Week 1 First Messages

  • Attend one or more of the following:
  • Adaptive Math Practice Live Lab
  • Adaptive Math Practice Live Event
  • CME Overview Live Event
  • Live Math Tutoring

Links to each Live Lab and Live Event are in your Week One Learning Activities. A link to Live Math tutoring is in every week of the Syllabus on the right-hand side of the screen under Academic Resources.

Describe your experiences. What did you learn? What other available resources will help you do well in this course? How will you use them to be successful?

  • Why is it important to follow the order of operations? What are some possible outcomes when the order of operations is ignored? If you invented a new notation where the order of operations was made clear, what would you do to make it clear?

Week 2 First Messages

  • What resources are available to help you do well in this course? Which resources do you think will help you the most? Why? How do you plan to use the resources available to optimize your learning over the next four weeks?
  • Can a linear equation and a linear inequality be solved in the same way? Explain why. What makes them different?
  • What are the four steps for solving an equation? Should any other factors be accounted for when solving an equation? Should any factors be accounted for when explaining how to solve an equation? Explain your answer.
  • What are the four steps for solving a problem? Should any other factors be accounted for when solving a problem? Should any factors be accounted for when explaining how to solve a problem? Explain your answer.

Week 3 First Messages

  • Imagine that a line on a Cartesian graph is approximately the distanceyin feet a person walks inxhours. What does the slope of this line represent? How is this graph useful? Provide another example for your colleagues to explain.
  • If a line has noy-intercept, what can you say about the line? What if a line has nox-intercept? Think of a real-life situation where a graph would have nox- ory-intercept. Will what you say about the line always be true in that situation?
  • Explain the concept of modeling. How does a model describe known data and predict future data? How do models break down? Can you think of an example?
  • What are the differences among expressions, equations, and functions? Provide examples of each.

Week 4 First Messages

  • How do you write a system of linear equations in two variables? Explain this in words and by using mathematical notation in an equation.
  • What are two symbolic techniques used to solve linear equations? Which do you feel is better? Explain why.
  • How many solution sets do systems of linear inequalities have? Do solutions to systems of linear inequalities need to satisfy both inequalities? In what case might they not?
  • Do the equationsx= 4y+ 1 andx= 4y- 1 have the same solution? How might you explain your answer to someone who has not learned algebra?

Week 5 First Messages

  • What are the practical usages of scientific notation? Why is scientific notation so important in our modern day society?
  • What would be the value of expressing something like the national debt in scientific notation? What information would be lost in such a usage? Is that important? Explain why or why not.
  • Using the readings discussed in this course, provide one real-world application of the information learned that has been the most valuable to you. Why has it been valuable?
  • How do you think you will use the information you learned in this course in the future? Which concepts will be most important to you? Which will be least important? Explain your answers.
  • If your son or daughter asked you why they needed to learn math in school, what would you tell them?
  • Provide one real-world example of when graphing could be useful. Do you think you would ever use graphing in your life to solve problems? Explain why or why not.
  • What concept learned in this course was the easiest for you to grasp? Why do you think it was easy for you? Which was the hardest? What would have made it easier to learn?
  • Knowing what you know now about mathematics, how would you explain to a friend the value of mathematics in everyday life?