STATEMENT OF PHILOSOPHY
The Mathematics Department offers a curriculum with topics, course content, instructional emphasis, and teaching methods that meet standards of the new century. The Department requires the use of hand held graphing calculator technology in all courses. The curriculum emphasizes experimental and exploratory problem solving and communication of mathematical ideas verbally and in writing. Students create and use graphs of data and functions to develop mathematical skills, to reason through problems, and to understand complex relationships.
Objectives:
Provide instruction in contemporary high school mathematics.
Emphasize the student's role in the learning process.
Emphasize modeling real world applications.
Expose students to technology in mathematics and its applications.
Provide individualized help.
Offer a variety of teaching techniques that include cooperative learning and student participation.
Challenge the best students with difficult problems and mathematics competitions.
Graduation Requirements
Two years of mathematics is required of all students for graduation.
Algebra II is recommended, as current standardized tests such as SAT/ACT, include this material.
Three or four years are recommended to meet the entrance requirements of most colleges.
A five-year sequence is available. Students with advanced skills may be
DESCRIPTION OF COURSES
ALGEBRA I
Full year course
.50 credit per semester, meets daily
TI-83+ or TI-84 calculator required
The focus during this yearlong course provides a balance between necessary manipulation skills and increased emphasis on conceptual understanding, using algebra as a means of representation, and problem solving with algebra, with an emphasis on linear functions. The course uses cooperative groups and teamwork as students read, do, and learn mathematics. Content integrates algebra, geometry, probability, statistics, data analysis and real world applications.
Book List:
Murdock, Kamischke and Kamischke, Discovering Algebra: An Investigative Approach 2nd Edition
GEOMETRY
Prerequisite: Algebra I
Full year course
.50 credit per semester, meets daily
TI-83+ or TI-84 calculator required
The course’s primary foci of study are: triangle congruence, similarity, properties of polygons and circles, problem solving and transformations. The course demonstrates the relationship between algebra and geometry. Concepts are discovered through investigations, inductively and deductively. Real world and practical problems are embedded throughout the course. Students are taught to use the traditional tools of geometry (compass, protractor, etc.), dynamic geometry computer software, and graphing calculators.
Book List:
Serra, Discovering Geometry
ALGEBRA II
Prerequisite: Geometry
Full year course
.50 credit per semester, meets daily
TI-83+ or TI-84 calculator required
This course reflects the way mathematics is used in today's technological world. A visual problem solving approach is used to insure that the student's understanding is more complete than just the symbolic investigation. Students conduct experiments and find mathematical relationships that describe their data. The range of topics covered in this course includes data analysis, linear and quadratic functions, parametric equations, sequences and series, matrices, systems of linear & non-linear equations, exponential functions, statistics, and an introduction to trigonometry.
Book List:
Murkock & others, Algebra II
STATISTICS AP
Prerequisite: Algebra II
Full year course
.50 credit per semester, meets daily
TI-83+ or TI-84 calculator required
In this introductory course, students work on projects and applications of statistics. They start with a survey of descriptive statistics, probability, and experimental design, and move on to normal, binomial, geometric, t and chi square distributions. During the second half of the year students work in the area of inference – making statements about a population based on samples. They construct confidence intervals and do significance testing. Upon completion, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Examination.
Book List:
Yates & others, The Practice of Statistics
ADVANCED MATHEMATICS
Prerequisite: Algebra II
Full year course
.50 credit per semester, meets daily
TI-83+, TI-84 or TI-86 calculator required
This course is designed to serve students who are preparing for Calculus. As a pre-calculus course, it offers an analytical, graphical as well as numerical approach to understanding polynomials, exponential functions, logarithms, and a wide variety of trigonometry topics. Real life applications and data interpretation are integral parts of this course of study.
Book List:
Larson & others, Precalculus w/ Limits
CALCULUS AP
Prerequisite: Advanced Math
Full year course
.50 credit per semester, meets daily
TI-83+, TI-84,TI-86 or TI 89 calculator required
The standard topics of a first semester college calculus course as specified by the Advanced Placement syllabus are covered, including differentiation and integration of algebraic, trigonometric and transcendental functions, applications of such operations and the theory of limits. Various technology tools are used to explore and discover concepts throughout the course. Small classes and group work facilitate a cooperative approach to mastering the material. Upon completion, students are encouraged to take the Advanced Placement Examination.
Text:
Finney, Calculus
