Usually I enjoy reading (particularly math), however, this week was extremely rushed, due to personal responsibilities. As a consequence, I didn't give the first pass through the attention it deserved. This resulted in the need to reread significant portions in support of the quiz, and assignment questions.
Discussion Forum.
I love these discussion forums. It is full of bright minds with creative perspectives makes it a pleasure to read. Due to time constraints (i.e. tax time) there wasn't much time to participate but I did my best. I noticed numerous students avoided tackling the piecewise function question using a proof. The gap between Jan 31 and Feb 1 was an interesting talking point. In doing mine, I made a foolish copy paste …show more content…
Had a fellow student who had issues with this one. Their answer was y=x/(sqrt3), whereas the book answer was y=(sqrt3)x/3. They groaned when I pointed out that they were the same values in slightly different formats. Recognizing different formats appears to be an issue a number of individuals.
Page 155. A student had a problem with the concept of negative / positive numbers and fractions. I showed him -2/3 + 3 = 3 - 2/3. The concepts of common denominators was also discussed, just in case. This is a fundamental concept, and raises the issue of his preparedness for this class.
Assignment Unit 2. A friend asked for assistance on the math assignment (same course different class). As part of a discussion on piecewise functions, I pointed out that as a function the have to pass the vertical line test. Today I found out in the solution did not require the result to pass the vertical line test.. I apologized for the extra work and potential lost marks they may have incurred.
General Observations.
The provided material is far superior than anything I have previously used when tutoring my sons through Precalculus. There are also noteworthy on-line interactive resources like those of Khan Academy, which is an excellent supplement to the