Here are a couple of warnings to my students who may be here to get a copy of wh at happened on a day that you missed.

Because I wanted to make this a fairly complete set of notes for anyone want ing to learn algebra I have included some material that I do not usually have ti me to cover in class and because this changes from semester to semester it is no t noted here. You will need to find one of your fellow class mates to see if th ere is something in these notes that wasn t covered in class. Because I want these notes to provide some more examples for you to read thr ough, I don t always work the same problems in class as those given in the notes. Likewise, even if I do work some of the problems in here I may work fewer probl ems in class than are presented here. Sometimes questions in class will lead down paths that are not covered here. I try to anticipate as many of the questions as possible in writing these up, but the reality is that I can t anticipate all the questions. Sometimes a very go od question gets asked in class that leads to insights that I ve not included here . You should always talk to someone who was in class on the day you missed and compare these notes to their notes and see what the differences are. This is somewhat related to the previous three items, but is important enoug h to merit its own item. THESE NOTES ARE NOT A SUBSTITUTE FOR ATTENDING CLASS!! Using these notes as a substitute for class is liable to get you in trouble. A s already noted not everything in these notes is covered in class and often mate rial or insights not in these notes is covered in class.

Here is a listing of all the material that is currently available in these notes .

Preliminaries Integer Exponents In this section we will start looking at exponents and their properties. Rational Exponents We will define rational exponents in this section and extend the properties from the previous section to rational exponents. Real Exponents This is a short acknowledgment that the exponent properties from the previous two sections will hold for any real exponent. Radicals Here we will define radical notation and relate radicals to rational e xponents. We will also give the properties of radicals. Polynomials We will introduce the basics of polynomials in this section includi ng adding, subtracting and multiplying polynomials. Factoring Polynomials This is the most important section of all the preliminari es. Factoring polynomials will appear in pretty much every chapter in this cour se. Without the ability to factor polynomials you will be unable to complete th is course. Rational Expressions In this section we will define rational expressions and di scuss adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing them.

Complex Numbers Here is a very quick primer on complex numbers and how to manip ulate them.

Solving Equations and Inequalities Solutions and Solution Sets We introduce some of the basic notation and ideas i nvolved in solving in this section. Linear Equations In this section we will solve linear equations, including equa tions with rational expressions. Applications of Linear Equations We will take a quick look at applications of l inear equations in this section. Equations With More Than One Variable Here we will look at solving equations wi th more than one variable in them. Quadratic Equations, Part I In this section we will start looking at solving qu adratic equations. We will look at factoring and the square root property in th is section. Quadratic Equations, Part II We will finish up solving quadratic equations in t his section. We will look at completing the square and quadratic formula in thi s section. Quadratic Equations : A Summary We ll give a procedure for determining which meth od to use in solving quadratic equations in this section. We will also take a q uick look at the discriminant. Applications of Quadratic Equations Here we will revisit some of the applicatio ns we saw in the linear application section, only this time they will involve so lving a quadratic equation. Equations Reducible to Quadratic Form In this section we will solve equations t hat can be reduced to quadratic in form. Equations with Radicals Here we will solve equations with square roots in them. Linear Inequalities We will start solving inequalities in this section by looki ng at linear inequalities. Polynomial Inequalities In this section we will look at solving inequalities th at contain polynomials. Rational Inequalities Here we will solve inequalities involving rational expres sions. Absolute Value Equations We will officially define absolute value in this secti on and solve equations that contain absolute value. Absolute Value Inequalities We will solve inequalities that involve absolute va lue in this section.

Graphing and Functions

Graphing In this section we will introduce the Cartesian coordinate system and most of the basics of graphing equations. Lines Here we will review the main ideas from the study of lines including slop e and the special forms of the equation of a line. Circles We will look at the equation of a circle and graphing circles in this s ection. The Definition of a Function We will discuss the definition of a function in th is section. We will also introduce the idea of function evaluation. Graphing Functions In this section we will look at the basics of graphing funct ions. We will also graph some piecewise functions in this section. Combining functions Here we will look at basic arithmetic involving functions a s well as function composition. Inverse Functions We will define and find inverse functions in this section.

Common Graphs Lines, Circles and Piecewise Functions This section is here only to acknowledge that we ve already talked about graphing these in a previous chapter. Parabolas We ll be graphing parabolas in this section. Ellipses In this section we will graph ellipses. Hyperbolas Here we will be graphing hyperbolas. Miscellaneous Functions In this section we will graph a couple of common functi ons that don t really take all that much work to so. We ll be looking at the consta nt function, square root, absolute value and a simple cubic function. Transformations We will be looking at shifts and reflections of graphs in this section. Collectively these are often called transformations. Symmetry We will briefly discuss the topic of symmetry in this section. Rational Functions In this section we will graph some rational functions. We w ill also be taking a look at vertical and horizontal asymptotes.

Polynomial Functions Dividing Polynomials We ll review some of the basics of dividing polynomials in t his section. Zeroes/Roots of Polynomials In this section we ll define just what zeroes/roots o f polynomials are and give some of the more important facts concerning them. Graphing Polynomials Here we will give a process that will allow us to get a ro ugh sketch of some polynomials. Finding Zeroes of Polynomials We ll look at a process that will allow us to find some of the zeroes of a polynomial and in special cases all of the zeroes.

Partial Fractions In this section we will take a look at the process of partial fractions and finding the partial fraction decomposition of a rational expressi on.

Exponential and Logarithm Functions Exponential Functions In this section we will introduce exponential functions. We will be taking a look at some of the properties of exponential functions. Logarithm Functions Here we will introduce logarithm functions. We be looking at how to evaluate logarithms as well as the properties of logarithms. Solving Exponential Equations We will be solving equations that contain exponen tials in this section. Solving Logarithm Equations Here we will solve equations that contain logarithm s. Applications In this section we will look at a couple of applications of expone ntial functions and an application of logarithms.

Systems of Equations Linear Systems with Two Variables In this section we will use systems of two eq uations and two variables to introduce two of the main methods for solving syste ms of equations. Linear Systems with Three Variables Here we will work a quick example to show h ow to use the methods to solve systems of three equations with three variables. Augmented Matrices We will look at the third main method for solving systems in this section. We will look at systems of two equations and systems of three eq uations. More on the Augmented Matrix In this section we will take a look at some specia l cases to the solutions to systems and how to identify them using the augmented matrix method. Nonlinear Systems We will take a quick look at solving nonlinear systems of equ ations in this section.