SCRIBER!!

Hello everyone I'm the scribe for today.

The first thing that we learned today was x intercepts and y intercepts
When x is 0 it is called the y intercept and when the y is 0 it is called the x intercept.

The next thing we learned was slope-intercepts. The formula for slope intercepts is y=mx+b.

Someone from the back asked a question (I think it was John D) well he asked if what Mr. K was teaching, was algorithms and Mr. K said yes and explained to us what algorithms were. An algorithm is a ten-dollar word for a method that you do step by step and it will always work.

Next on the list is point-slope form. The formula for point slope form is y-y1=m (x-x1).

General form is the next thing we learned and the formula for that is Ax+By+C=0.

After all that Mr. K put up two coordinates and we had to write it in point-slope, slope-intercept and general form, we also had to draw a graph and a table of values.

Sorry if all I'm putting up are formula's because I don't quite understand all this yet. But I will get better at it soon :)

Our next assignment is exercise 12 numbers 1 to 20.
And the scribe for Monday is...........................................SAMUS!! Muahaha (sorry Sam :P)

Slope! Make Mr.K smile!

Good afternoon bloggers of Mr.K's fourth period grade ten pre cal class!

I am your scribe for the day, and I hope I can do just as great a job as the previous scribes before me. Good luck to me..

In todays class, Mr. K started off with some announcements. He talked about the math contest, and thats it's a great idea to receive bonus marks on your final grade. So, next month, lets all go out there, and show our math skills, and get some credit for it! Listen for announcements, so you know when the next math contest is going to be. Mr. K also mentioned that he is going to be away for a total of seven days, sparatically, in the month of October, BOO HOO! (and I'm not being sarcastic) and we will have three substitutes during those days. Also, Mr.K is going to be doing a presentation on October 21st, at Lyden Christian school. For those of you that signed up, make sure you know if you are going or not.

Now, to get to the math. The whole period was dedicated to writing defintions in our math dictionaries. Some of these defintions included:

Slope: Three Perspectives
The "slope" of a line describes its "steepness" and whether the line is increasing or decreasing.

GRAPHICALLY : "The RISE over the RUN"
From a graph the slope of a line can be found by calculation the RISE over the RUN from one "latice point" to another.

NUMERICALLY: We find the change in y coordinates divided by the change in the x coordinates.This information can be found from a graph or a table of values.

SYMBOLICALLY : In the equation of a line, written in standard from(which we should call the "slope-intercept form, to make Mr.K smile) , the coeffecient of the x term is called the slope - but it is BETTER (also makes Mr.K smile), if you call it the "RATE OF CHANGE"

We also learned about the standard (or slope intercept) form, and the point-slope form.

I don't have any fun links like Mr.K has to work on the problem, but just remember that homework tonight is Exercise 11 #1-20

Aaaand, what you've all been waiting for...tomorrow's scribe is...marianne_c..goodluck Marianne!

Happy sloping!

Lines

Here is a summary and review of what we've been learning over the last few days. There is a neat little java applet you can play with to see how changes in the slope and y-intercept effect the graph of a line.

Try the exercises here too if you wish. Towards the bottom of the page you'll find 3 animations of how changing slopes effect the graphs of lines with different y-intercepts. (Click on the animated gif links.)

How many lines do you see?

Update!
Since I noticed some of you are struggling with the homework I thought this online lab might help. The text in some places may be long, but stick it out and try it -- you'll learn a lot. And that's what we're all about, isn't it? ;-)

Sorry that it took me long to put this up, but here it is.

Today in class we learnt something new which was dependant variables And Independent Variable, also about slopes/rise over run/rate of change.

When I walked in class everyone was working on the questions on the board. DUH! There are always questions on the white board when we walk in, it never ends! Okay back on subject. The first questions involved finding which one would be the dependant and Independent variable.

One of the questions: A sunflower seed is planted; consider the relation between time and the height of the plant.

Time = Independent
Height = Dependant

Slope Formula =

y1-y2

x1-x2

The second one was about otters and fish and finding out how to put it down in a table of values, in a graph, and in an equation.

The third one was about a girl who had an over due book, we needed to find which was dependent and independent, the table of values, draw a graph, and write an equation.

In the middle of the class we finally got our test back!! =/ and if you didn’t do to good, like me then its okay because as Mr. K said there might have been one small thing you messed up on. Also there are many other tests we can improve on. =D


Homework today would be Exercise 7: Slope #1-20.

OHH yeah I totally forgot the next scribe isssssssssss…….. Kristin_R good luck!

Slope AKA Rise Over Run AKA Rate of Change

We discovered the "slope" formula today. Remember the different ways to find and interpret the slope depending on if the function is described as a graph, table of values or an equation. You can find a review of the lesson here. Follow the [Now YOU try it!] links to practice what you learned.

You can also quiz yourself on what you learned here, and there. And this is a little review quiz on the midpoint formula.

Does that picture remind you of anything? ;-)

SCRIBE?

Well it seems that I am your scribe for today. I'll finish this and get it out of the way early so that most if not all of you can read it :D (other than the fact that I'm scared that I'll forget what we did during the class..)

During the start of our average class, we started off with the usual "Questions on board." Those questions included finding the perimeter of a rectangle given coordinates of each corner, finding the coordinates of one end point given the midpoint and the starting point of the line, and of course the new stuff which is about graphing lines and table of values.

NEW STUFF: example

y = 2x - 1

Words: Double the input and subtract one.

Table of Values:
X Y
-3 -7
-2 -5
-1 -3
0 -1
1 1
2 3
3 5

In this table of values you can see that the numbers go up by twos.

Graph: I don't know exactly how I can display a graph here so I'll just have to explain it to those who are reading this post. First of all, while creating your graph, make sure to add on your scale because without the scale, how can you interpret the data? Second, you have to place arrows on the end of each line showing that the lines do not stop and continue forever.. Finally, you MUST LABEL the HORIZONTAL LINE as the X-AXIS, and the VERTICAL LINE as the Y-AXIS! Make sure that you do not forget any of these while doing your homework or tests for if Mr. K sees that you have missed any of the important factors of a graph, the outcome is.. YOU LOSING MARKS and that's what we all don't want including Mr. K :).

HOMEWORK: Today's homework is indeed EXERCISE 6, not 7 or 8... "6"

Now the moment we've been all waiting for? Well at least I think we are all waiting for.. TOMORROW's SCRIBE! Well I really don't know who to pick on.. I was going to choose Jian but he was lucky during the weekend so I will pick instead..
I hope eeny meeny miny moe works T_SA.. I CHOOSE: uuhh.. Melissa_V which hope I spelled correctly. :D GOOD LUCK MELISSA AND GOOD LUCK TO YOU ALL ON HOMEWORK! If you have any further questions or comments, please leave a comment :D

Graphs - One Perspective

Today we learned how to graph a line by generating a table of values from an equation. Here is a review.

You can use this tool to generate a table of values and a graph from any linear function. Follow these steps:

1. Enter the expression in the box next to f(x) =. i.e. if the equation is y = 2x - 1, enter 2x - 1 in the box.



2. In the boxes under Values of x enter the x-values, say from -3 through 3. You can enter more if you like.



3. Click on the button marked [Evaluate] to find all the corresponding y-values (y-coordinates).



4. Enter the ordered pair [(x, y)] with the smallest x-coordinate -- i.e. (-3, y) -- in the box next to Left End-Point: do the same for the largest x-coordinate -- i.e. (3, y) -- in the box next to Right End-Point:



5. Click the button marked [Graph] to see the graph.



6. Click the button [Erase Everything] to begin again with a new equation.

We're going to spend the next several days talking about the equations of lines. Remember the 4 perspectives of the same object (my block of wood) we discussed in class today -- it's going to come up a lot. ;-)

SCRIBED.

Today, Mr. Kuropatwa talked about the readership post that he posted in the blog. He talked about how anybody anywhere can see it, so we should be careful of what we write and of our identities.
Mr. K read us a story about Captain Chris and the Calculus crew. Now we have to do a storybook project; we have to make a story and a character that gets into a problem and we have to use a math solution to solve it.
The class brainstormed some names for our class character:
- Rupert the Dogface Gremlin.
- McMath.
- Spongemath.
- HATM-TARO ^__^
- Alge tree and his forest fraction friends.
- Delightful decimal Donnie.
- Mathematician.
- Sir Mathalot.
ETC.
Mr. K also let our a funny squeek while he was talking. ^___^We did some board work. Grid Work. (Finding the midpoint)How to find the midpoint.
Midpoint= ( (x1 + x2) , (y1 + y2) )
2 2
THEN.. WE HAD A FIRE DRILL .___.
Homework is Exercise 5: questions 1-20! Inny, minny, miny, moe! I CHOSE YOU ! tim-Math-y rock on! ^__^

We're Learning the Midpoint in Room 66!

Having trouble using the midpoint formula? Here is a little review of the lesson we had today.

Over there you can practice what you've learned. Use paper and pencil first, then click on the button marked answer -- not the other way around. ;-) You can find more help if you need it right here.

Cheers,
Mr. K.

Our Readership

I thought you might be interested to know about our readership. Our blog is being read by people all over the world. The graphic below shows where the last 87 visitors to our site have come from. Of course, this is constantly changing as more and more different people pop in to see what we're doing. While some of them visit only once a number of them do keep coming back. (Of the "unlisted" readers, one is from the US and the other is from Sweden.) People are interested in what you have to say and what you are learning.

Ladies and gentlemen, you have an audience. It's worth your while to make a good impression by making sure your spelling and grammar are correct when you post. ;-)

Scribing owns

Hello everyone!

As you can see, I'm making a post cuz I am the chosen scribe for the day. Math class today was a whole lot of fun. I've never been more absorbed in Math.. it was fun. To start out, we did four problems on the board involving right triangles and we needed to find the missing length. Well, the formula to find the missing side of a right triangle is a^2+b^2=c^2, which is also known as Pythagorean Theorem or Theory. Then, our beloved Math teacher Mr. K told us a story about Pythagoras. We learned that Pythagoras did not really make the the formula, it was only just an idea of Pythagoras. Let's say we have a triangle ABC,(wow, so imaginative on the letters). Side AB is 8 cm, and AC is 6 cm. We're looking for the hypotenuse, which is BC.

So, applying PT, 8^2+6^2=c^2. Oh, you have to find the square root of C. 8^2 is 64, 6^2 is 36, add them up and you get 100, which square root is 10. So side BC is 10 cm. Kinda useful, eh? (=
A more useful formula is the Distance Formula, which is a really useful. I can't quite explain it, but you can look at Mr. K's post below. It's really useful, as it can help you find the circumference of a circle and other stuff.

Oh, and for homework, we have to do Exercise 4, #1-20. *sigh*. :'(

And, finally, before I forget, the scribe for Monday is..... *drumroll please...*.... T-SA. (I know you're gonna hate me for this, but oh well. Life is never fair. (= )

HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND EVERYONE!

Pythagoras

We learned about the Distance Formula today. You can see that lesson again or just practice using the formula as much as you need to until you feel you understand it.

We ran out of time before I could tell you how Pythagoras died. I mentioned that there might be something "funny" about how (or why) it happened. Search for it and share your results here, in the comments to this post. If you don't find it maybe we'll have time in Monday's class to talk about it.

He doesn't look that bad to me.

Have Fun Searching!

What does samus think about today?

hmmmm, well today we had our very first pre Cal test. At the beginning of the day I was scared and I was thinking of skipping pre cal. But, I know that it would be worse if I skipped. I might as well get it over with and receive a very low mark then a zero!

To my surprise, I actually got what was on the test! Gosh, I was so relieved that I can do it! That's when my confidence came in. I'm confident, not cocky. Yeah, but I'm happy that its over with and now I just sit back and wait for the results. Hope I do get a good mark. Fingers crossed. Oh yeah, what's our next unit? One more question, what does everybody think of the test we had today? That's all.

-Toodles.
SAMUS

First Pre-Calculus Test

Hello!

Now, thanks to Thang, I am the scribe for tomorrow. And because of that, I am able to abuse my power by selecting the next scribe. I'm currently deciding between two people, and you are gonna see who is the next scribe between the two of them. (beware... hehe)

I'm gonna admit it, I was scared of taking my first test in Pre-Cal. I've reviewed the material many times the day before the test but I was really nervous. I almost threw up before I took the test.. but once I've started the test, it was going well. It was easier than I thought. I'm not gonna say it was easy, though.

After I've finished the test, I wasn't able to prevent myself from smiling. I knew I passed it (maybe just barely) and I was laughing at myself for being so scared. Thanks to some peers (you know who you are) and to that "special someone" and especially to our beloved teacher Mr. Kuropatwa for helping not only me but everyone else in the class.

I'm out. I'm gonna post again as I'm the scribe for tomorrow.

the test

who thinks the test was hard??? well its kinda easy except im just not use to the multiple choice though... i'm the long answer kind of guy

Testing, Testing...

Today was our first real test in Pre-Cal 20S !!
I must admit that I was worried and I know many other people were too. It seems like as soon as you get the test paper, your mind is dying to get rid of everything you've learned...it's like you go into shock for a second but once you start writing for awhile, I know I start to calm down a little more and when you relax it's a lot easier to think.
I really think what Mr. K said about marathons and tests being sort of similar in that, you want to over prepare so the actual event just comes to you easily, is really true.
Although I'm sure I made my share of mistakes on the test, it was a good experience for me.

My Reflection Blog for the Test

One particular and hard class, I can remember is the class where Mr. K was teaching us how to do binomial and trimomial long division. The can't understand how to find the answer for the second term. It was horrible. I also remembered the moment I learned to do it. I asked Mr. K how to do it and he explained it to me slowly and I understood. It was a good feeling to understand.

I think my progress in the class in getting better. At the beginning of the year I didn't understand how to factor or multiply polynomials. I forgot what I learned in the 9th grade, but now I am doing better.

My post,
Thang N.

MY Blog

Today I am the scribe. LOL

Today in class, we when over the answers for Exercise 3, 8, 9 and 10. Mr. K explained why x² + 4 cannot be factored. We also had a pre-test. Remember everybody tommorrow is the TEST. Finally, tomorrows scribe is Jonh D.

Happy studying. :)

Blogging on blogging 8:) yo!

Pre-Cal math? When I first come in to this class I thought I can take care of anything that the teacher give me and I was half right and half wrong. I' am right about I can take care of anything the teacher gives me but I' am also wrong about I can take care of anything the teacher give me, what I' am trying to say is that pre-cal math AP is really hard to me and I don’t really understand much at first so I wasn't really able to do my homework at the beginning but with my good teacher "Mr. K" helping me all this way, I finally understand this "Pre-cal math" for example on how he teaches me and the fellow student about learning this cool math, here is a little reflection on how we do class everyday:

Everyday in first thing when the fellow student come in to class, Mr. K will have some math questions on the whiteboard for us to do, usually it is like a fell question that we know and a fell question that we don’t know, he will give us like 10 minutes of time to do the questions and then he will show us and explain to us on how to do the questions carefully and slowly to everyone in the class until we understand it…… ok so I lie, he do the questions carefully and making sure everyone understand it only but not slowly, he do it fast, the fastest teacher I know. After that we will correct our homework, and see if anyone have any questions about the home work and we will work it out and show the class, and after that we will give me home work.

Right now I love this class because this is really hard and I like hard works because this is the only way I can learn and I want to learn so I will have a good education in my future.

During all these class in math is all "cool" because that every time the teacher giving us hard work to do and that really need brain work finish it, the teacher will try to come up with a joke to tell the class so we are relax a bit.
I really like to the question (x+10)^2 because even if I like to learn but I still like to go with my life easy and this question is the easiest question I ever do in this class.

A couple day ago I came across a question on multiply question that I don’t understand how to do and the question is 4(2m+3n)(2m-3n), at first I try everything to get the answer but I just cant do it and because of this question I stay after school to ask the teachers help and explain it to me that this is really sample because it is just like 1+2+3 the answer is 6 and if I use 3+2+1 the answer will also be 6 or 3+1+2 it will still be 6 so this is the same with 4(2m+3n)(2m-3n), I can first use 4 x 2m, 4 x 3n then x 2m and x 3n. Or I can do (2m+3n)(2m-3n) and then x by 4 the answer will still be the same. So after I understand that I’ am really happy and I want to do more and more of the same problem and so I did because this I feel that every math problem I got it all in my hand and know it all.

What I have learn in this class is helpful to me on my science class because at the same time I am learning about measuring and I don’t really get it in this class but at the afternoon the math teacher talk about the same thing and then after he explain it to the class then I understand how to do measurement and go back to my science work.
After an hour of work I just find out I only need to do one or more characteristics and not all lol

Like what Mr. K said
Cheers
“Jan Hong”
Remember “There is many ways to skin a cat” but don’t really skin a cat because it isn’t cool.

Thou Shall BLOG!

Well, pre cal math started to get tougher, making progress was getting harder and harder. New concepts where taught, some very confusing some pretty easy. So far in school I haven't exactly pinned down time manangement but slowly im getting there. Slowly i'm understanding most of the concepts but not right away.

At the beginning I thought it was easy, but then again, the was probally a review from earlier grades and it was bound to get tougher.

At first homework was going pretty smooth until new concepts that where taught, then the progress started to decline and I found myself in a situation where I couldn't concentrate because of the difficult concepts. But now thanks to some fellow peers I get more of it then before.

So far this class is really challenging, but a good challenge is good.

Something I learned that I really like was how synthetic division was used, I learned some part of it, but still dont fully understand.

Some math concepts do relate to Science concepts that we are learning right now, like we are doing measuring in science and some measuring in math.

Also for AP science students we will be having a science test 1st period =/.

I wish everyone luck, but I can't say so for myself. lol.

Bloggggg

Bonour !! wow another year .. another pre cal 20s class =(. ** A word of advice to you grade 10 homies do your homework and keep your notes tidy also study hard for tests and exams cause It'll cost you believe me. Not sayin the class is not good though. Oh yah COME TO CLASS ON TIME ** anyways yah the first day of class was alright I saw some familiar faces and new faces. We recieved our course outlines got to know each other and Mr K explained the blueprint of the course. He than told us an intersting myth about some dude named sisyphus. It was about some guy who cheated death, did some bad and good things and kidnapped some other dude. And he ended up doing some pretty serious work!! But anyways the moral of the story was to never give up dont get mad and just do it. The story of course led to the point of how the story and our math were connected. So far class is awesome, and I think I am doing really good <>. Well so far as we go along everything is coming back from last year and getting easier. Well anywho thats my blog. Peace Out ( sorry so late Mr K I promise to do it sooner next time )

Blogidy-Blog-Blog

I like how we are reviewing are s1 stuff. I dont have a good memory so I can really use the refreshment. It will also be useful when we go more deeply into the concepts.

So far I like the class, and I'm happy I chose AP. Sometimes I might get lost but sooner or later im right back on track. Its also very helpful to have the students around you who understand the concepts so that if I get lost I can just ask them instead of stalling Mr.K.

The math we are doing seems easy most of the times with the multiplying and division of poly's but it seems to grow much more diffucult as more rules are added. I also find it difficult to do questions involving fractions. I'm getting better at it but its still a concern.

So thats what I got to say. See you in class....

A Whole Lot of Reviewing Going On!

Our test is tomorrow! Here are some online quizzes you can do to get ready:

• Multiplying Polynomials (5 questions)


• Special Products (5 questions)


• Factoring Using the Distributive Property (5 questions)


• Factoring Trinomials (5 questions)


• Factoring Differences of Squares (5 questions)


• Perfect Squares and Factoring (5 questions)


• Dividing Polynomials (5 questions)

Don't forget to get your post up before test day as described in my post Blogging on Blogging. Your "scribe" post doesn't count for this mark.

Also, if you haven't read this yet, make certain that you do before getting your post up. ;-)

BLOGAGE! ^___^

Hi, I are Thisa! ^_^ When I first signed up for pre-cal which was in grade 9, I was scared of what it would be like. Now, being in pre-cal it was a good idea! Although I know there will be times where I don't understand something or I need help or I even get frustrated. ^___^ I know I can always ask Mr. Kuropatwa! Or a fellow classmate! (: I enjoy the jokes Mr. Kuropatwa tells us, lolol. Keep up the good work! >:D The math dictionaries are very good references, but I'm sometimes slow at taking the notes. ^_____^ Which is okay, because I finish them anyways ._.
The links that Mr. Kuropatwa puts up are very good references and good study tools. I hate fractions and factoring, I don't really have them down path yet. ^___________^;; I get mixed up alot with the integers and stuff with the factoring. I also dislike the cylinder thing, with pi. ^_^ I had to review some old notes from grade 9. I also still have my math notes from grade 8 that I looked at! lololol .___.
Overall, class is fun. My classmates are awesome! And I'm looking forward to spending the rest of the semester with them! :D Oh.. and I also need to buy a graphing calculator! ^______._______^
'Well, good afternoon, good evening and goodnight!' (>'.' )> Thisa <( '.'<)
._.

B-L-O-G

This unit that we have been doing is really a lot of what we've been learning from s1. I like that it's not new and in some ways they can be simple and understanding. I really like that we learn as a group and help eachother out if needed. I also like it when we go over things that we don't understand. Mr. Kuropatwa stops the class if one person doesn't get it or it's not sinking in. And I like that.

What I really enjoy is Mr. K's jokes! haha, no really i find them funny... in a way? No, but the factoring and stuff really is sinking in. I like the idea of making a math dictionary up. When Tests and Quizes come up, then we'll all have something to look back on and understand.

The concerns I have so far are that the dividing with intergers throw me off from the answer. And I really hate, I mean really hate is dividing with fractions. Jeez, i hate them so much! But yes, i know, fractions are our friend. If i keep working on many questions that deal with the difficulties I have, it will not be a concern no more.

A test on Thursday, darn. Well, I really hope that this test isn't timed and that it won't be as hard as the quiz. hah I wish. Well, to wrap this up I will say, I really enjoy this class a lot. It makes me laugh with the daily jokes that he has. The class is going in a good pace and math is fun.

-see you all in class =)
SAMUS!

Blog? bloooooooogg.. iiiiing..

Wow! Everyone is blogging! Soon it will be flooded :D.. well.. straight to my blog.
I like the way we start to do questions on the board because when we do, we - a.) don't have to solve the questions using the concept of time rather to solve them with focus and concetration making sure that you understand the lesson, and b.) work as a whole group usually at the same pace because there aren't very many questions as well. Well.. I could also say that I don't like the way that works because it leaves us with more homework rather than to do it in class.. :D Well.. It's probably not because it takes long, it's cuz time flies by? yepp... -.-
Hmm what else to say... Oh Math Dictionary! well.. I like the way Mr. K explains it and all but I just don't like the fact of me not writing as fast as he explains. This leads to.. me not taking in the facts he is trying to explain :P..
I think i could say that i'm doing okay in this class.. there isn't anything that i don't understand so that must be good progresss?
Well errmm what I think Mr. K should do is.. get more jokes so he can tell us MORE! (you here that mr. K? i hope so :P)

I'm Blogging On Blogging Too

I can understand how it is to feel lost and you don't know how you'll find out where you are. But what I'm refering to is trying to keep up with Mr K's Class! Well in some parts I just loose it. I get all the multiplying and long division of polynomials and such. Plus the easier parts of factoring.
But I can honestly say I feel like I'm in a world of my own when trying to factor questions like
-4y^2 - 144y^8 + 48y^5. I look into the ceiling and go "Wow". I hope no one notices that though... Anyways I guess the hard parts for me is factoring trinomials and also I get confused with the terms and language and steps with factoring cubes and squares. But who can blame me? I can't be the only one right? But from aside all this my salvation will be the thought of me doing all these types of math equations as easy as 2+2. Which is 5 :) Well this is my post and whats been on my mind during the past few classes.

Posting A Post!

I finally get to find the time to put up one of these post. So far in Pre Cal 20s we’ve reviewed on a lot of things we did in S1.

I really enjoy our class, the most thing I like is when Mr. K puts up questions on the board and we answer them together. I mostly mess up on one little part, and when the whole class review those question I see where I made a mistake.

One time in class we did a question involving polynomials / fractions =/. I hate fractions! Mr. K kind of explained it easier for me to understand. Everything was going on such a fast pace! To the point I wanted to switch Pre Cal to Applied, but I thought about Sisyphus and how he kept on trying and no matter what he never gave up. I went over my questions, and started all over. I had trouble at first, but the more I kept doing it over and over I finally got it.

Wow we’re getting a test on Thursday and I think it’s going to be killer hard. I still got to work on factoring. I’m having trouble with that. Since Mr. K explains a little to fast for me, I brought out my old notes from last year in math and I’m getting the information back into my head. I feel great about this class it makes me more focus on my life so I have time for everything, even math. =P

I'm Blogging

Well today's class was pretty good because I was able to get some of my problems cleared up. It also helped to get all taht information into our Math Dictionaries so I can look over it. I hope that this calss helped me with factoring and when it's the appropriate time to use the different formula things. It makes me a little more confident for the test on Thursday. That's me blogging.=)

blog, blog, blog

hi everyone, this is marianne. pre-cal so far has been pretty good, it's kind of hard but i understand most of it.

The first time that we had class, I was scared, because I thought it would be extra, extra, extra hard and mr. kuropatwa would be really strict. (sorry mr. k) but he turned out to be a really nice teacher :D. he tells good stories and funny jokes, SOMETIMES haha just kidding.

Most of the work that we have done is review but thats ok because I forgot most of the stuff from last year. lol. and it is mixed with some other stuff too.

Some of the work that we do is easy and some of it is hard. I do my best to do all of the exercises. I like this class because if we don`t understand a question we can just check it off on the checklist in class and if there are enough check marks then mr. k will go over it and he`ll make sure that we understand it.

mr. k is really fast when solving equations and problems but the thing that I don`t understand is how can we not have enough time at the end of class if mr. k is so fast? We have a test on thursday :(. hopefully I`ll pass it and get over it. well that's all the time I have for today so see you all in class. :)

Bloggggging

So far pre cal has been really hectic, in my mind. I still don't get some parts in certian areas. I'm sure it will all come to me sooner or latrer. Dividing polynomials were very difficult for me, but a little more practice helped. It's my "moment of clarity." I know if I can get that i'm sure i'll be able to do anything.
That one class with dividing polynomials an fractions threw me off by a lot. I couldn't get any of it. Still don't know how to divide polynomials and fractions properly :/
Class has been good this week even if it's only tuesday, thehe. I'm starting to get the hang of the fast talking and quick lesson. It's a big change from junior high to high school. I think the blog really does help, because of the online lessons. Class time is way too short! I like our math dictionaries, i think they're great!

AND I'm remembering Sisyphus =).

I had to Update!!!

When we entered the class Mr.K had already put up the answers for Factoring Worksheet and we just had to correct our answers except some of the questions that needed to be explained and he did explain them. After that he asked in what sections we have problem with and we can go over it before the test, so we had to write some notes in our notebookes which were: The definition of Factor, how to do factoring GCF, Trinomials, the rule of signs for factoring trinomials, and difference of square. After this, he told us about graghing called Parabola (or something), and i knew how to do it, because last year they tech us the graghs, and last the 3 stings joke, which was his second favorite one! :D
I hope it's good (though it's not my first post in a blog, but here)
And Mr.K forgot to explain the (x square+4) is not factorable.
See you all tomorrow! (Tursday is the test!!!!)

parvin sia:D

aw im the scribe ';o

well im the scribe too bad for me anywase today we looked over the questions on the sheet we got the other day, i 4got my sheet at home so i had to write down the answers and check it my self...
so ya ima be bored today and thank god we didnt get any exercises today but we still didnt go over the other ones, the answers i mean.
i heard a joke about strings..... i did NOT think there were any jokes on strings well it was funny mr. K. we will have a test tomorrow so i am studying but ill do that lator now i will play some games and snack no pressure at all but thats just me, well it was nice blogging and i really should blog some more but i am too lazy
and the scribe for tomorrow is Thang Oo, i chose this person cuz they got Oo at the end of the name so srry man ur the scribe

Your Factoring Problems Are Solved!

This applet will factor pretty much any expression you enter. If you like you can have it generate a random expression and it will factor it. Here's what I'd like you to do to help get ready for your test:

  (1) Click the [Random] button.

  (2) Try to factor the given expression yourself using pencil and paper.

  (3) Click the [Factor] button and check your work. If you got it wrong, try to figure out your mistake before you try again. Refer to your math dictionary if you're having trouble.

  (4) Repeat.

Factoring Movies!

I've found some more videos that cover the types of factoring we've been studying.

Update
You need to have the free RealAudio Player installed to watch these videos too. You can download it from here

Here are the review videos; each one is between 6 and 10 minutes long:

• The Greatest Common Factor and Factoring by Grouping


• Factoring Trinomials


• More Trinomials to Factor


• The Difference of Two Squares


• Factoring: A General Review

These last two are similar to the ones I posted yesterday.

• Special Factoring: Difference of Cubes
    (5 min. 28 sec.)


• Special Factoring: Sum of Cubes
    (6 min. 46 sec.)

If you have trouble understanding anything: "Pause ... Rewind ... Repeat ..." until it makes sense. ;-)

I'm blogging on blogging x)

Long division of polynomials ... ahh. I really don't like it. Integers and all that sort of stuff isn't my thing. :) This is the topic I will be talking about for my `blogging on blogging`. I've chosen to do "A comment about something that you found very hard to understand but now you get it! Describe what sparked that "moment of clarity" and what it felt like."

Every single second when Mr. K was going over long division of polynomials, I would get lost and confused and had no clue what was going on. At first I thought his pace was just too fast for me to keep up with.
I would understand x^2 + 27x + 42 divided by x + 3 or something, but then I would get lost after the first subtraction because that's where I went wrong and had troubles with.
Then we received questions like x^3 + 9x + 3 divided by x + 5 and then all of a sudden we had to add in 0x^2 in there for reasons that I was unable to catch.. (I think this is why we have `scribes` to blog about class ... ehe, might've missed that too ^_^) and I, hands down, had no ideaa how to solve.
But I had an after class talk and got a little extra help from Mr. K, and with a little bit of practicing I finally was able to have a `moment of clarity` and actually understand the part of " - (25x + 5) " in the long division process, or why we had to add "0x^2 ".
I didn't really have a `spark` of clarity, it kind of just gradually came into understanding. Now I feel much better about math class, as if a weight was lifted from my shoulders, mind/worries. Plain RELIEVED. :) And this is my comment!

Gotta post a post!!!

Well, so far Pre cal has been going pretty ok, I must say. Mr.K knows what he's doing, and he always has a good story to tell (and some bad jokes, of course, lol). It's fun to be in his class. It's fast pace, but you learn a lot, if you come to class and pay attention.

I was overwhelmed when I first came to pre cal, and I thought I would be too stupid to be in AP math, but so far, I've been doing alright.

I remember one particular class where we were doing long division, but in this one question, it involved fractions as well as polynomials. The whole question took up the majority of the board, and I'm sure most of us in the class looked stunned. At first, it must have been hard, but by the second day, the majority of us knew how to do long division backwards and forwards, and who knows what else(just an expression, not totally true.)

Class today was good, and so far we've learned about factoring and long dividing polynomials, binomials, and trinomials. We also learned about difference of squares, and difference of cubes. We covered a lot of definitions in our math dictionaries, and I'm sure theres a lot more to come! Lets make this year a great one, full of learning, and laughing, and sharing of concepts! Yes, I may sound like a math loser, but lets just keep a positive attitude! And don't forget to remember Sisyphus!(hope I slept that right, you know what I mean anyways).

Happy blogging!

Today's class

Today's class was fun. We started with some sort of quiz that was about factoring.. It was quite easy, as I've recalled how to factor and I've tackled it last year. I nearly aced it, which was quite cool, because I thought I would flunk it. Then after that, we did an assignment which involves the difference of two squares, perfect square trinomail, difference of two cubes or something like that.. It was quite entertaining. For example, let's say we have a term (x^2-4).. clearly, it's a difference of two squares.. the factors are (x+2)(x-2).. it's quite easy, as there is relative pattern to follow, so yeah, it was no trouble. When you see the pattern, it becomes really easy, and as I like to put it, "right little ray of sunshine"..

Well, that's that. Summarized most of what we did in class. Might not be very informative, though..

Scribe post Monday Sept. 19

Well, the class started off with...a quiz! The quiz was out of eighteen and we corrected it right in class. Then, we did a few factoring questions from the board and the factoring questions had to do with "the difference of squares" (ex. x² - 4.) **NOTE: it is the difference of squares, meaning it needs to use subtraction and not addition (making it the sum of sqaures.) BUT, that's only for binomials...(i think...)
We also learned some things about perfect squares, perfect trinomials and the difference of cubes (x to the exponent three, subtract eight is an example of perfect cubes)....all of these things have certain rules that go with them.
By the end of class, I know many people were a bit confused but I'm sure with another class we should all be a bit better at knowing the rules and how to do all the things we started today.
**There is a test Wednesday**
Mr. Kuropatwa also reminded us that before each test, each student must have at least 1 post on the Blog. (Scribe post doesn't count) so everybody get your posts up!! I know I have a couple posts already up =) .

Today's homework is to finish the worksheet that was handed out after the quiz and Exercise 10 (omitting #12-15.) Hopefully we'll have time tomorrow to go through the questions we have about homework because I know I have quite a few.

That's the end of my post as scribe...tomorrow's scribe will be...(drumroll...) Diyaa. A reminder to Diyaa, you have to remind Mr. K. about telling us why (x² + 4) is not factorable.
See you all in class tomorrow!!

OMG

i cant believe i moved to consumers..i want back in:(..anyways...thanks to all my class mates that helped me when i didnt get it..and thanks to mr.k for talking with me..i realized i had just made the bigggest mistake:( byee guyys..i'll just see you around i guess

Post of teh scribe -september 16th

well well well well WELL.. scribe aka Janet here. You all may have known me as the "homework tally-er" for today lol. :)

Anyways, first thing we did was copy some math definitions in our math dictionary/notebook which was; term, coefficient, literal coefficient, monomial, binomial, trinomial, polynomial, dividend, divisor, quotient aand polynomial division.

We then later went on to going over some homework questions, I think? Exercise 3.. questions 9, 10 and 11 -- are of what I can remember :)

Started some monomial division *(ie: mn-n / n) questions and factoring *(ie: x² + 6x + 8). After that we tried more complicated factoring (ie: 3x² + 14xy + 8y²).

As little as it sounds class time never seems to be long enough haha

*UPDATED*
Sorry if I missed anything that we did... I'm sick right now andd yeah i also have bad memory... I'd usually use my agenda but uhh..haha because I have bad memory I forgot it at home. :
I dont know what's for homework anymooore. Thought it was 9 but some people said it's 10.. I just know that you dont do questions 13-18..

Kim's scribe Monday.

Video Help Is Here!

Class time seems to just fly by! Sometimes we get hung up on a difficult problem and time seems to  d r a g  and sometimes we cover so much material in such a short time that it just seems to fly by.

I know some of us are still struggling with factoring trinomials. Long division of polynomials isn't easy either if you haven't got the hang of it yet. Well, help is here. I've got some brief video taped lectures you can watch to help you with this material over the weekend if you need it. The movies are of an instructor from the University of Idaho.

In order to watch the video you need to download the free realaudio player from here. (It's a little more than 11 Mb so if you have a slow internet connection this isn't a very good option for you.) After that, just click on the link below for help with the topic of your choice!

• Factoring a Trinomial Part 1 (9 min. 27 sec.)


• Factoring a Trinomial Part 2 (10 min. 10 sec.)


• Long Division of Polynomials and Synthetic Division (10 min. 51 sec.)

Synthetic Division is an S3 Pre-Cal topic. You can watch and learn it if you like but are expected to use long division on all assessments in S2.

If you still have trouble help each other through the chat box or comments to this post.

Have a great weekend!

Today's Lecture

Today's lecture : Was somewhat confusing to an extent. The problems were some what complexed. Some questions were also a nuisance. After going through it, the concepts that were taught looks simple yet challenging still.

Using the long division concepts that were taught, part of the class was still turdy. The teacher introduced a new concept of adding a 0 with a letter and an exponent for a place holder to do long division. In order to find the answer, this method had to be used.

Their was a division question written on the board that ask to find out what the numerical value of the question mark is and tells you to put the answer in either way.

" P/D = Q+R/D or P=Q*D+R "

Other questions included were:

(3x^3-7x+2x^2+8) / (X+2)

(6X^3-2X^2+7X-11) / (3X-2)

Their was this basic question asking for the length of a triangle:

"Find the length of a triangle if the area is (x^2+5x+6)m^2 and the width is (x+2)m."

Last but not least:

(b^4-16) / (b+2)

Time did elapse fast, the class didn't have a chance to open their notebooks which was designated to be a math dictionary. The professor states that the class will be doing some writing in our math dictionary the next upcomming math session.

Last words: HAHA! Your next. ^-^
Tomorrow's scribe is Janet.

wow

Well today's class wasn't too bad...until that one question, question 3 i believe it was. The one with the fractions in the answer. Wow. I'm glad that that's supposed to be "as hard as it gets" and it's "all uphill from here." Hopefully we'll go through a question like that again, just a little slower, and hopefully this time I'll understand it. I know that most of the people around me didn't understand it either so I'm sure they're hoping we go through it again.
See you all in class tomorrow!

Long Division is Long!

Sometimes dividing polynomials can be very long! A whole page for one problem! Part of what makes it so hard is that a single division problem may require you to use all these skills:

• adding and subtracting integers


• adding and subtracting fractions


• adding and subtracting algebraic terms


• multiplying integers and algebraic terms


• dividing integers and algebraic terms

That's a lot to keep track of!

I have two bits of advice for you:

(1) Take it slowly; one step at a time. Focus on a single skill (listed above) at a time.

(2) Remember Sysiphus! Don't give up. Keep at it and you will succeed.

If you need a little review of what we did in class today you can find it here

Cheers,
Mr. K.

Chatting

I've noticed a lot of chatting going on in the comments of the posts. So I installed a little chat window, it's called a Shoutbox. Give yourself a screen name and anyone can talk anytime you're here!

You'll find the Pre-Cal 20S Chatbox window down there at the bottom of the right hand sidebar.

Cheers,
Mr. K.

Math problems?

Discuss our problems here! GOGOGO! ^__^

HELP!!!

Does anyone know how to do Exercise 2.

Hello people of pre-cal20s. This is Jojo and I'm the scribe today... Unfortuneately... Today we had a brief lesson on finding volume and area of a cylinder. We also went deeper in how to divide, simplify and factor algebraic questions. So basically today's class we learned how to solve certain problems and equations. Also the fact that some questions wil lalways have a piece of itself as the answer no matter how you write it down.

The Scribe tomorrow is Andrew.

comment:

todays class was alright. challenging in a way. but now that i get it im very happy. feels like i accomplished something. haha. well, i finally found out how to post up this. hah, yeah i know im slow. yeah, now i have to start my math homework and go over things from last year.

Dictionaries Of Mice and Men

I had planned to do some work in our math dictionaries today. Ah well, the best laid plans of mice and men .... ;-)

Some of the terms we'll enter tomorrow are:

• Term


• Monomial


• Binomial


• Trinomial


• Polynomial


• Dividend


• Divisor


• Quotient


• Remainder


• Factor

There are some very good math dictionaries that can be found online. I found one here and another there. Which one do you think has a better definition of the word "factor"? ;-)

The Scribe List

This is The Scribe List. Every possible scribe in our class is listed here. This list will be updated every day. If you see someone's name crossed off on this list then you CANNOT choose them as the scribe for the next class.

This post is can be quickly accesed from the [Links] list over there on the right hand sidebar. Check here before you choose a scribe for tomorrow's class when it is your turn to do so.

Cycle 3

Jan Hong rus-L John D. - #12 T-SA stePhANIE Jojo Ndrew SAMUS parvin

kimc Melissa V. janet Wendy_V Jor_Dan_0 marianne_c Diyaa Kristin_R tim-Math-y

A.Z Thang N. Ian nee-cole StevenF km natasha Brittany-R

WoW

Wow took me forever to make this blog account. Everyone has my name. Alright finally okay now that thats done back to math homework. G'z...

hmmph.. i finally did it :P, now that im through with this, ill finish my my math homework T.T..

My First Post

Well, I really enjoyed today's class. I know many other people did too because we finally understood how to divide the polynomials and because we also learned how to factor. I learned about factoring in grade nine but never really liked doing it because I didn't entirely understand it, but today it was like the fog in my mind cleared up and now I really don't mind doing it. I just finished the homework (exercise 2) and I didn't mind doing it at all because it was so easy! I hope I have just as much fun in math through the rest of the semester and through the rest of my career with math!

I DID IT YAY!

Hey,

Well, I finally figured out this blog thingy. I'm a user now, and it all makes sense! Yay!
Todays class went well, and I'm glad I understand everything! Ok, I'm done for now. Byee!

12o92k5

todays class was good because i got everything. anyways today in class we discussed long division of binomials and trinomials because barely anyone got it yesterday. we also corrected the worksheet but only a few numbers. todays classs was a great class. OH and we also learned how to factor binomials and trinomials. the end -charmyn



And tomorrows scribe is.... iTRICK.. whoever that is:)

Division and Factoring Help!

I feel a lot better about today's class than yesterday's. I think most of you left the room confused yesterday. Today I had the feeling that you felt a lot more comfortable with polynomial division and seemed to pick up factoring simple trinomials fairly well.

If you're still having trouble with polynomial divison you can get help here. Help with factoring simple trinomials (A.K.A. Quadratics) is a click away .... right here.

September 12, 2005

Today at the begining of the class we did the polynomial multiplying/dividing questions on the board. Most of us didn't get the dividing part, so Mr.K taught us how to do it. Also learned that Diving is just a way of fractions. Learned few terms for dividing. He also explained to us how a this blog works and how a prompt works. Well see you all in class =)

And the scribe for tomorrow is Charmaigne.

Students Made This!

Blogging is a very public activity. Anything that gets posted on the internet stays there. Forever. Deleting a post simply removes it from the blog it was posted to. Copies of the post may exist scattered all over the internet. I have come across posts from my students on blogs as far away as Sweden! That is why we are being so careful to respect your privacy and using first names only. We do not use pictures of ourselves. If you really want a graphic image associated with your posting use an avatar -- a picture of something that represents you but IS NOT of you.

Two teachers in the U.S.A. worked with their classes last year to come up with a list of guidelines for student bloggers.

One of them, Bud The Teacher, has these suggestions, among others:

1. Students using blogs are expected to treat blogspaces as classroom spaces. Speech that is inappropriate for class is not appropriate for our blog. While we encourage you to engage in debate and conversation with other bloggers, we also expect that you will conduct yourself in a manner reflective of a representative of this school.



2. Never EVER EVER give out or record personal information on our blog. Our blog exists as a public space on the Internet. Don’t share anything that you don’t want the world to know. For your safety, be careful what you say, too. Don’t give out your phone number or home address. This is particularly important to remember if you have a personal online journal or blog elsewhere.



3. Again, your blog is a public space. And if you put it on the Internet, odds are really good that it will stay on the Internet. Always. That means ten years from now when you are looking for a job, it might be possible for an employer to discover some really hateful and immature things you said when you were younger and more prone to foolish things. Be sure that anything you write you are proud of. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t.



4. Never link to something you haven’t read. While it isn’t your job to police the Internet, when you link to something, you should make sure it is something that you really want to be associated with. If a link contains material that might be creepy or make some people uncomfortable, you should probably try a different source.

Another teacher, Steve, developed a set of guidelines in consultation with his students. You can read them here.

Look over the guidelines and add the ones you like in the comments section below this post; either from one of Steve's students or one of your own. I think Bud's suggestions are excellent. We'll be using the one's I highlighted above as a basis for how we will use our blog.

Cheers,
Mr. K.

Seotmeber 9 / 2005

In class we were given some instructions about the blog program and were reminded about our assignment to do over the weekend. During class we were given a survey to determine what style of learning we prefer. The survey was called "Vark". While we filled out the survey Mr. K wrote some warm up questions on the board for us to solve. When we finished our survey we were given two other sheets to score our preferred learning style. When he was finished explaining the whole survey thingy he reminded us about the distribution law, reminded us what a "term" was and gave us a way to solve binomials using an area model. Than after he assigned us some exercise sheets to do for homework. Than we were dismissed. P.S. sorry I took so long to put this blog up. And .. the scribe for monday is ... the person who is 13th on the attendance list because 13 is an unlucky number so yah. Peace Out =D

Blogging on Blogging

A good class today folks! I felt there was a lot of interaction between you as a class and myself. Lots of good questions and good thinking going on as I walked around the class. One observation: Some of you, when uncertain of how to do a particular problem, try your best, second guess yourself, and change what you had thought was the way to proceed at first. Your first instincts are usually good ones. Please try each question going on your instincts. When you get it wrong, leave your mistake on the page so I can see it. It's only by seeing your errors that I can help figure what you're doing wrong and why. Then we can correct it!

We were talking about exactly what sort of post you're supposed to make to get that mark on your test. The kind of post I'd like you to make should have one or more of these characteristics:

• A reflection on a particular class (like the first paragraph above).


• A reflective comment on your progress in the course.


• A comment on something that you've learned that you thought was "cool".


• A comment about something that you found very hard to understand but now you get it! Describe what sparked that "moment of clarity" and what it felt like.


• Have you come across something we discussed in class out there in the "real world" or another class? Describe the connection you made.


• Respond to a Blogging Prompt I posted. (see below)

Your posts do not have to be long. I'm far more interested in the quality of what you write rather than the quantity.

Blogging Prompt
To help us along our blogging journey I've decided that I will also occasionally post a Blogging Prompt. It will be easy to find because I'll always put it under a heading like the one above this paragraph. Feel free to create your own Blogging Prompt for the rest of us if you like. If it's a really good one (i.e. has rich possibilities for blogging) we'll count it as your post. ;-) Here's my first one:

We've learned how to multiply polynomials using the distributive law and using the area model for multiplication. Blog a brief paragraph identifying ways in which these two types of multiplication are similar. Blog a second paragraph outlining the ways in which they are different.

This sort of compare and contrast exercise can be made easier to do using Venn Diagrams. Draw two large overlapping circles. List the similarities in the overlapping section and the differences in the appropriate non-overlapping sections. If you like, you can use this web tool to do it online. If you do blog about this prompt and want to post your diagram we'll talk about how to post pictures sometime in class. ;-)

Happy Blogging!

You're Here! Let's begin ....

Hi There! You found our blog! This is the place to talk about what's happening in class; to ask a question you didn't get a chance to ask in class; to get copies of a handout you didn't get in class (here's the course outline); for parents to find out "How Was School Today;" to share your knowledge with other students;.... Most importantly it's a place to reflect on what we're learning.

Remember what I said about the Forgetting Curve? Well a big part of Learning and Remembering involves working with and discussing new ideas with other people -- THIS is the place to do just that. Use the comment feature below each post, or make your own post, or make your own blog and link it to this one, or....the sky's the limit...let your imagination soar and lets get down to some serious blogging!

Here's your first online assignment:

Do you see the Links list in the side bar over there on the right? Follow the Study Skills Resources link. Browse through the sites until you find one that you think has excellent suggestions on how to study math; then, on a piece of loose leaf paper (or this worksheet) to be handed in on Monday:

1. Write the address and name of the site you most liked.


2. Rate the site out of 100; i.e. give it a grade!


3. Write a brief description (no more than 4 or 5 sentences) of the site.


4. Include a comment on what it was about this site that made it stand out for you (no more than 1 or 2 sentences).

Repeat this exercise for the second link that deals with Test Taking, i.e. how to write a test.

If you take this assignment seriously now and invest some real time and energy into it, you'll probably do real well in my class this semester...who knows, it might even help you in your other classes too! ;-)

Have Fun!

PS Don't forget to email me ASAP and get signed up as a contributor to our blog!!