Math 150 (secs. 001&002), Spring 2013
Precalculus
Some items for use with our Hawkes Learning Systems software.
Here is the Hawkes home page.
- If you're having technical problems, email support@hawkeslearning.com or call 843.571.2825.
- Our Hawkes CourseID is LSUSPRC.
- If you're away from your home computer, you can visit hawkeslearning.com/LSUSPRC to find due dates, view your up-to-date grade, etc.
Various problems, solutions, hints, and other stuff will show up below, as the semester progresses. Note (so you don't freak out) that some of the items below aren't discussed in our course until later in the semester. But it is more convenient for me to leave them here, and you might enjoy having a look at some of what's coming.
- [Re-posted Mar 29] For understanding graphs of sine and cosine functions (Section 6-4), here is a crude online quiz that generates sinusoidal curves, for testing your ability to write an equation of such a curve.
[Posted Feb 10] Here are two demos concerning factored polynomials, each made a few years ago. If they sound like I'm talking to someone else, it is because I am; they were made following class discussions. If you are nice, I'll make a new one for you. Meanwhile, they have the main ideas we discussed in class. They are nearly identical, except that I use different functions, and do a few different kinds of things. POLYDEMO1 POLYDEMO2
[Posted Feb 10] Here is some practice for you regarding simplification of combinations of intervals. Please try this out. INTERVAL QUIZZES
- Try this online quiz, "Trig-a-gnosis", for testing your understanding of the values of sines and cosines. No scores are generated, it is just for your own use. (You should also try the following: using graph paper, draw an angle θ in standard position, terminating at the point (x, y); guess the sine and cosine of θ, just by looking; measure the values of x, y, r and θ; compute the values of sin(θ) and cos(θ) from their definitions involving x, y, r; then use a calculator to check the values of sin(θ) and cos(θ) for comparison. When your guesses start to get good, you understand what sine and cosine mean.)
- A little lesson about plotting some linear absolute value functions, including a shortcut.
- Here are more homemade online multiple choice quizzes
- Here is a homemade online multiple choice quiz regarding
parabolas.
This is practice to help you visualize lines given their equations in vertex form.
Here is a similar quiz regarding
power functions.
- A homemade online multiple choice quiz regarding
straight lines.
This is practice to help you visualize lines given their equations in slope-intercept form.
(You need to get straight with lines. Straight lines will be a big part of EACH exam and you should have no illusions about that.)
- Here are some crude, homemade "webMathematica" generated quizzes on various topics.
- Practice polynomial long division. Levels 2,3,4 are what you need.
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Here's a web page from 2005 about finding midpoints and their generalizations.
- A quiz concerning midpoints and their generalizations.
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A web page from 2004 about finding distances between lines.
- A quiz on finding various kinds of distances between lines and points. (Should we call this "distance learning"?)
- A quiz on finding the circle determined by three points.
- The publisher's webpage for your textbook.
- The author is also the Interim Chancellor (The Boss) at LSUS. Check out this Shreveport Times piece and then look at page 268 in your text!
Check the Web for College Algebra or Precalculus tutorials and quizzes if you need to. You could start at the site below, but you'll probably need to dig around awhile before
finding something you like. (No heavy surfing until you've done your homework.)