation. If this sounds confusing, see the notes.

In Finite, we had a Flux (Catch-Up) Day.

Don’t be Eliminated!

Have you ever been in a tournament of some sort? What happens if you lose a game? You get ELIMINATED! Don’t be eliminated, but just know if you read this, you just lost “The Game” 😉

In Algebra II, we actually did want to eliminate something. That something was a variable in our system of equations. The goal was to eliminate one variable, solve for the other with what’s left, and then plug that result in to get the eliminated variable. If that sounds too complicated, it’s really not. See the notes for more info.

In Finite, we finished the last of the material for the first major exam. This involved looking at Break-Even Analysis and Supply/Demand Analysis. See the notes below and look on Blackboard for the lecture video.

Three Weeks Down!

Just like that, we have finished the first three weeks of this course. Can you believe it!?

In Algebra II, we marked the milestone by learning about how to graph a system of inequalities. This is very similar to what we were doing yesterday but with inequality symbols. If it was “>” we had a dotted line and we shade above, “<” tells us to do a dotted line and shade below, and if you add the “or equal to bar” the above/below rule stays the same but we’ll just draw a solid line instead. Where everything overlaps, that’s our solution to the system of inequalities.

In Finite, we finished talking about graphs of functions and started talking about applications of linear functions. See Blackboard for more details, including a video of the lesson.

Every Which Way

Ever had a day where you felt like you were going in every direction at one time? Yeah, that’s how today was for me…and probably tomorrow too, for that matter.

In Algebra II, we started Unit 2 by looking at solving systems of equations by graphing. This was pretty straight forward, as we just need to get the equations into slope-intercept form (y = mx+b) and graph them. Wherever the lines crossed is our solution. If they didn’t cross, then they are parallel and would have No Solution. If they were the same line, then there were Infinite Solutions. Pretty easy stuff.

In Finite, we finished Section 3.1 over Functions by talking about piece-wise functions and then a Tax bracket example. This led right into Section 3.2, which talked about Graphs of Functions, namely, piece-wise functions. On that note, make sure to try logging into Blackboard because that’s where I post recordings of every class, notes, and other things.

I Have a Dream…

I have a dream that one day, Math is be 100% fun and full of exploration. A dream that will involve not just solving brute-force calculations but working to solve a “mysterious” project where learning truly takes place, people are open and willing to make mistakes in the name of learning, and actually have FUN while doing it. …This dream may not be realized this year, next year, or even the year after, but I hope that one day we can structure our math courses in this manner.

On a more realistic note, Algebra II spent the period getting ready for our first test that covers equations and inequalities. These equations and inequalities involve both “normal” (linear) functions and absolute value functions. As long as you study the review, you’ll be just peachy.

In Finite, we had a bell-to-bell day. We looked at how to build linear models given a set of data and ultimately capped off the day learning how to do linear regressions in the calculator. Hopefully tomorrow won’t be as jam-packed, but we’ll have to wait and see.

Three Day Weekend!!!

Not only did we survive the first full week of this semester (remember last week was a short week), but we have a three-day weekend. Wahoo!!! Enjoy the extra day off!

In Algebra II, we had a small review day where we looked at all things involving absolute value. These including equations, inequalities, and graphing. There wasn’t anything new, just recalling what we’ve already done.

In Finite, we graded a couple of assignments and then just had a day to work on what’s due Tuesday.