General Algebra

This course is designed to give students a solid understanding of the fundamentals of algebraic problem solving by learning to read mathematical problems critically and to present solutions effectively. The course will also help students understand and appreciate how mathematics can be used outside the classroom and in real-world situations. Students in this course will benefit from additional teacher modeling and guided support, in addition to multiple representations to reinforce understanding. Appropriate technology, from manipulatives to calculators, will be used regularly for instruction and assessment.

Topics include:
• The different way numbers are represented and used in the real world
• The effects of operations on numbers, the relationships among these operations, and selecting appropriate operations for problem solving
• Writing and solving single and multi-step equationsRate and ratios, including their similarities and differences and their usage for modeling and solving problems
• Patterns, relations, and functions
• Various representations of a functions (equations, graphs, and tables), and their use in real-world context
• Solving systems of equations using various methods
• Using inequalities to evaluate data
• Applying various types of factoring methods to solve problems
• Graphing, analyzing, and solving quadratic equations
• Radical functions and rational functions