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Mathematics LibreTexts

1: Algebra Review

  • Page ID
    143836
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    In this chapter, we will review sets of numbers and properties of operations used to manipulate numbers. This understanding will serve as prerequisite knowledge throughout our study of algebra and trigonometry.

    • 1.1: Exponents
    • 1.2: Polynomials
    • 1.3: Factoring Polynomials
      The greatest common factor, or GCF, can be factored out of a polynomial. Checking for a GCF should be the first step in any factoring problem. Trinomials with leading coefficient 1 can be factored by finding numbers that have a product of the third term and a sum of the second term. Trinomials can be factored using a process called factoring by grouping. Perfect square trinomials and the difference of squares are special products and can be factored using equations.
    • 1.4: Rational Expressions
    • 1.5: Complex Numbers
      The square root of any negative number can be written as a multiple of i. To plot a complex number, we use two number lines, crossed to form the complex plane. The horizontal axis is the real axis, and the vertical axis is the imaginary axis. Complex numbers can be added and subtracted by combining the real parts and combining the imaginary parts. Complex numbers can be multiplied and divided.
    • 1.6: Linear Equations in One Variable
      A linear equation is an equation of a straight line, written in one variable. The only power of the variable is 1. Linear equations in one variable may take the form ax+b=0ax+b=0 and are solved using basic algebraic operations.
    • 1.7: Radicals and Rational Expressions
    • 1.8: The Rectangular Coordinate Systems and Graphs
      Descartes introduced the components that comprise the Cartesian coordinate system, a grid system having perpendicular axes. Descartes named the horizontal axis the \(x\)-axis and the vertical axis the \(y\)-axis. This system, also called the rectangular coordinate system, is based on a two-dimensional plane consisting of the \(x\)-axis and the \(y\)-axis. Perpendicular to each other, the axes divide the plane into four sections. Each section is called a quadrant.
    • 1.9: Functions and Function Notation
      A jetliner changes altitude as its distance from the starting point of a flight increases. The weight of a growing child increases with time. In each case, one quantity depends on another. There is a relationship between the two quantities that we can describe, analyze, and use to make predictions. In this section, we will analyze such relationships.
    • 1.10: Domain and Range
      In creating various functions using the data, we can identify different independent and dependent variables, and we can analyze the data and the functions to determine the domain and range. In this section, we will investigate methods for determining the domain and range of functions.

    Thumbnail: A shortcut called FOIL is sometimes used to find the product of two binomials. It is called FOIL because we multiply the first terms, the outer terms, the inner terms, and then the last terms of each binomial.

    Contributors

    • Lynn Marecek (Santa Ana College) and MaryAnne Anthony-Smith (formerly of Santa Ana College). This content produced by OpenStax and is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 license.

    This page titled 1: Algebra Review is shared under a CC BY 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by OpenStax via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.

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