Blog Post #5

A reflective comment on your progress in the course.

On Friday I was able to complete the quadratics unit test.  I feel that the test gave me only a little bit of a challenge.  I also felt this way with the basic functions unit.  Therefore, as of now, I feel that my progress in the course has been very good and steady.  I think I have learned a lot more about functions in the past few weeks.  I am also looking forward to starting the long division with radicals unit.

#5

On monday I'll write the test and I'm a bit afraid. I finally understood how to factor a quadratic equation. But I just try different values, the diamond-method makes it more complicated for me. I can find the vertex and the x-interceptions of a quadratic with the formulas. Completing the square nah, I guess I just have to memorize the procedure.. Fencing and "ball-throwing" problems are ok. They are a bit like physics.

|__| I left that square open, complete it.

Completing the square seemed easy enough, and I enjoyed it somewhat. But I never understood the square and diamond thing.
Never really understood how it was helpful and I never could do it right. But everything changed when the fire nation attacked. I just suddenly got it and it made sense, and in good time too. A dude I know at the career center asked me for help with factoring this one quadratic and I saw it would be hard to guess and check it. And so I showed him that. (Square and diamond thing) he didn't get it at first but on the second run through of that problem he understood it ad was able to go from struggling and guessing to wizzing through it and was done with the last 70 percent faster than the first 30. I was of assistance. I liked that.

Blog Post #5

Write about what you understand the least in the unit so far; your personal "Muddiest Point".

So far, the Quadratics Unit has not been too difficult for me. I am struggling on one specific type of problem still, the physics problems. They are my personal "muddiest point". I have not taken physics yet, but I don't know if that has anything to do with me struggling with them. I think that I need more practice with those types of problems before I feel comfortable and confident taking the test. Also, this week I have gotten very sick and had to miss the two days before the test. Because I was absent, I feel that I am unprepared for the test, and need some more time going over the material before I can take it and do well. I am afraid of getting too far behind since I have already missed two days this week and will have to miss Monday and Tuesday of next week also. I may have to collect work to do while I'm gone next week, and stay after school and/or come in early to get caught up on the things that I have already missed.

Blog post week 5

1. Write about what you understand the least in the unit so far; your personal "Muddiest Point."

The thing I understand the least right now is the velocity/physics questions, I would like to go over them more(an example or two in class!). Also before our test I would like to see every formula/equation we need to know for the test...... and then practice these problems using those formulas.

Week 5 - (NEW // Repost

From the past week, we went deeper into quadratics. I felt pretty good with everything. I know how to easily solve for a quadratic with three points. I had difficulty with the process at first but I feel strong with it. Apart from the three point quadratics, I feel pretty good with everything we have learned from farmer Ted problems to finding quadratics with a vertex. I feel pretty confident about the test material as well. Have a good day!

Blog #4

My muddiest moment this week was understanding how to find the equation of a quadratic using three different  points. I worked on a problem over the weekend and I'm hoping to get more practice during the week so that I can fully understand this concept.

Blog 5

 The my muddiest part that I had was with finding a quadratic with three points. Rather than cancel to find C I simplified two equations and then simplified those equations to find A. Instead I should have solved to find C then plugged that in C and use it to find B and A.

Blog 5

My muddiest point is finding an equation when given 3 points.  I always mix up my equations, and somehow I end up substituting the wrong part.  I get an answer that looks kind of right but isn't.  I do fine when I'm given x intercepts or the y value of the vertex, it's just the three points that throw me off sometimes.

Week 4 - Cool Factor

Something I thought was cool were the perimeter problems with my boy Farmer Ted. I've found really efficient ways to do the problems and it's like second nature now. That's pretty cool if you ask me. Also I found out how to use the font button, so that's cool. BIG BOLD TEXT. really small underlined and italicized text.

yeah this is fun.

Blog Wars: Episode IV

A New Slope

Padawan Jacob continues his training in mathematics as he meets a new ally, Farmer Ted.  Ted owns a monopoly on farming animals and crops.  However, unidentified forces are destroying his produce and animals.  Master Jackson sends his padawan learners to help defend the most stable food source in the galaxy.  Farmer Ted buys the fencing but is clueless on how to make the best area for the amount of fencing.  Padawan Jacob uses a new equation, A=xy, to help solve this problem.  But as Jacob slaves his life away to save the space pigs and space cows, he wonders what threats lie ahead and if Master Jackson is prepared to help the young padawan along the way...

I really stretched this one.  I feel like Hollywood: full of creative thoughts but ends up milking whatever I've been doing before about ten times in a row.  Jacob H.

Blog Post #4

I feel like I have been making excellent progress in the class. Overall I am understanding how to do the problems a lot better and I am actually enjoying doing math.

Blog #4

Everything is going pretty well.  I think I've got the methods down for all the different problems.  I'm also somewhat looking forward to the project.  Only if I had the class 2^nd trimester so I would have more programming experience under my belt and make a full fledged game.

Week 8- something I thought was cool

I thought the farmer ted problem with perimeter and area were cool. I thought this because it is something that could be very helpful in the real world and the method we use to solve it is easy to do and remember. 

Week 4

Currently in class I am feeling pretty confident in writing quadratic formulas using three different methods, the rest of the material that we have covered in this chapter I feel quite confident in,so hopefully by the test i will be super duper ready! just need a 'lil bit more studying and practice

Post 4

I am quite confident in class at this moment. I figured out how to solve the quadratic when given three points, which I originally thought was quite difficult, is routine now. This new DEV project looks tough and fun at the same time. I believe that I am ready for this test.

Blog #4

This week i feel very confident in everything we are doing. Nothing seems to challanging. This new big project does seem like it is going to be alot of work.

Blog post #4

The new project we got on friday is going to be very easy and possibly fun. Also, on friday, I wish we had starte the other part of this unit.

Blog post 4

My progress has been good in this class.  I was a little worried about making an equation from three points because there are so many steps.  Now I am better at this after practicing.  The farmer problems were confusing at first, but now I understand them.  I feel good about this class.

Weekly Blog Post #4

A reflective comment on your progress in the course.

     - Overall I think I have made good progress in pre calc functions so far this tri. The only big struggle I've had is actually taking my time on the problems instead of rushing through because I think I know how to do everything. Rushing through the problems causes little mistakes that can be prevented if I just take my time. So, my progress is good. I just have to work on taking my time on every problem. 

#4

This week we had serious problem with farmer Ted. We had to help him to maximize the area he had to fence.
I had some problems at the beginning, I didn't understand how to find the exactly dimensions. But know I got that, with a bit of help.
So know I'm ready to help you farmer Ted!

Blog Post #4

Everything has been going pretty well in this class and I was understanding a lot of stuff until earlier this week when we started to write an equation based on three random points. When we first did this, I was pretty confused and I did not figure it out by myself at all. Then, before the quiz we had a worksheet to practice this and I tried to reference the first problem we did of this, but it was so messy and scattered I was still confused. However, I quickly realized it was not that bad of a problem once you can actually organize it to the point where you can separate out each step and now I feel much more confident with those problems.

#4

This week we did a work paper called "Quadratic Madness" and we wrote a test. I think I should come more often in the morning. When I have to do a work paper mostly I can do it (with a bit help of my seat neighbor). But when I got the test I forget how to solve these problems. So maybe I should go over my previous notes ore often ?

Blog Post 4

I don't remember the specific day this week, but the first day we started working on finding a quadratic equation from three points showed me how important organizing my work is.  For the most part, I've thought I keep my work pretty organized however, while working on this problem my work was very confusing and I ended up with the wrong equation the first time around.  I've discovered how important it is to stay organized when solving these types of problems in addition to keeping everything organized so I can easily look back on how I solved problems.

Blog Post #4

1. Write about what you understand the least in the unit so far; your personal "Muddiest Point."

My personal "muddiest point" is the harder Farmer Ted problems.  These problems include questions 6 and 7 on the document 'Extreme Values'.  It is my understanding that the class will not be tested over such problems, but it still bothers me to not fully understand a concept.  Over the next week, I plan on working hard to understand this form of problems so I can improve my knowledge of quadratics even more.

Another Muddy Time in PreCalc

Well. Time has gone on and another problem has entered my life. When coming up with a  quadratic equation when given three random points, I seem to struggle. Sometimes, I combine like terms incorrectly. Other times, I don't keep the signs (+/-) with their proper numbers. Most times, it's a very small mistake that changes the entirety of the equation. What makes it worse, is that I do it correctly on some quizzes or assignments, but incorrectly on others, so I can never really pinpoint exactly what the core of my problem is. Although it seems somewhat easier now, it still trips me up every time and makes me want to rethink my work, even if I previously thought my original answer was correct.

Blog Post

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

 Something that I actually like doing is finding 3 variables for one equation when you are given three points. I think I do really well with that concept. However, when there is only two points given I tend to not get the correct answer and I'm not sure why so a little more clarification on how to do that would be cool. 

Post #4

My muddiest point so far this week would definitely be the problem where I had to write a quadratic given three different points. I feel like this is something I should know by now but I just can't seem to recall anything from it. Most likely, I'm going to go and get some extra help whether its coming in early or staying after a little because I know there's going to be a test next week and this concept will most likely be on it.

Blog Post #4

Weekly Blog Post #4 - 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. 

I was really struggling with the quiz from last week. This week I decided to come into school early to get help, see what I did wrong, and how to fix it. Since I was able to to sit down one on one and talk through the problems, they finally made sense to me. The detailed explanation, extra time spent on each problem, and extra practice I was given, sparked my "moment of clarity". Before, when what we were learning was not making any sense to me, it prevented me from learning anything new. Now that I understand the work, I am learning better and I enjoy the class much more! I was doing very poorly on my quizzes, until the quiz we took on Thursday. I applied what I learned from the problems I got extra help on, and I did much better than on any other quiz from this class. I even surprised myself with my score. Sometimes it just takes a little bit of an extra push for everything to come together.

Blog Post #4

A reflective comment on your progress in the course.

I definitely started out the course in a position where I pretty much knew everything.  Nothing was really new, it was more or less review for about two weeks.  Now the class is getting fun because I'm learning brand new material.  The problems having to do with extreme values with quadratics is definitely new.  The worksheet that includes the circumference problem is an interesting way of applying something new to something vaguely familiar.  I feel like from here on out everything will be pretty new.  I haven't struggled with anything so far.  I'm not sure if I will.  Everything has been explained really well, so if the class continues like this I don't foresee any issues.  Overall, I think my progress has been pretty productive on account that I'm learning new things in math for the first time in about a year.

Week 4 blog post

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

Today in precalc we reviewed/ learned problems that used equations like D=(.5)at^2+St+d, and T=D/Savg. Theses are the same equations that we have been using in physics. It's interesting to see how you can get the same answer using different methods. This will help in both precalc and physics. 

Week 6- Real world connection

In AP stats, something we went over in the last unit had to do with quadratic functions. Since it was a small part of the entire unit we were told how to find 'x' with our calculator given the a b and c variables. Using this knowledge in functions, I can find 'x' to use as a reference to see if my answer was correct. Of course I would have to show my work so this will only be useful for checking, not solving the problem.

let's see how close I can get it....

I'm not even sure muddiest point is an option, no time to check.
I guess I would have to say the muddiest point so far is my memory.
Both in doing this, and in the what comes next aspect of completing the square, and the here's three points, find the equation.
Hopefully I make this in time, I wanted to finish mission impossible... something rouge, the new one... turns out it was a bit longer than expected. But I think I got this one.
It's 11 52 right now, I'm going to get a snack. I'm hungry and I'm cocky. Hopefully in this case cockyness won't be my downfall.

Blog Post hashtag3 (It's a pound sign) Progress

Howdy fellow students.

So far my progress in the course has been going fairly well. I've found much more simple ways to do things like completing squares and writing equations for quadratics with only points given. Past the review portion of the class, all the ideas we've been learning have been easy to understand after some practice, so no worries there (Note: Practice. Practice helps).

So yeah, cool stuff.

Blog #3

I had trouble solving equations with 3 missing variables.  I'm decent, but i'm still working on getting better.  I'm also working on just getting better at solving quadratics with points in general.

Week 3

Hello math friends. I'm going to tell you about my muddiest point so get ready and hop on the math train! choo choo!

During this past week while we have been learning how to take points, vertexes, and x&y intercepts and use them to create a quadratic formula (of some sort) I have learned that my muddiest point is exactly that. I always forget how I am supposed to solve for a, or whatever I am supposed to solve for. I also forget that it is a very logical thing and I just have to use my brain and shabang. math. I think that after I work a little bit of solving a few more variations of the problems I will grasp it much more. Go math!!(you may now disembark the math train)

Blog #3

My muddiest moment this week was when we were finding the x and y intercepts for different types of equations. I didn't understand how to solve to find the intercept. I had more luck from guessing and checking with my calculator than trying to solve for the intercepts mathematically.

Quadratic Functions

On friday Mr Jackson gave us a work shiet about Quadratic Functions. I understood all tasks except the one with the fencing (because he has to enclose more than 1 pen) and the hot air balloon (b,c,d). Now I finally found a method to find out the vertex without completing the square. I don't know why but completing the square confuses me.

Blog Wars: Episode III

Revenge of the Variables

Padawan Jacob finds himself facing a new opponent.  But instead of numbers, he finds himself facing of against waves of letters!  Master Jackson made the challenge to find numbers from lack of numbers.  Young Jacob must complete quadratic equations from having only coordinates to work with.  The task is hard and Jacob has not yet mastered it.  The technique is quite difficult and the slightest mistake can make all of the work pointless.

As the padawan struggles to find his answers, he finds that he gets stuck on finding all of the variables.  Some of his fellow classmates also appear to have difficulties with the method.  But Jacob believes that with enough time he will master this mathematical skill as he has in the past.  He can only hope it does not corrupt him into not caring as his tests approach closer by the day...

I hope people don't get a negative opinion about me typing in third-person...

- Jacob H.

Blog #3

"Muddiest Point."

My muddiest point from this past week is finding the a, b, and c values from only two points on a line. I understand how to do it with three but when I do it with two I get answers like 16=16, for example. I don't end up getting a value. 

Blog post 3

I feel good about my progress in this class.  I feel a lot better about completing the square after doing some practice.  I did well on the quiz so that makes me feel good about my progress too.  I think that I have improved since the beginning of this unit.

 So far I've been pretty confused on the whole covering from standard to vertex form, but over this weekend I have slowly started to get it. I did a few practice problems and I solved most of them. I still have a lot of room for improvement, but I'm pleased with the progress I've made.

Blog post 3

Reflection on your progress through the course.

This past week was awesome math wise. Writing quadratic functions when only three points seems like no small feat. But we have learned to do it, it may take some practice to master but I/ we as a class can do it. Maybe if we are lucky Mr. Jackson will teach us a short cut :)

Blog Post #3

My progress has been pretty good in this course. At first, I was kind of confused on where to start with writing quadratic equations when only given certain points, especially when all we had was the three random points. After going through that process, though, it has become more clear and I understand it better I think.

Weekly Blog Post #3

Something I think is cool that we have learned in class would be completing the square when a is not 1. This concept has been pretty easy for me to learn and I enjoy doing it.

Blog Post 3

Last week, I was having some trouble with finding x and y intercepts from three different forms of equations.  After spending a day revisiting completing the square, I've found I can complete problems correctly while also being more efficient than I was before.  The quiz also helped because it showed me I actually knew how to solve quadratics and could feel confident about my answers.

Blog #3

This week I have ahold of everything were doing in class. I started to slightly fall behind but at this point i am completly confident in everything were doing!

Blog #3

Finding an equation with only three points given to us is actually pretty cool. It also is very easy to do. We should do more of the "challenging" ones.

Blog Post #3

My progress in this course has been up and down. I was even struggling in the beginning of the year when all we were doing was review. Some of the things we were reviewing I had never seen before, while some other stuff I hadn't seen since freshman year. When we started the completing the square unit, it was quite challenging for me. As we have done more practice it has made more sense. I am still shaky on bits and pieces of it, but once I am more confident on those parts, it will be easier. Unfortunately I am a very slow leaner, so this course has been a little bit more difficult for me compared to some that I have taken in the past. I think that if I work hard, and get the help I need, I will be able to succeed in this class.

Blog #3

This week was very cool in precalculus. We learned about how to write quadratics with less information than we learned in algebra 2. I enjoyed creating an equation with only three points from a graph. We only need to take the points and plug in all numbers for X and y and then create equation and find a, b, and c like systems of equations. It was very easy and very enjoyable for a math eqaution.

Weekly blog post #3

1. A reflective comment on your progress in the course.

I've been doing alright so far this tri in pre-calc functions. Since the beginning of the school year it has become more challenging though. At the beginning of the tri it was mostly review so it was not very hard. But as we got into things such as completing the square, it became more difficult. My progress is good though because I understand everything that we are working on and know how to apply it. 

Week Three Post

Reflection on this course:

     I've had a couple of ups and downs within this course of Pre-Calc. I started off good with the review and with our first two units until we started completing the square. I eventually learned how to solve those problems with ease then we worked our way in to finding missing variables of a h or k inside a quadratic equation with only a certain amount of points. I'm starting to understand it more and I will get it down with a few more problems of practice but other than that this course has been really good. I'm enjoying it and glad to learn more information to better my math for future math courses ahead of my high school and college career.

Blog Post 3

Everything is going quite good at the moment fortunately. Most of the things we did this week are things that I already learned but I didn't understand at first. And anyway it takes a bit to understand what am I doing and why am I doing it. But the important thing is that at the end I understand it.

Blog Post #3
A reflective comment on your progress in the course

I feel that my progress through Pre-Calc functions has been very good up to this point.  I am constantly improving my study habits every quiz and test, and I am learning how to figure variations of questions out better.  My progress in understanding concepts has also improved.  However, I am currently struggling with the new concept we are learning.  This topic deals with figuring out quadratic variables by the use of coordinates.   I am looking forward to seeing how much I progress in this concept in the next few days, and in math in general by the end of the course.

Blog Post #3

So far in the course I felt I've made improvements in terms of understanding the concepts. For the first month or so, I felt lost especially since a lot of concepts from 2-3 years ago were being referenced and applied again. After practicing and asking for help, I feel like I'm caught up and exactly where I want to be :)

Reflection on my progress

At the beginning of the trimester, we were mostly reviewing old concepts, and I was doing really well.  I understood the material and wasn't struggling with anything in particular.  Then, we moved on to completing the square.  That was challenging at first, but after doing a lot of practice problems, I can easily find vertex form and the vertex without any trouble.  But now I'm struggling a little bit with finding equations from points given to us, and finding the y intercepts by putting x values into equations.  Other than that, though, I think my progress in this class has been pretty steady.

Blog Post #3

A reflection on a particular day in Mr. Jackson's class.
On the day of the completing the square and factoring quick quiz (10/13/15) I actually gained real confidence in my ability to solve different types of problems that require one of those methods to solve.  The worksheets leading up to that day definitely helped me learn through some repetition.  The warm up that day did not seem that challenging so I felt pretty ready for the quiz.  The quiz went really well.  I did not have any trouble with any problems.  At the end of that day it did not take me long to figure out the challenge problem using the a(x-r1)(x-r2).

Blog Post 2

This week, something that finally sparked for me was completing the squares. It wasn't a thing where all of a sudden I got it, but it was through the many practice opportunities that I learned the steps and made it more efficient in my head. It seemed like suddenly I understood and everything seemed easier.

Week 3

I found the quadratic eqaution to be fascinating and cool. I liked how we started with the standard form of an equation and worked to get X by itself. This seams like a good method to deconstruct any equation to understand its process.

Weekly Blog #2

Something in the class that I thought was cool was completing the square method. This method was new to me this trimester, and I haven't had much trouble using it.

Weekly blog post #3

1. 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.

At first learning how to complete the square had me confused, I kept messing it up and really wasn't sure what I was doing wrong. Eventually with enough practice and going over problems in class I finally got it! Now I understand it completely and can do it quickly.

Week 2

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.

         - Last week we learned how to complete the square and convert a standard form equation into vertex form. I was struggling with it at first and the more I did them the more frustrating it was. As we were a few worksheets and days into this unit, it all started to click. After further explanations and going over notes i finally got them down and understand how to convert from standard form to vertex and so on. 

 

          (Sorry this is late. Won't happen again)

Week 2

Completing the square was difficult to understand when we first learned it, but after a little practice it is very simple.

Week 2
My muddiest point this week is probably when there are giant fractions involved in completing the square or finding vertex form.  I can find the vertex form with hardly any struggles when the numbers are whole, but fractions have always been my nemesis in math.   When they're added into the problem, most of my focus is on the fraction and how to deal with it instead of on the steps of solving. 

Mud isn't Fun

My muddiest point has shifted from one thing to another, but my muddiest point has always returned to finding the perfect c value when completing the square. I find the value, but it either looks wrong, so I change it, or it is wrong and I get upset for being wrong. It's a very frustrating process and I repeatedly have to rechange my answer back to my first answer, etc. It gets me every time.

Blog #2

     What I had trouble with this week was dealing with all the fractions when completing the square.  Usually problems that were made up for teaching have whole numbers or simple fractions for answers.  You have to get over questioning if a fractions is too ridiculous to be right and that, sometimes, isn't easy.

P.S. I may have been hypercritical of Battlefront 3

Post 2

This week I finally understood how to use the square and diamond method to complete the quadratic!
We were doing some exercises on our own, I was trying to complete one of the quadratic functions. I wasn't really sure if what I did was right, so I asked to my seat neighbor and she had done the same! I was proud of my self because for the first time I understood something by myself!

Week 5- course progress

I believe that I am progressing well in the course. However since I have missed a few classes due to sports and other school reasons some of the recent subjects have taken a little longer to understand. The notes you sent me helped out. I don't have any more reasons to miss class in the near future so from here on out, class should be progressing smoothly for me.

Blog Wars: Episode II

Attack of the Vertex

The adventures of young Jacob continues as he learns a new skill: converting from the quadratic form to vertex form and visa versa.  Jacob finds this interesting as he no longer needs to struggle with worrying about other ways to find the vertex.  Although, a threat arises as large fractions make their play into the conversions.  While not extremely hard, the padawan worries that Master Jackson will never stop with the ever-growing fractions.  As the next week unfolds, young Jacob continues to hone his mathematical skills in preparation for what lies ahead...

Just letting you know that all of the blogs are probably going to be like this.  I've already started, so I am not going to stop myself, I've already commited...    -Jacob H.

Blog 2

My muddiest point this week was finding the vertex to quadratic's.  I didn't remember a lot about doing that from last year, so with the help of Youtube I figured it out.

2nd week

This week Mr Jackson deduced the "abc-formula" for finding x-intercepts. This is something I already did at home, so I know what to do. But I realized that I have a huge lack of basic knowledge about equations and convert them in other forms.

Blog #2: Something "cool"

Something that I thought was really interesting was when we learned how to change equations into vertex form, and the diamond method. I did not originally understand the diamond method at first but it was something new and pleasantly surprising.

Blog #2

The muddiest point this week was when we were working on the quadratic patterns and we were finding the vertex and x-intercepts. This was difficult for me because I didn't remember much of doing this last year so when we just jumped in and did these huge problems, I was a little lost. But I'm hoping with a little explanation and practice I will understand quadratic functions better. 

Blog Post 2

My muddiest point this week is something we finished Friday's class with.  For three separate equations, we had to find the exact x intercepts, vertex, y intercept and domain and range.  I am having some trouble remembering how to find each part starting from 3 different forms of a quadratic function.  I understand most of the concepts like going from one form of an equation to another, completing the square, factoring, and other "shortcuts", but when I try to use everything together, I tend to get confused.  I think I just need to try more problems like these until I understand how to find every component.

Blog 2

Muddiest Point.

So far the thing that I struggle the most with is the completing the square method. I feel like the factoring way is easier but I'm still not confident with it.

Blog post 2

A reflective comment on your progress during the course

I am enjoying this class very well. The concepts are tough but not impossible, and with work and perseverance they can be accomplished. Just a couple things that's I would like to happen, and I know Jackson for one will agree with me, is more whole class participation and more collaboration of ideas. One thing personally I would like is more work in the sense that practice will make perfect. Like a worksheet full of completing the square problems, with an answer key to check.

Week 2

During the past week,  a day that stood out to me the most was Tuesday during second hour when most of the class was signing up for the PSAT and I was able to get as much help as I could on the test we had just gotten back. I asked about a million questions about questions that I did not understand form the previous chapter and was able to correct my mistakes with the test corrections!

Blog Post #2 - A reflection on a particular day in Mr. Jackson's class

Lately I have been struggling to keep up in class. Luckily, this past week has gone a lot more smoothly for me. A particular day that sticks out in my mind was Tuesday, when we got our tests back, watched The Avengers and we were given the chance to get caught up, or work on whatever we needed to. This day stands out to me because I was able to sit down with Mr. Jackson and get extra help. I was struggling more than usual because I had also missed Monday. Being able to sit down, and have what we were learning explained to me, one on one, with more detail helped me understand the material a lot better and more quickly. Even that short amount of time getting some extra help really improved the way I learned and did my work the rest of the week.

Blog Post 2

My muddiest point is finding the correct h value when switching from quadratic to vertex form with an "a" value that is not 1.  There are so many steps to the process that sometimes I make a mistake and mess up the final equation.  I feel like I am better at the process than I was when we first started working on those types of problems.  I am working on it and will continue to study.

Muddiest point

So far I'd have to say a particularly "muddy" point is changing between standard and vertex forms with quadratics. It's not that I don't understand the concepts, it just seems that I frequently make small mistakes that in then compromise the rest of the work. This is something I'll definitely keep working at.

Blog Post #2

A reflective comment on your progress in this course.
When we first started using the completing the square method, I was pretty lost and could barely remember doing this method from Algebra 1.  Now after practicing it a lot, I feel a lot more confident with it and using that method to find the vertex. However, I was a little bit confused again when we had to find the x-intercepts, y-intercept, and vertex from looking at the three different equations, but hopefully with more clarification/practice that won't seem as confusing either.

1. Blog Post #2.     A reflection on a particular day in Mr. Jackson's class.

 On Friday, October 10, I finally succeeded in understanding how to connect most of the concepts we are talking about in the quadratic unit. I am now able to use certain methods on different problems, and I am able to finish those problems more quickly and efficiently.  Now that I understand more of these concepts, I will be able to answer variations of  basic quadratic  problems  better in the future. 

Blog Post 2

My muddiest point this week would be the worksheet we did on Wednesday when the sub was here. I couldn't remember what to do on it so I most likely I did the entire thing wrong.I feel a little better when we went over it on Thursday, but I'm not as confident as I would like to be on it. 

Blog #2

This past week i felt really good going into our test. But when we got to it i found it harder then i thought. This week i am going to work a little harder on it.

Blog Post #2

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.

On Friday, when we started going through completing the square to find f(x) and to solve equations, I was more than lost.  I vaguely remembered it from maybe a day or two in Algebra 2, but that was about it.  On the following Monday, when we went through some examples of different ways to go about completing the problems, I began to feel more confident that I could find the vertex form on my own.  The next Tuesday, I spent basically all hour going through the packet we got, and now I feel confident in my abilities to find the vertex form no matter how nasty the fractions are.

Weekly Blog Post #2

A comment on something that you've learned that you thought was "cool" -- Something new that we have learned that I think is cool would have to be changing very tough equations into vertex form. We just started looking at it this week but I already understand it. On the first day that we started, though, I did not understand it at all which makes me feel even better about it now that I can solve them. 

My muddiest point this unit is probably when we have to determine the domain when combining functions.  I always get mixed up on the different rules of composition and combination, and when to find the domain of the original function first or look at the inside function.

A Reflective Comment

I liked learning about turning x^2+6x+9x into (x+3)^2. This was very cool because of the relationship between the b and c values. The equation that represents this relation I like to write as b/2=√c. In this problem 6/2 is 3 and the √9 is also 3. This doesn't work with every quadratic but for every quadratic that factors into a(x+h)+k.

Blog #1: Muddiest Point

My "muddiest point" in the class would have to be when we did the completing the square unit.  When I had first started I was not really sure what I was doing at the time and I had an awful method that would take me a long time to finish the problem.  Now with the new method that we had learned I understand what I am supposed to be doing and it takes me much less time to actually complete the problwm.

WEEK 2 A comment on something that you've learned that you thought was "cool".

Something I learned that I thought was 'cool'/helpful was using diamonds in factoring. The diamond method really sped the factoring process up and gave me a better understanding of what goes into a factor (not just guessing and checking) and also the importance of factoring a perfect square.

somthing I least understand in this unit so far

The concept I understand the least so far in this unit is, combining and composition of functions.  It's more or less having more than one variable and dividing square root quantities that cause some confusion when trying to solve them.

Week 7-Muddiest Point

My worst unit in the class was the point when we were finding the inverse of functions that have x in the numerator as well as the denominator. For a few days I was confused on how to get y by itself. Then one day mr Jackson re-explained to us how to do it and it clicked for me. When I came to this problem on the test it wasn't very hard and now I know how to solve these problems. 

Blog #1

Reflecting upon class... Last year I had a lot of trouble with factoring quadratics. Since I didn't know about the square/diamond method, I use to just guess and check a lot. Now that you taught us the square/diamond method, I understand factoring a lot better.

Blog 1

Reflecting upon class...
I've really started to take interest in the new methods of completing the square. Before this class I used a comparatively bad method to try and simplify huge polynomials. But with this new method, I'm finally able to keep track of all the steps and feel more confident in my final answers.

Blog Wars: Episode 1

The Domain Menace

It is the beginning of  a new year at Mason High School.  As the days pass, young student Jacob attends a math class only known as Pre-Calc Function.  The Master of the class, Jackson, teaches the young padawans of domains.  Young Jacob understands most of it while having trouble

 solving for the domains of functions with a radical in the denominator.

While it is not as tough as Jacob makes it to be, he must overcome his general laziness and forgetfulness if he is ever to pass all four trials of high school and become an alumni knight.  

But he must first remember to put the answers in the correct interval notation form...

Hope this is good enough.  I didn't really have much to talk about.

-Jacob H.

Blog Post #1 - Progress

In these last few weeks in this class, there have been many times during review that I have entirely forgot how things were related and what to do. However, I have always progressed beyond those mental blocks and relearned the things I have needed to. It sometimes takes asking a friend, or looking it up, or just some time to dissect the problem and figure it out myself.

Blog 1

Everything we have learned connects to several science classes. It also conects to lifes financials, such as when figuring taxes on pay checks or taxes during tax season.

Blog

I've had a tough time trying to find the inverse of functions with a x in both the numerator and the denominator.  The square and diamond had me a little confused at first but, I did some practice with and figured it out.

Blog Post #1 -Reflective Comment on my progress

So far in the course I haven't really struggled with any concepts. I felt like it was mostly just trying to remember things I have learned years ago that I haven't used since. By test day I felt fairly confident in what we were doing until I saw the actual test so I'm not really sure how I feel now because I personally don't feel like I did as well on the test as I would've hoped. I guess I'll find out if my assumption is correct or not tomorrow or whenever we get the tests back. Besides that, in general, I feel pretty confident in terms of the math I've been doing in class so that's got to count for something right?

Blog 1

My confusing moment this week was finding the inverse of rational functions with an 'x' in the numerator and denominator.  It took me a while to figure out by thinking through it and guessing and checking, but I think I got it.

Week 1- Muddiest Point

During this week, I noticed that the muddiest point for me that we had touched upon was the factoring the quadratic standard form with the ax value (I think its ax, the first quantity...) at a higher value. However, the box/diamond method is slowly helping me with that as I am slowly getting the hang of using it with the practice problems.

Weekly Blog Post #1

My "Muddiest Point" of the course so far has been finding the range of a radical or rational function. I had a very hard time remember how to determine the range of those types of functions. With studying and asking for help from my classmates, the concept has become much easier for me to figure out.

Blog Post 1

In the beginning, writing in interval notation including and vs. or was confusing for me because I was used to using inequality symbols,  x and y for domain and range.  Taking notes on what symbols meant not equal to and equal to for interval notation, inequalities and dots on the graph helped me understand how to use interval notation correctly. 

My Week (9/28 - 10/2)

This week we finished our first Unit "Functions Basics" and we wrote a test. Then we had a review about factoring quadratics. Mr Jackson explained us a method how to figure out the factors of a quadratic expression with a spreadsheet and a "diamond". For me it's difficult to figure out the math problems because the german and english "math-words" distinguish and math is hard for me anyway. I read everything several times but I think I should continue practicing to rewrite the standard ferment the vertex form.

Blog Post 1

Something I found really hard to understand.

This week we started talking about quadratics and how to factor them.
I had some problems to understand how to factor a quadratic when the 'a' member is different from one, and how to use the square and the diamond method. But then one of my seat neighbours explained that to me and I understood that better. Even though I'm still not completely sure about how to use this method.

Blog post 1- progress in the course

I feel pretty good about my progress in this course.  When we first started interval notation, I had trouble writing domains and ranges in the correct interval notation.  After practicing, I figured it out.  Interval notation was probably the toughest concept that was taught in the first unit because I had never seen it before.  I did well with composition of functions and other concepts in the class.  I felt prepared for the test last Wednesday.

Blog post 1

Something that you struggled with/you found cool.

When we first started using the square and diamond method, I was completely lost and have no idea what to do. When I sorta had a clue, I thought it only worked certain times and was almost useless. But I kept at it, and I saw the light and realized that it is an effective math tool.

Blog Post #1

3.  A reflective comment on your progress in the course.

In the beginning of this course, I was a little bit nervous when we started with interval notation and went through the domains for different functions.  I was a little bit hazy with those domains and did not know interval notation at all, so I was nervous about remembering them since I rarely study for math.  However, it came to me pretty quickly and after studying for one of the first times in math, I was able to remember the domains for specific functions and interval notation pretty quickly and felt a lot more at ease by the time we took the first quiz and now the test.

Blog #1

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

Something that I learned in class that I thought was cool was how to factor quadratics using the square and diamond method.  Before taking this course, I had never known an efficient way to factor quadratics other that guessing and checking.  Now I am able to get through factoring questions quickly, and without many issues.  This way of factoring is especially useful when I need to factor a very large quadratic because it allows me to break down the process step-by-step.

Weekly Blog post #1

Reflective comment on my progress in pre-calc functions so far this tri:

So far this tri hasn't been too hard. It has mostly been review for me. And since I've been reviewing my notes, I hope I did good on the test. Everything up until what we learned today has been easy for me. We worked on factoring complex quadratics and changing them to vertex form which was a lot harder than I remember. Lastly, i have had some pretty good progress so far this tri.

Maddie - First Blog Post

A reflective comment on your progress in the course.

This course has been pretty difficult for me to keep up in. I have been trying my hardest to study every night, even for just a few minutes, to try to help my understanding of the material. I understand bits and pieces of what we have learned so far, but not the whole section overall. It was a big change from my last school to this one, the material taught here is much more difficult than what I have been previously taught. Also, since I haven't taken Algebra 2 since freshman year it was even harder to remember what I had learned back then and apply it to what we are now being taught in this class. I think that since I seem to be struggling so much, and haven't been able to improve myself on my own like usual, I should get some outside, or extra help in order for me to do well and also in order for me to genuinely understand the material.