1 Week Away!

Can you believe that Spring Break 2K20 is only one week away?! Where has this school year gone? …much less, this semester.

In Algebra II, we had an easy day according to most. We solved square root equations by both graphing and algebra. It was pretty easy and straightforward and sets the basis of what we will be doing on Monday with all of the different indices.

In Finite, we started looking at ordinary annuities. See the video for more details on Blackboard.

Old Friends

In Algebra II, we had a visit from some old friends today. The friends “a”, “h”, and “k” came back to visit us after being gone for about a month. This time, they talked all about square root functions and how they help to move the function all around the graph, just like they did for the absolute value functions. In all, I think we had a good visit. If you’d like to see all the fun we had, see the notes for the details.

In Finite, we finished looking at Compound Interest by talking about zero coupon bonds (zcb’s) and then the Annual Percent Yield (APY). Once we finished these last two topics, we looked at how to solve TVM equations using technology (aka our calculators). This will be a big component on the test, so I hope you paid attention.

What’s Up? Nothing Much…

The title pretty much fits the way the day went today…

In Algebra II, we took our test over Factoring, so there really isn’t anything to see here.

In Finite, we finished 5.1 over Simple Interest and Discount and started looking at 5.2 over Compound Interest. If you want more commentary than that, then see the notes below and/or the video on Blackboard.

Before the Internet Goes…

The internet after school has been spotty, so I’m going to keep this short and sweet.

In Algebra II, we took our CBA today, which will allow me to drop your lowest test grade. Then, we reviewed for the Unit 4 test over factoring, which we will take tomorrow.

In Finite, we finished up Test 2 and then dove off into the next topic – MONEY. Today was pretty “simple” in that we started with Section 5.1 which covers Simple Interest and Discount. We didn’t finish the section, so we’ll finish tomorrow.

TWO Weeks!

That’s all we have until Spring Break, and the resulting end of the nine weeks.

In Algebra II, we looked at factoring when “a” is not equal to 1. This was relatively similar to what we did on Friday, except that we had to multiply the last term by the first term. Then, we proceeded as if we were doing factoring on Friday – aka, we did the “Factor Pokey”. You know, it’s like the Hokey Pokey, but with Factoring.

In Finite, we took Test 2 today. Most of y’all finished, so tomorrow we will be starting (and maybe even finishing) Section 5.1 over Simple Interest and Discount. I’m excited about this unit!

Happy Friday!

I’m glad it’s Friday and the sun is shining…what an even bigger bonus!

In Algebra II, we looked at the first day of factoring trinomials with a=1. Some of them had GCFs we had to deal with first. It’s a little much to explain here, so see the notes for the details.

In Finite, we had our review for Test 2…STUDY!!

Easin’ through the week

You’ve heard of “Dashin’ through the woods…” but have you heard of “Easin’ through the week”? It happens when you have not only an easy day or two but when the week seems to drag on foreeeeeever.

In Algebra II, the “easy” day came in the form of looking at factoring our special cases for one more day. There’s not really anything of note to mention hear, other than the fact that their weren’t technically any notes. Instead, we did 1/3 of the assignment together.

In Finite, we had an “easy” day in the sense that it was basically a “catch-up” day. It was a day where we could get corrections done, get tomorrow’s assignment done, or whatever needs to get done.

Wet Wednesday

Imagine that, it’s Wednesday and raining yet again! On another note, if you ever see a question about learning Arabic numerals and whether or not we should learn them, the answer is YES! (Arabic numerals are the normal digits 0, 1, 2, 3, …, 9)

In Algebra II, we had our first dose of factoring the special cases. These seem hard at first, but should get easier with time. They are the cases where we have a difference of squares, difference of cubes, or a sum of cubes. They each have their own formulas but if you find the “a” and “b”, you’ll be set for success.

In Finite, we finished up Section 4.4 by looking at applications (a.k.a. word problems) for exponential and logarithmic equations. This is also the last of the material for Test 2, which is quickly approaching on Monday and Tuesday.

Truckin’ Along

I hope everyone had a great 4-day weekend! After a mini-break like that, I know it can be hard to get back into the swing of things. However, time goes on and so must we.

In Algebra II, we started Unit 4 over factoring. Luckily, today was an easier day. We were factoring using the Greatest Common Factor (GCF). Basically, we wanted to take out the biggest item that we could. That’s really all there was to it – What’s the largest item you can take out? Then, write whatever is left inside a set of parentheses beside the GCF.

In Finite, we looked at equations that involved logarithms and exponentials. This was sort of like a “capstone” section for Test 2 in that it put together a lot of what we have been looking at, especially during Chapter 4 (last week). We had 4 different approaches to these problems, so see the notes to see which game plan is the correct approach. (Psst…rumor has it that there is even a homework problem somewhere in the notes, so go look.)

FOUR Day Weekend!

We’ve had three-day weekends, but how often do we actually get a FOUR day weekend?! Not very often, so enjoy your Valentine’s break!

In Algebra II, we tested over Polynomials.

In Finite, we learned a “new” language for a “old” idea. What’s that new language and what’s the old idea? Well, we’ve been looking at exponential functions and then their applications – that’s the old. The new is logarithms. We looked at Section 4.3 today, which involves Logarithmic Functions. This involved converting from exponentials to logarithms, condensing logs, expanding logs, graphing logs, and even one log application. On Tuesday, we start working equations with both involved!