Category: Advanced Algebra II

Posts relating to Mr. Hershman’s Advanced Algebra II course.

Friday, 14 April 2017

Tuesday, 4 April 2017

Tue April 4th

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
Hi All —

It is nice to see everyone again, and I hope that you were lucky to spend Spring Break doing something interesting! I spent a lot of time at the pool and the park,  my daughter, Alma, loves to "hang at the park" which means literally going to the park and hanging off as many bars and rings and railings as she can find. So we did lots of "hang at the park" and her current favorite book is "Nanette's Baguette" — highly recommended. For. Two. Year. Olds. And also grown ups!

I wanted to give you an update on what's going on in class and I realized that I should also communicate to you about a change of expectations for these emails.

"Almost Daily Email" becomes mostly daily but loses content

I've been thinking about my emails/lack thereof as of late and wanted to send out a more general email and update you on what's going on from my end. Since my son was born my duties before/after school have shifted and I now do the morning routine dropoff and pickup for my daughter most days before and after school. This has made it very difficult for me to send regular email updates to you after school before my daughter goes to bed at around 7:30pm.

The best solution for me is to switch from sending an explanation to simply sending an email containing the assignment for the day. I will try to send this out during or right after class so that you have the day's assignment, but I will not necessarily include narrative or explanation. So, the body of the message might be something cryptic like

Today's assignment: complete the chapter 7 practice problems (handed out in class) and study for your Chapter 7 test on Thursday

I'm sorry I haven't been able to send the same level of updates as I would like, I know that communication is important but at the moment I need to prioritize a bit. As always, if you have questions for me please feel free to send me an email.

In class today we worked on an in-depth example problem from the test and had some time to work on other test review problems.

Chapter 7 Test is on Thursday. Students will take their Chapter 7 test on Thursday. And again, if you would like the list of skills they should have

Inline image 1

Seeing this list again I think it is missing solve quadratic equations by completing the square and derive the quadratic formula by completing the square on the equation 0 = ax^2 + bx + c.

Wednesday, 1 March 2017

Wednesday, March 1

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
In class students asked questions and we solved problems to get ready for the Chapter 6 Test. The chapter Review on p. 351: 1-10 is today's assignment.

Study Guide On the ch. 6 test students will need to be able to:

  • Perform matrix arithmetic, including addition, subtraction, multiplication (by a scalar or another matrix) by hand. This includes determining when two matrices cannot be added / multiplied etc. due to their dimensions.
  • Represent and solve a system of equations using an augmented matrix and row reduction by hand (quickly solving a 2 variable, 2 equation system, and able to solve a 3-variable, 3 equation system given sufficient time)
  • Solve a system of inequalities by graphing the inequalities and clearly finding the feasible region (again by hand)
  • Solve a linear programming problem by writing a system of inequalities to represent the constraints, finding the feasible region, and determining a point to maximize or minimize a profit function.
  • Recognize situations in which a transition diagram and transition matrix should be used. Use transition matrices and matrix operations to solve real-world problems.

Tuesday, 28 February 2017

Mon Feb 27

by nickhershman Add Your Comment

Wrote yesterday didn't send:( Here's a short update on class from yesterday.

In class I checked HW, reiewed 6.4 and 6.5 and we completed an example linear programming or profit/optimization problem. Students have a Chapter 6 test on Friday. We will spend Wednesday's class working to solve practice problems.
 

HW:
Due Wednesday: 6.6 on p. 347: 4-8(linear programming/optimization), 11-14 (review)
 
Upcoming (to be assigned Wednesday) Chapter 6 Review on p. 351: 1-10

Friday, 24 February 2017

Thu Feb. 23

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
In class we covered the definition and method for deriving identity and inverse matrices. We learned to solve systems of equations like

2x + 3y = 8

4x - y = 10

Using matrices

begin{bmatrix} 2 & 3 \ 4 & -1 end{bmatrix} cdot begin{bmatrix} x \ y end{bmatrix} = begin{bmatrix} 8 \ 10 end{bmatrix}

We would then solve the system. Multiplying on the inverse on both sides

begin{bmatrix} 2 & 3 \ 4 & -1 end{bmatrix}^{-1} cdot begin{bmatrix} 2 & 3 \ 4 & -1 end{bmatrix} cdotbegin{bmatrix} x \ y end{bmatrix} = begin{bmatrix} 2 & 3 \ 4 & -1 end{bmatrix}^{-1} cdot begin{bmatrix} 8 \ 10end{bmatrix}

We get

begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \ 0 & 1 end{bmatrix} cdotbegin{bmatrix} x \ y end{bmatrix} = begin{bmatrix} frac{19}{7} \ frac{6}{7}end{bmatrix}

So, since begin{bmatrix} 1 & 0 \ 0 & 1 end{bmatrix} is the 2-by-2 identity matrix, we have

begin{bmatrix} x \ y end{bmatrix} = begin{bmatrix} frac{19}{7} \ frac{6}{7}end{bmatrix}

We also looked at solving systems of inequalities

Assignment:
6.4 on p. 331: 3, 6-10, 15, 17, 18
6.5 on p. 339: 5-9, 11-15

Wednesday, 22 February 2017

I’m back! Also, HS Forecasting info and current units

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
Hi All —

I had my first day back at CPMS after family leave today. It was really nice to see everyone and it is of course tough to leave the cuddly baby and family but also good to be back. My son, Evan Paul, was born 8 lbs 8 oz and 22.5 inches long. He is healthy and really good at sleeping right now, even though his big sister likes to loudly announce his  every move 🙂

I did put in final grades today but have not written comments for report cards. I am happy to answer questions if you have any about grades so please ask if you have them.

If you have an 8th grader then they should be completing their forecasting sheets this week. They will need my signature for whatever math class they hope to take. If you are interested in more information about the HS courses you can find more info about HS courses on my Geometry website at

http://teacher.nickhershman.com/?p=geo

Forecasting forms are due to Advisory teachers by Friday.

I did not assignment any hw today. In AGS 1 we will be focusing on learning about systems of equations in the later sections of Module 5. Geometry students will finish the unit on Area/Surface Area of 2-d and 3-d shapes. Adv. Algebra 2 will be finishing the unit on Matrices and Linear Programming.

Back from family leave, HS Forecasting, and current units in math

by nickhershman Add Your Comment

Hi All —
 

I had my first day back at CPMS after family leave today. It was really nice to see everyone and it is of course tough to leave the cuddly baby and family but also good to be back. My son, Evan Paul, was born 8 lbs 8 oz and 22.5 inches long. He is healthy and really good at sleeping right now, even though his big sister likes to loudly announce his  every move 🙂

I did put in final grades today but have not written comments for report cards. I am happy to answer questions if you have any about grades so please ask if you have them.
 

If you have an 8th grader then they should be completing their forecasting sheets this week. They will need my signature for whatever math class they hope to take. If you are interested in more information about the HS courses you can find more info about HS courses on my Geometry website at

http://teacher.nickhershman.com/?p=geo
 

Forecasting forms are due to Advisory teachers by Friday.
 

I did not assignment any hw today. In AGS 1 we will be focusing on learning about systems of equations in the later sections of Module 5. Geometry students will finish the unit on Area/Surface Area of 2-d and 3-d shapes. Adv. Algebra 2 will be finishing the unit on Matrices and Linear Programming.

Thursday, 19 January 2017

Wednesday,

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
Hi All —

Today in class we spent time working on logarithm problems in pairs. The assignment for Thursday is to complete the practice problems. I gave students class time to work together on the problems.

Assignment: complete the review problems packet from today.

A few suggested videos on logarithms from Thinkwell
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSsginPd5ZA
* https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23el04fJ8Ww

Also, my wife and I are about to have a baby… we spent our snow days sledding with our 2 year old, Alma, and doing house projects to get ready for baby #2 who is due one week from today. I will be on Family Leave for a little more than 2 weeks from the time my wife goes into labor and I will let you know when I get a confirmation from the substitute who will be covering for me. I hope you all stayed warm and safe on roads!

Wednesday, 14 December 2016

Tuesday, Dec. 13

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
In class students took notes on logarithms, got back Chapter 4 tests and had a bit of time to start looking at the assignments dealing with Logarithms or reviewing their tests. The Chapter 4 scores were not good overall. I told the class that some students are earning low scores because they are not putting enough effort into learning the material and that if this is the case then they have to step up and take responsibility for their work. At the same time when I see low scores I feel responsible and want to help them improve. So, I am meeting with students tomorrow during my plan time and would like to see many students do a retake when they are ready. I imagine this would be after winter vacation.

Assignment:
For Thursday: 5.6 investigation on p. 273 steps 1-8, and on p. 276: 1-7, 9
To be assigned on Thursday due when we return
5.7 on p. 282: 1-5, 8, 10
5.8 on p. 289: 1-5, 7

Thursday, 1 December 2016

Ch. 4 Test

by nickhershman Add Your Comment
In class students worked on the chapter 4 test all period. I also gave out a practice quiz for the beginning of chapter 5 which would be helpful to have back tomorrow.
 

Assignment: previously assigned sections 5.1 – 5.4 + practice quiz w/s