3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

Art of Problem Solving

Intermediate Algebra (3205)

Carl Yerger
Thursday
Aug 25, 2022 - Feb 23, 2023
7:30 - 9:00 PM ET (4:30 - 6:00 PM PT)

Overview
Week 1 (Aug 25) Class Transcript - Review and Overview
< Go back to the class overview page
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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:21:17
The classroom is now moderated. This means that the messages you type will come to the instructors rather than going directly
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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:21:26

Please feel free to ask questions at any time to get help from our teaching staff! Let's introduce them now.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:21:31

My name is Carl Yerger and I am the instructor for this course.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:21:32

After graduating from Harvey Mudd College in 2005, Carl took Part III of the Mathematical Tripos as a Churchill Scholar at
Cambridge University in 2006 and then earned a Ph.D. in Algorithms, Combinatorics, and Optimization from Georgia Tech in 2010.
He then joined the Davidson College Department of Mathematics and Computer Science where he currently is an associate
professor and department chair. In 2014-2015, he was the Shelley Visiting Assistant Professor at Carnegie Mellon University. His
mathematical interests are in structural graph theory, combinatorics, economics and sports analysis. Carl has served on the
coordinating committee of the Charlotte Math Club since 2011 and co-organizes the club's senior group. In his free time, he is
president of the United States Korfball Federation and enjoys tennis and bowling.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:21:55

Your assistants for this course will be Nikola Konstantinov Kolarov (nickmaths02) and Marco Figueroa Ibarra (fig13).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:22:00

nickmaths02: Nikola Kolarov is a Bulgarian mathematician and competitor. He's attended numerous national and international
Maths competitions since 2015, including: TIMC2016, BIMC2018, IZHO2019, PUMaC 2019 and IZHO2020. He has tutored a few
classes as a high schooler and is currently studying Architecture.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:22:01

fig13: Marco found his passion for mathematics when he entered the math olympiads in Mexico. He was a member of the Mexican
International Mathematical Olympiad [IMO] team in 2003 and 2004, winning 2 bronze medals. Then, he attended IMO 2005 as a
problem coordinator and 7 more editions as part of the Mexican team. Marco has a bachelor degree in mathematics from the
University of Guanajuato. In his spare time, he enjoys cycling, listening to audio books, and thinking for days about a hard math
puzzle.

nickmaths02 2022-08-25 19:22:02

Hi everyone!

fig13 2022-08-25 19:22:08

Hello!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:22:09

Welcome Nikola and Marco!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:22:36

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:22:39

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:23:15

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:23:25

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:23:33

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:23:44

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:23:52

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:24:42

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:25:22

We also might pass your questions into the classroom so the entire class can benefit from the discussion.

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RockBlue 2022-08-25 19:26:16

2
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√hi!

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2
x + √3

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:26:20

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:26:23

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:26:32

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:26:36

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:26:45

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:26:52

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:27:07

We'll provide a full transcript after the lesson so you can review what happened, so you do not need to take notes in real time.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:27:17

You'll still want pencil and paper for your scratch work, as we will solve the problems together.

Pencil ready! Pen ready! Chalk ready! Marker ready! Be right back!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:28:08

You'll still want pencil and paper for your scratch work, as we will solve the problems together.

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

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Percent of Students

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:28:18

We'll get started in just 2 minutes.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:28:28

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:05

All right, let's start the fun part!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:07

Intermediate Algebra Lesson 1: Review and Overview

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:13

Part 1: Overview

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:14

You've all taken some algebra. You know how to work with polynomials; you know the quadratic formula; what more could there
possibly be?!?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:18

Well, it turns out there's a lot more -- algebra is far more than we'll be able to cover even here. What we are going to do is take the
knowledge that you already have and build on it:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:25

1) Higher-degree and multivariable polynomials: What can you do to work with polynomials like

5 4 3
x + 14x + 12x + 9x + 2

or polynomials with more than one variable? What do we know about the roots of these polynomials?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:33

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
Although there is no formula for finding the roots of polynomials in general, there are techniques that can often help you find them
if they are nice (for example, if they are integers or rational).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:38

2) Sequences and Series: We'll develop notation and methods for dealing with sequences of numbers, like

4,  12,  36,  108,  324

or series, which are sums of numbers like

10 + 14 + 18 + 22 + 26 + ⋯ + 42

or

2 2 2
10 + 2 + + +
5 25 125

or even infinite series, like

1 1 1 1
1 + + + + + ⋯.
2 4 8 16

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:30:41

Does anyone know that last sum?

August_Moon 2022-08-25 19:31:17

Isn't it 2?

tigerbw 2022-08-25 19:31:17

2

nt-blue 2022-08-25 19:31:17

2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:21

Yup, it's 2. We'll understand why it's 2 in a precise way, and also analyze many other kinds of summations.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:22

You might be surprised that we can add up infinite sums! It can't always be done, but in the cases where we can, it's possible to get
a well-defined result. We'll see the beginnings of how this works later in the class.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:31

3) Inequalities: Mathematicians often come up with tools that help them solve problems more quickly. Among these tools are
inequalities. We'll learn famous inequalities like the "AM-GM Inequality" and the "Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality," as well as other
techniques. These are powerful ideas that apply in many settings, and are often hidden inside problems in beautiful ways.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:39

There will be much more, as well. These are just some of the biggest topics that we'll cover.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:42

However, before we get to all of this, I want to "get your brains working" again and remind you how algebra feels. We'll start today
by reviewing material from Introduction to Algebra, so that you can get warmed up.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:51

Part 2: Review

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:31:52

We're going to review earlier algebra material by solving a bunch of problems. I'll ask you a question; then you go ahead and post
your solutions. We'll start simple, reviewing basic skills, and move on up.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:32:02

Today is meant to be a pretty broad review, so we're going to be covering material from chapters 1, 2, and 4 (but we'll come back to
material from chapters 2 and 4 in the next few classes). We're not reviewing everything that the book reviews; you should read the
first two chapters of the book to make sure that you follow everything done there, especially systems of linear equations.

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:32:05

Speaking of the textbook, have any of you done the assigned reading for Week 1 yet (How to Use This Book, Chapter 1, and the
start of Chapter 2)?

Stormy22 2022-08-25 19:32:29

yes

iris2020 2022-08-25 19:32:29

yep

aops_blue 2022-08-25 19:32:29

yes

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:32:33

That's great! I recommend doing the assigned reading before each class. If you haven't done the Week 1 reading yet, that's fine.
Just do it as soon as you get a chance!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:32:43

When I pose a problem, you can go ahead and post the answer to that problem, and a brief explanation of how you solved it. If I
pose a problem and ask "What's the first step?" then I'm hoping to walk the class through step-by-step, so if you go ahead straight
to the solution then I might not post your answer because it'll spoil it for everyone else! Instead, help me guide the class through
idea-by-idea.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:32:53

Let's start our warm-ups. These will really be review: a good chance to get used to classroom procedure.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:33:01

Expand (4x + 2)(2x − 8) − (x + 5)(x − 5).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:33:03

What do we get?

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 19:34:23

7x^2 - 28x + 9

innout 2022-08-25 19:34:23

7x^2-28x+9

Stormy22 2022-08-25 19:34:23

7x^2 - 28x + 9

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:34:26

We can pair-wise multiply the terms between each pair of parentheses, using the Distributive Property. So

(4x + 2)(2x − 8) = 4x ⋅ 2x − 4x ⋅ 8 + 2 ⋅ 2x + 2 ⋅ (−8)

2
= 8x − 32x + 4x − 16
2
= 8x − 28x − 16.

We could expand out (x + 5)(x − 5) similarly, or we could just recognize it as a difference of squares, so it is equal to x2 − 25.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:34:36

Now, being careful with signs, we substitute and simplify:

2 2
(4x + 2)(2x − 8) − (x + 5)(x − 5) = (8x − 28x − 16) − (x − 25)

2 2
= 8x − 28x − 16 − x + 25
2
= 7x − 28x + 9.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:34:49

A lot of folks were close but made a small mistake somewhere along the way.

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:35:01

Take a closer look at this derivation if you got something different.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:35:16

Find the roots of −3x2 − 9x + 30. (Recall that a root is a value of x for which evaluating the expression gives 0.)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:35:18

What are the roots?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 19:36:41

-5, 2

ChickenNuggets26 2022-08-25 19:36:41

-5, 2

tigerbw 2022-08-25 19:36:41

2, −5

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:36:46

We're looking for solutions to −3x2 − 9x + 30 = 0; we can make our life easier by dividing by −3 to get

2
x + 3x − 10 = 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:36:51

Our first thought might be, "does it factor easily?" It does! We can try to write this quadratic as (x + r)(x + s) where rs = −10

and r + s = 3; if we set r = 5 and s = −2, we have a factorization:

2
x + 3x − 10 = (x + 5)(x − 2).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:37:00

This is only zero when x = −5 or when x = 2, so our two roots are −5 and 2. (Note the sign change from the factorization!)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:37:07

What's another way to do this if you don't see the factorization?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 19:38:06

quadratic formula

JayPuzzler 2022-08-25 19:38:06

use the quadratic formula

iris2020 2022-08-25 19:38:06

quadratic formula

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:38:11

Right, we could also have gone straight to the quadratic formula. If we want to solve the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0 for constants
a, b, and c, there's a handy formula for doing so:

−b ± √b − 4ac
2

x = ,
2a

where ± means that there are two solutions, one where we put a + there, and another where we put a − there.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:38:22

To solve our problem, we want to use the quadratic formula

−b ± √b − 4ac
2

x =
2a

with a = −3, b = −9, and c = 30. Plugging in, we get

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
2
−b ± √b − 4ac
x =
2a

9 ± √81 − 4 ⋅ (−3) ⋅ 30
=
−6

9 ± √441
=
−6

9 ± 21
=
−6

= −5  or  2.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:38:36

That was a lot more work; finding a factorization can make your life easier!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:38:44

2x − 1
Find all x such that = 2.
4x + 3

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:38:47

How could we start?

August_Moon 2022-08-25 19:39:10

Multiply both sides by (4x+3)

tigerbw 2022-08-25 19:39:10

Multiply both sides by 4x + 3

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 19:39:10

multiply both sides by 4x + 3

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:39:15

Well, we just need to solve for x. Let's start by clearing the denominator. Multiplying both sides of the equation by 4x + 3 gives
2x − 1 = 2(4x + 3), or

2x − 1 = 8x + 6.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:39:19

We should keep in mind that this operation we just did, multiplying by 4x + 3, is only reversible (uniquely undo-able) if
4x + 3 ≠ 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:39:26

If 4x + 3 = 0 then you can't undo that multiplication by dividing. This means that if we were to find a potential solution to this
3 3
problem of x = − , we wouldn't be able to automatically run the argument backwards and conclude that x = − must be a
4 4

solution. We would need to plug it into the original equation to see whether it actually works or not. We'll come back to this point
about reversible operations later today.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:39:43

3
So, our new equation 2x − 1 = 8x + 6 is equivalent to (i.e. has the same solutions as) the original equation only for x ≠ − . It
4
3
*could* be that 2x − 1 = 8x + 6 has the solution x = −
4
, while the original equation clearly doesn't. So, it's important that we
always take any solutions we find in the end and make sure they really solve the original equation when we take steps like this.
We'll talk about operations that can change the solution set of an equation, called "non-reversible operations", more later today.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:39:58

Anyway, bearing that note in mind, this new equation

2x − 1 = 8x + 6

certainly looks a lot easier! How do we finish from here?

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 19:40:51

x = -7/6

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 19:40:51

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
7
x = −
6

nt-blue 2022-08-25 19:40:51

−7
x =
6

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:41:02

Now we have a linear equation 2x − 1 = 8x + 6, so we can isolate x. First, subtract 2x + 6 from both sides, which gives
−1 − 6 = 8x − 2x, and simplifies to

7
x = − .
6

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:41:07

7
The solution we got is x = − .
6

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:41:19

3
Recall that we had to be careful if we got x = −
4
. But we didn't, so we can be sure that this solution is OK (as long as we're sure
3
we didn't mess up any of our calculations). That's because we can do all the steps of our solution backwards, so long as x ≠ −
4
,
7
to find that x = − satisfies the equation we started with. Still, it is a good idea to plug it in anyway to double-check that it works,
6

especially if we were concerned that possibly some other step we didn't notice was also not reversible.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:41:39

Ok - let's try another problem!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:41:44

Find all values of x and y such that 2x + y = 7 and x2 + xy = 6.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:41:47

How could we begin?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:42:10

Be specific! For instance, don't just say something like "substitute"; say exactly what substitution you want to make!

RockBlue 2022-08-25 19:42:58

y = 7 - 2x

Clement_Zhou 2022-08-25 19:42:58

use substitution that y=7-2x

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 19:42:58

For our first equation:

subtract 2x from both sides to get

y = −2x + 7

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:43:14

We have two simultaneous equations in x and y. Let's isolate a variable in the linear equation 2x + y = 7 and then see if we can
solve the more complicated equation. It seems like y is easy to isolate; we get:

y = −2x + 7.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:43:21

What equation do we get when we plug that into x2 + xy = 6? (Give a simplified form, please!)

August_Moon 2022-08-25 19:44:57

2
x − 7x + 6 = 0

JayPuzzler 2022-08-25 19:44:57

2
−x + 7x − 6 = 0

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

Clement_Zhou 2022-08-25 19:44:57

2
−x + 7x − 6 = 0

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:45:03

Substituting our expression for y, we have

2
6 = x + x(−2x + 7),

2 2
= x − 2x + 7x,
2
= −x + 7x.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:45:09

We can move everything to one side and get

2
−x + 7x − 6 = 0.

Multiplying by −1 gives

2
x − 7x + 6 = 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:45:14

Now what?

iris2020 2022-08-25 19:45:41

quadratic formula?

lpcavana 2022-08-25 19:45:41

factor

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 19:45:41

find the roots

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:45:49

We could use the quadratic formula; we could also try to just factor. If we do so, what do we get?

ryz11 2022-08-25 19:46:35

x=6, x=1

aops1222 2022-08-25 19:46:35

x=1,6

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 19:46:35

(x-1)(x-6)=0 so roots are 1 and 6

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:46:40

We get

(x − 6)(x − 1) = 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:46:42

This equation is only true if x = 6 or if x = 1.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:46:46

Are we done?

ryz11 2022-08-25 19:47:04

no

LeoLionTank 2022-08-25 19:47:04

no

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

iris2020 2022-08-25 19:47:04

no

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:47:11

So what is y?

AlishaGupta 2022-08-25 19:48:20

-5 or 5

nt-blue 2022-08-25 19:48:20

y = 5, -5

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 19:48:20

y = -5, 5

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:48:33

No, we still need to find y. Using y = 7 − 2x, we find that if x = 6, then

y = 7 − 12 = −5,

and if x = 1, then

y = 7 − 2 = 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:48:35

So our two solutions are (x, y) = (6, −5) or (x, y) = (1, 5).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:48:39

Let's do one significantly more difficult problem now, which will test our abilities to try several different methods of solution, and
help us get ready for the more challenging problems you'll learn to solve in future weeks.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:48:49

Find all solutions to the equation

(x − 2)(x − 3)(x − 4)(x − 5) = 360.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:48:52

Yikes! What could we do to try to solve this problem?

PatriciaCastor 2022-08-25 19:49:35

factor

bookgirl08 2022-08-25 19:49:35

expand?

Blueshark_ 2022-08-25 19:49:35

Find the factors of 360.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:49:40

One idea is to guess that perhaps the solutions are integers, and so the factors x − 2, x − 3, x − 4, and x − 5 would be factors
of 360. To that end, we can try to list all the factors of 360 as follows. (To save time, I'm just going to do that for us.)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:49:44

First we take the prime factorization:

3 2
360 = 2 ⋅ 3 ⋅ 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:49:55

To get all possible factors, we take all products of powers of the prime factors:

1,  2,  3,  4,  5,  6,  8,  9,  10,  12,  15,  18,  20,  24,  30,  36,  40,  45,  60,  72,  90,  120,  180,  360.

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:49:59

What should we do with this list?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 19:51:07

find the ones that are one apart

hdanger 2022-08-25 19:51:07

take the ones that are consecutive integers

ryz11 2022-08-25 19:51:07

find 4 consecutive factors

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:51:12

If x is an integer, then

(x − 2)(x − 3)(x − 4)(x − 5)

represents four consecutive factors that should give us 360. Are there four consecutive factors in the list above that multiply
together to give us 360?

ryz11 2022-08-25 19:52:15

3,4,5,6

redbikefox 2022-08-25 19:52:15

3,4,5,and 6

mkhaim 2022-08-25 19:52:15

3, 4, 5, 6

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:52:23

Yes! We have 3 ⋅ 4 ⋅ 5 ⋅ 6 = 360, and that's the only way to get 360 as a product of four consecutive factors. What does this give
us for x?

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 19:53:17

x = 8

iris2020 2022-08-25 19:53:17

x=8

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 19:53:17

8

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:53:25

It gives us x = 8 as a solution. Nice! Has this method exhausted its usefulness?

QuantumZ 2022-08-25 19:54:32

-1 works too.

redbikefox 2022-08-25 19:54:32

what about negative numbers?

MadScienceJack 2022-08-25 19:54:32

no. -1 is another answer

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:54:36

Don't forget that we could use negative factors too! So we could also get −3, −4, −5, and −6. In this case, we'd take x = −1,

another solution.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:54:44

So we've found two solutions, x = 8 and x = −1 . Are we done with the problem?

PatriciaCastor 2022-08-25 19:55:17

no

BigThoth 2022-08-25 19:55:17

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
No

tigerbw 2022-08-25 19:55:17

x doesn't have to be integers

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:55:21

No! The problem asked for all solutions. We've found two, but we don't have a reason to think they're all the solutions and we can't
prove that they are, either.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:55:26

On the other hand, we can prove that we've found all integer solutions, because if x is an integer then x − 2, x − 3, x − 4, and
x − 5 are all integers and thus factors of 360. If the problem had been:

"Find all integer solutions to the equation (x − 2)(x − 3)(x − 4)(x − 5) = 360, "

then we'd be all set. Unfortunately, it wasn't.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:55:38

So there might be some other non-integer solutions, and this solution method won't give those to us, nor prove that there aren't
any!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:55:44

OK. Because we are determined, we don't let this dissuade us. We sit back, happy that we've made a good start, and we proceed to
try another solution method. Does anyone have any ideas for solution methods that might give us non-integer solutions?

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 19:56:12

We could expand. But that'd be painful

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 19:56:12

expand?

PatriciaCastor 2022-08-25 19:56:12

expand the equation

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:56:15

What I notice is that they gave us this problem factored. We tried to use that in finding consecutive integers, but another possibility
is that the factors themselves (as polynomials) multiply to something interesting.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:56:24

If you multiply the whole thing out, you get an awful mess. Maybe we can multiply it out only partly. Let's play around with that.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:56:34

Does anyone see any interesting pattern that comes up if you just multiply out a few of the factors but not all of them?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:57:32

Exploring for a minute or two, we might notice something interesting by taking the factors two at a time. In particular, we have

2
(x − 3)(x − 4) = x − 7x + 12,

and

2
(x − 2)(x − 5) = x − 7x + 10.

Why is this interesting? Is there some way we can use this?

iris2020 2022-08-25 19:58:21

because they both have x^2-7x in the beginning

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:58:25

No matter the value of x, these two expressions only differ by 2! If we let

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
2
u = x − 7x + 11,

then we have u + 1 = (x − 3)(x − 4) and u − 1 = (x − 2)(x − 5). What should we do with this u?

tigerbw 2022-08-25 19:58:59

Subsitute

goodskate 2022-08-25 19:58:59

solve for u!

Jellocello 2022-08-25 19:58:59

substitute

carlyerger 2022-08-25 19:59:05

We should substitute: we transform

2 2
(x − 7x + 12)(x − 7x + 10) = 360

into

(u + 1)(u − 1) = 360.

How should we solve this?

foodiyums 2022-08-25 20:00:05

u^2-1^2=360?

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:00:05

u^2 -1 - 360 = 0

iris2020 2022-08-25 20:00:05

you find u^2-1=360 and then you can substitue the original value of u

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:00:08

We could use the quadratic formula, but (u + 1)(u − 1) = u
2
− 1 and so this is equivalent to

2
u = 361.

Is this helpful?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:00:14

We check and discover that 192 = 361. What does that give us for u?

Stormy22 2022-08-25 20:00:46

u = 19, u = -19

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:00:46

±19

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:00:46

u = ±19

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:00:52

It tells us that we must have u = ±19.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:00:57

Now what? What does this tell us about x?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:01:45

x^2-7x+11 = +-19

Blueshark_ 2022-08-25 20:01:45

2
x − 7x + 11 = ±19

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:01:45

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
2
x − 7x + 11 = ±19

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:01:50

Since u = x
2
− 7x + 11, we have either x2 − 7x + 11 = 19 and so

2
x − 7x − 8 = 0 (1)

or x2 − 7x + 11 = −19 and so

2
x − 7x + 30 = 0. (2)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:01:53

What does equation (1) give us as solutions for x?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:02:42

x=8, -1

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:02:42

-8, 1

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:02:42

−1, 8

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:02:45

It factors as

(x + 1)(x − 8) = 0,

giving us the solutions of x = −1 and x = 8 that we already knew about.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:03:03

What does equation (2) give us as solutions for x?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:03:28

Be careful!

Clement_Zhou 2022-08-25 20:04:07

7±√71i
x =
2

Wqter 2022-08-25 20:04:07

(7 + isqrt71)/2 and -(7 + isqrt71)/2

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 20:04:07

We get complex numbers

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:04:13

It does not factor easily, so we use the quadratic formula:

7 ± √49 − 4 ⋅ 30 7 ± √−71
x = = .
2 2

This gives us two nonreal solutions:

7 ± i√71
x = .
2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:04:29

Now we have found all the solutions, and we have proven it, because we showed that if the equation we were given holds, then the
equation x2 − 7x + 11 = ±19 also holds, and we found all solutions to those two quadratic equations using the quadratic
formula.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:04:36

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
That was a big problem! We tried one solution method and it didn't quite work, so then we tried another. We had to find a clever
factorization, find a substitution, solve for the substituted variable (that was u), and then use u to solve for x. When you look at the
whole thing, it's scary. When you look at each piece, you can see why each makes sense.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:04:40

Ask me some questions about this.

LeoLionTank 2022-08-25 20:05:04

why would you make us do this?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:05:10

Remember, you signed up for the course...

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:05:20

You've now seen some warm-up problems, as well as a problem that I would consider pretty challenging. If you find that problem
scary, then know that you will get better at solving questions like that during this class! Now, let's continue our review; we won't hit
another problem this hard today, but we'll see some in future classes!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:05:39

Functions and Graphing

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:05:42

What's a function?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:05:43

(Yes, I'm actually posing this question to you.)

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:06:47

Something that takes input and outputs something

RockBlue 2022-08-25 20:06:47

a machine that give one output for an input

hdanger 2022-08-25 20:06:47

a "computer" with an input that gives and output

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:06:51

A function is a rule or a procedure for taking any element of one set and returning an element of another set.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:07:02

Remark 1: For any particular input x, our rule should always give us the same output y. In particular, each valid input must have
exactly one output associated to it. On the other hand, an output could have more than one input associated to it.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:07:08

That is to say, we can't have a situation like f (w) = x or f (w) = y or f (w) = z where x, y and z are different(can't have more
than one output assigned to the single input of w )...

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:07:23

...but we can have a situation like f (a) = c and f (b) = c where a ≠ b (can have more than one input producing the same output).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:07:31

Remark 2: Mathematicians would write

f : A → B

to denote a function that takes elements of the set A and returns elements of the set B. Typical functions that we'll consider will
look like

f : R → R,

meaning that they take in a real number and they output a real number. We won't be using this notation much in class, but we will
use it occasionally and you'll see it a lot if you pursue mathematics seriously later on.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:07:40

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
To produce the symbol R using LTEX, use the code $\mathbb{R}$. The "bb" stands for blackboard bold. To get →, you can use
A

the code $\rightarrow$ or $\to$.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:07:51

5x − 2
For example, f (x) 2
= x , g(x) = , and h(x) = 0 are all functions.
1 + x

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:01

Most of the functions we'll think about can be written in nice compact ways, but you should realize that any procedure for taking a
number and getting out a new number is a function, even if it's not written nicely. For example, the following is a function that takes
in any nonnegative integer and outputs a nonnegative integer:

x + 2 if the number of letters when writing x in English is odd

f (x) = {
0 otherwise.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:24

For example, for this function, f (3) ,
= 5 f (4) = 0 , and f (5) = 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:32

You can actually prove mathematically that there are more functions than you could write down. In fact, you can prove that we can't
come up with a finite system of writing that allows us to actually write the definition of every possible function on the real
numbers.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:39

One way to see a lot of information about a function quickly is to graph it.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:44

If you have a function f , then graphing it means plotting all the points (x, y) where y = f (x).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:48

Here's the graph of one particular function f :

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:08:55

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:09:04

What is f (0)?

Supernova283 2022-08-25 20:09:31

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
-1

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:09:31

-1

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 20:09:31

-1

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:09:42

Remember that a graph is all points (x, f (x)). In this case, when the x-coordinate is 0, the y-coordinate is −1; so it looks like
f (0) = −1.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:09:53

We should be careful, though: it just looks like f (0) is −1. Maybe it's actually −1.0001 instead, and we just can't see the
difference! We'd need a formula for our function f to be sure what f (0) is.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:09:57

As you can see, a graph gives a good, quick perspective on what a function is doing.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:10:06

Warning: Beware that you cannot use a graph to rigorously prove facts about a function. When you ask a computer program to
graph a function for you, all the program is doing is computing a bunch of values of the function and then drawing a picture that
connects them up. This can be really useful for getting an intuitive picture of how the function behaves, but it doesn't prove that the
function behaves exactly the way it looks in the picture. After all, there are infinitely many more values of the function that were not
drawn on the graph, and maybe the function has some surprising behavior at those values.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:10:21

If you click on this website it should open up in another window and show you graphs A-G:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:10:22

https://s3.amazonaws.com/classroom.artofproblemsolving.com/Classes/IntermAlg/Images/algebra3-graphs.html

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:10:38

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:04

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

100

80
Percent of Students

60

40

20

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:10

Nice!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:13

Graph B.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:15

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:20

The equation y = −x + 3 should be a line with negative slope, just like this graph; plugging in y = 0 gives x = 3, and plugging in
x = 0 gives y = 3, which are both points on this graph.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:24

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:54

80

60
Percent of Students

40

20

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:11:59

Graph G.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:01

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:03

Notice how you can immediately tell that the function is always nonnegative, and that it gets bigger the larger x gets.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:07

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:33

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

100

80
Percent of Students

60

40

20

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:37

Graph E.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:39

Good work!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:41

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:48

If you want to know what adding −1 does, it just shifts the graph down by one. That's because when you take the equation
y = x
2
− 1, for any value of x, the value of y is just one lower than for y = x .
2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:12:50

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:13:30

60

50
Percent of Students

40

30

20

10

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:13:34

Graph A.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:13:36

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:13:39

You can tell because the graph has no point with x = 0, and 1/x is undefined when x = 0. You can also see that the larger x gets,
the closer the graph gets to y = 0; that's because 1/x gets much smaller as its denominator gets larger.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:13:52

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:14:26

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

70

60
Percent of Students

50

40

30

20

10

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:14:29

Graph C.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:14:30

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:14:38

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
This function is undefined when x = −2, as is Graph C. Why do you think it gets closer to the line y = 5 when x gets very large?

hdanger 2022-08-25 20:15:12

because of the 5x

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:15:12

because 5x/x = 5

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:15:14

When x is very large, 5x − 2 is only a little bit off from 5x, and x + 2 is only a little bit off from x, so the value of the function
should be closer to 5x/x = 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:15:19

1
A more careful way to look at it is to multiply the top and bottom by :
x

1 2
5 −
5x − 2 x x
⋅ = .
x + 2 1 2
1 +
x x

Notice how, when x gets really big, this is very close to just 5. We'll study this in more detail in week 18 or so.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:15:22

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:15:51

80

70

60
Percent of Students

50

40

30

20

10

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:15:55

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
Graph D.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:15:59

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:16:02

The square root function isn't defined for negative x, and neither is this. If you test some values, you see that (4, 2) is a point,
since √4 = 2, and (1, 1) is a point, since √1 = 1 . So, this graph seems a good match!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:16:07

Ok - last one!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:16:11

Which of these graphs represents

A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:16:49

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

100

80
Percent of Students

60

40

20

0
A B C D E F G

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:16:53

Graph F is all that's left.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:16:55

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:17:01

You can see that this function shouldn't be defined whenever 2x − 5 is negative. What's the cutoff for x in that case?

redbikefox 2022-08-25 20:17:40

2.5

LeoLionTank 2022-08-25 20:17:40

5/2

isago 2022-08-25 20:17:40

x = 5/2

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:17:46

We want 2x − 5 ≥ 0, so adding 5 to both sides gives 2x ≥ 0 , and dividing by 2 we see that

5
x ≥ .
2

5
These steps are all reversible, so 2x − 5 ≥ 0 exactly when x ≥
2
.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:17:50

5
So the function shouldn't be defined when x is less then 2
; if you look at the graph, that's exactly what happens.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:17:57

Good job on these problems! Let's move on.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:17:59

Domain and Range

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:18:01

Next question for you. What do we mean by the domain of a function?

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:18:24

all of the numbers you can put in to the function

Supernova283 2022-08-25 20:18:24

What is accepted as the input of the function

spottyunderdog 2022-08-25 20:18:24

all values that can be input into a function

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:18:31

The domain of a function is the set of all the values that can be input to the function to produce a valid output.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:18:32

For us, the domain of most functions will be a subset of the real numbers. In this course, you can assume that whenever I ask
about the domain, I mean the set of real numbers that can be given as input to give real numbers as output.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:18:47

Aside for those wondering about generalizations to complex inputs and outputs: As we said above, in general a function can go
from any set to any other set, so it is certainly fair to consider functions that, for example, go from the complex numbers to the
complex numbers. Many such functions can even be viewed interchangeably as either taking reals to reals or taking complexes to
complexes, depending on your choice of interpretation.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:19:05

Polynomials with real coefficients are a simple example of what I mean: If you take the variable to be a real number, you get only
real outputs. If you let the variable be a complex number, you'll get complex outputs in general.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:19:20

In any case, to keep things simple in this course, just remember that when I ask about the domain of a function (or its range, which
we'll get to shortly), I mean for you to interpret that function in such a way that it only takes real inputs and only produces real
outputs.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:19:21

With that in mind, let's tackle some problems.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:19:23

What's the domain of f (x) = x ?
2

nt-blue 2022-08-25 20:19:51

all real numbers

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:19:51

R

isago 2022-08-25 20:19:51

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all real numbers

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:19:57

Well, I can take any real number and square it -- nothing goes wrong. So the domain is the set of all real numbers.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:20:01

I could also say that the domain of f (x) = x
2
is R. The symbol R denotes the set of all real numbers.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:20:11

That's $\mathbb{R}$ for you LaTeX folks.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:20:21

You can also see this in the graph of f (x) = x
2
that we saw before. For any real number, we have a value for f (x):

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:20:23

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:20:28

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:20:35

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
5x − 2
What's the domain of f (x) = ?
x + 2

isago 2022-08-25 20:22:00

all real numbers except -2

rufty 2022-08-25 20:22:00

all real numbers, except for -2

RockBlue 2022-08-25 20:22:00

all real numbers except 2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:06

Well, the only thing that can go wrong here is if we divide by zero, right? So we'd better make sure we're not doing that. That only
happens if x = −2.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:08

So the domain is the set of all real numbers excluding −2.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:12

We can see this in the graph as well; notice how there's no value given for x = −2, where the two branches diverge:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:13

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:48

There's some handy notation we can use to write the domain of this function. It's called interval notation.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:51

Interval notation works as follows. If we want to write, say, the set of all of the numbers between 1 and 8 but not including 1 or 8,
we write the interval (1, 8). If we want to write the set of all of the numbers between 1 and 8 including both 1 and 8, we write
[1, 8].

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:53

Notice that a square bracket like [ or ] looks almost like an I (for Include). This is how I remember what symbols mean to include
the endpoints (the square brackets), and which exclude the endpoints (parentheses).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:22:57

What do you think [1, 8) means?

Wqter 2022-08-25 20:23:56

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include 1 exclude 8

Stormy22 2022-08-25 20:23:56

includes 1, excludes 8

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:23:56

1<= x < 8

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:24:01

That's right: it's the set of all numbers between 1 and 8, including 1, but not including 8.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:24:06

Keep in mind that this means all real numbers x such that 1 ≤ x < 8, not just integers. For instance, numbers like 7.5 and π are
also in the interval [1, 8).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:24:14

What do you think (−∞, 2] means?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:24:18

Well, "negative infinity" isn't actually a number, so we couldn't include it even if we wanted. We have to use a (, not a [.

BluePacific1520 2022-08-25 20:25:16

All real under and including 2.

Maddiezhu 2022-08-25 20:25:16

any real number equal to or below 2

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:25:16

all real numbers less than or equal to 2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:20

The interval (−∞, 2] means the set of all numbers between "minus infinity" and 2. Well, any real number less than 2 is still bigger
than −∞, and the square bracket ] means that we include 2, as well. So this means the set of all numbers less than or equal to 2.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:25

5x − 2
So remember that we were talking about the domain of f (x) = , and we decided that the domain consisted of any real
x + 2

number other than −2.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:30

Using a combination of interval notation and words, we could say:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:31

The domain is the set of all numbers that are either in the interval (−∞, −2) or in the interval (−2, +∞).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:41

Thus, the domain consists of the union of the two intervals, that is, any number that is contained in either one interval or the other
(or both, if the intervals shared any common elements).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:46

In interval notation without any words, "the set of all real numbers except −2" is written (−∞, −2) ∪ (−2, +∞).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:50

The symbol ∪ stands in for "union"; it makes a new set that consists of all elements in either of the two sets.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:25:53

(You can make it in LaTeX with $\cup$. In plain text, you can just write U.)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:26:06

Let's test you: what is meant by (−∞, 3) ∪ (0, +∞)?

JayPuzzler 2022-08-25 20:27:09

R

August_Moon 2022-08-25 20:27:09

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Shouldn't it just be all real numbers?

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:27:09

all real numbers!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:27:13

That's just a complicated way of writing the set of all real numbers, R.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:27:20

Our union is the set of all numbers less than 3, or greater than 0. But every number is less than 3 or greater than 0! So when we
take the union of the two sets, we get everything!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:27:31

What's the domain of f (x) = √x?

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 20:28:25

[0, infinity)

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:28:25

non-negative numbers

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:28:25

[0, inf)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:28:37

Well, we can only take the square root of positive numbers or zero if we're trying to stay real.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:28:54

Thus, the domain is the set of all non-negative numbers.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:29:04

I could write it as [0, +∞) in interval notation. Many of you did!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:29:17

We see this on the graph of √x, since the graph does not exist over negative values of x :

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:29:19

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:29:26

Last domain question. What is the domain of √2x − 5?

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 20:30:07

[5/2, infinity)

QuantumZ 2022-08-25 20:30:07

[2.5, inf)

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:30:07

[2.5, inf)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:30:12

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When you have a square root, the interior has to be non-negative. So 2x − 5 has to be non-negative!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:30:15

We calculated this before; we need to know when 2x − 5 ≥ 0. Here's our calculation again: adding 5 to both sides and then
dividing through by 2 gives

5
x ≥ .
2

5
We noted before that these steps are all reversible, so 2x − 5 ≥ 0 exactly when x ≥
2
.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:30:27

Let's move on from domains. What do we mean when we talk about the range of a function?

bookgirl08 2022-08-25 20:30:57

the potential values of the outputs

nt-blue 2022-08-25 20:30:57

all valid outputs of the function

Wqter 2022-08-25 20:30:57

The range of a function is the set of its possible output values.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:31:01

The range of a function is the set of all values that it can actually give as output.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:31:03

Let's go back through those functions from before and see what their ranges are.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:31:08

What's the range of f (x) = x ?
2

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:31:44

[0, inf)

QuantumZ 2022-08-25 20:31:44

[0, inf)

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:31:44

[0, ∞)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:31:50

Whenever you square a real number you get a non-negative real number. That means that it can still be zero. So the range is the set
of all real numbers greater than or equal to 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:31:57

We can write the range in interval notation as [0, +∞).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:32:01

This shows up in the graph, too: since no value of y = f (x) is ever negative, the entire graph lies above or on the x-axis!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:32:05

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:32:12

Questions so far?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:32:46

Digression on Reversible Operations

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:32:48

Before we do the range for another function, I want to introduce a quick bit of notation.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:32:49

Recall that ⟹ means "implies." So, for example,

x + y = 4 ⟹ x = 4 − y.

This means that whenever x + y = 4 is true, then x = 4 − y is true too.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:33:18

In this case, it's also true that if x = 4 − y then x + y = 4; in other words, each equation implies the other. So we can write

x + y = 4 ⟺ x = 4 − y.

The operation of subtracting y is called reversible.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:33:24

Can anyone give me an example of two equations where the first implies the second, but the second does not imply the first? In
other words, give me two equations where you can write ⟹ between them but not ⟺ .

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:34:19

2
x = 2 ⟹ x = 4

Wqter 2022-08-25 20:34:19

a square is a rectangle but a rectangle is not a square

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:34:23

Here's my favorite example:

2 2
x = y ⟹ x = y ,

but x2 = y
2
does not imply x = y. For example, we have x2 = y
2
if x = 3 and y = −3 , but x ≠ y.

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:34:28

Thus, squaring is an example of an operation that is not reversible.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:34:33

Another common operation that is not necessarily reversible is multiplication: if it's possible for one of the factors to be zero, then
you can't always divide by that factor to reverse the multiplication!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:34:38

For instance, x = 2 ⟹ xy = 2y, but xy = 2y does not imply x = 2. Why not?

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:35:26

because y could be 0

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:35:26

y could be 0

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:35:26

y could be 0, and we can't divide by 0

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:35:31

It's possible that y = 0. In that case, we can't divide both sides of the equation xy = 2y by y. Indeed, if y = 0 , then xy = 2y = 0

no matter what x is!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:35:36

Back to calculating ranges.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:35:45

5x − 2
What's the range of f (x) = ?
x + 2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:35:50

This one's tricky! We could look at the graph:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:35:52

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:35:55

What does it look like the range is?

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 20:37:03

(-infinity, 5) U (5, infinity)

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August_Moon 2022-08-25 20:37:03

All real numbers except 5?

QuantumZ 2022-08-25 20:37:03

(-inf, 5) U (5, inf)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:37:09

It looks like the graph passes through all possible y-values except maybe y = 5 or something close to that. So we might guess the
range is the set of all real numbers except for 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:37:12

In this course, we will never be satisfied by just looking at a graph. We want to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that f (x) can
achieve any value other than 5, and cannot achieve 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:37:24

Let's think about how we could algebraically determine what the range is, beyond any doubt. To do so, consider the equation
y = f (x). We want to turn it around, and ask, "given any particular y, is there an x so that y = f (x)?" If we take this equation and

we solve for x, getting

x = something in terms of y,

then we'll have an equation that tells us what x to plug in to get out a certain y.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:37:37

What do we get if we solve the equation

5x − 2
y =
x + 2

for x in terms of y?

RockBlue 2022-08-25 20:39:33

−2y−2

y−5

milkteagirl26 2022-08-25 20:39:33

x=(-2y-2)/(y-5)

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:39:33

2+2y
x =
5−y

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:39:38

We get

5x − 2
y = ⟺ y(x + 2) = 5x − 2 [if x ≠ −2]
x + 2

⟺ yx + 2y = 5x − 2

⟺ yx − 5x = −2y − 2

⟺ x(y − 5) = −2y − 2

−2y − 2
⟺ x = . [if y ≠ 5]
y − 5

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:39:53

−2y − 2
In particular, all of these steps are reversible as long as y ≠ 5 and x ≠ −2, and tell us that if x = , then y = f (x). So
y − 5

if y ≠ 5, is y in the range of f ?

Stormy22 2022-08-25 20:40:51

yes

Wqter 2022-08-25 20:40:51

yes

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PatriciaCastor 2022-08-25 20:40:51

yea

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:40:56

−2y − 2
Yes! When y ≠ 5, everything is reversible (you can see that you won't ever get x = −2 because x = has no solution
y − 5

with x = −2 ). So if you give me a y that is not 5, I can plug into the final equation to get an x. Following everything backwards, I
−2y − 2
have an x that gives me that output, namely x = .
y − 5

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:41:00

For instance, suppose I want to check whether or not y = 8 is in the range of f (x). Our work above tells me that if I take x to be

−2y − 2 −2(8) − 2 −18

x = = = = −6,
y − 5 8 − 5 3

then f (−6) = 8 should be true. Thus y = 8 is definitely in the range of f (x) because f takes in x = −6 and outputs y = 8.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:41:04

Thus the range is (−∞, 5) ∪ (5, +∞).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:41:11

−2y − 2
If you're uncertain about reversibility, you can test by plugging x = into f (x). If you get y back out, that means you've
y − 5

found a value of x that can produce y when y ≠ 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:41:21

Note how, in order to determine the range of f (x), for each value of y we must either

1) prove that there is a value of x so that f (x) = y,

or

2) prove that there is no  value of x so that f (x) = y.

–––––––––––––

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:41:36

See how each of our steps above did exactly that. When y = 5 , we proved that there is no value of x such that f (x) = y , and when
y is anything other than 5, we proved that there is a value of x such that f (x) = y.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:41:54

What's the range of √x?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:42:07

Note that we define the function f (x) = √x to have only one output: the non-negative square root of the number x. In this class,
the function √x is never negative. This is different from taking "the square root" of both sides of an equation (which is an
unfortunate choice of terms): there, you do need to remember to do a plus-or-minus.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:42:31

For instance, when we write y = √4 , we know that y = 2 . But when we have y 2 = 4, we could have either y = 2 or y = −2.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:42:40

So we know that the square root of any number is non-negative, and we'd imagine that the answer should be any non-negative real
number, aka the interval [0, +∞).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:42:43

The graph also seems to bear this out:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:42:58

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:43:06

But how can we know for sure and prove our conjecture? We know that √x is always a non-negative number by definition, but how
do we know that we can get every non-negative number as an output of our function?

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:44:21

write x in terms of y?

BigThoth 2022-08-25 20:44:21

solve an equation?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:44:25

We do the same thing. We take y = f (x) and try to solve for x. This should get us a way to produce any output (i.e. y-value) that
we want, by telling us what input (i.e. x-value) to plug in.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:44:43

If I want to output a certain number y ≥ 0, what should I plug in to f (x)?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:45:42

I'm asking about a specific number y, not in general here.

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:46:33

2
y

Vincent-21 2022-08-25 20:46:33

y^2

foodiyums 2022-08-25 20:46:33

y^2?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:46:38

Given any non-negative y, then √y 2 = y and so if we set x = y

2
we achieve √x = y.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:46:51

The general method is to set up the equation y = √x and to see if we can find a value of x that gives us any y.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:47:03

We square both sides to get y 2 = x.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:47:06

Squaring is reversible when all of your variables are assumed non-negative, so all our steps were reversible.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:47:20

Alternately, if we plug in y 2 , we get

2 2
f (y ) = √y = y

(because y is non-negative!).

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:47:36

So to get any particular non-negative output, we just put in its square. It matched our intuition from the graph!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:47:45

Last range question. What's the range of f (x) = √2x − 5?

QuantumZ 2022-08-25 20:48:40

[0, inf)

Clement_Zhou 2022-08-25 20:48:40

[0, ∞)

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:48:40

[0, inf)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:48:43

We'd think that it's all non-negative real numbers. The graph bears this out:

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:48:46

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:48:48

How could we be certain?

JayPuzzler 2022-08-25 20:49:31

again, set f (x) = y

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:49:31

write x in terms of y

mcurri 2022-08-25 20:49:31

x in terms of y

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:49:35

We do the same thing! Starting with

y = √2x − 5,

we square both sides to get

2
y = 2x − 5.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:49:39

Now we solve for x :

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
2
y + 5
2 2
y = 2x − 5 ⟹ y + 5 = 2x ⟹ = x.
2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:49:51

2
y + 5
Does this actually work? If we plug in , do we get y back out?
2

Stormy22 2022-08-25 20:50:30

yes

Blueshark_ 2022-08-25 20:50:30

Yes!

RockBlue 2022-08-25 20:50:30

yes

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:50:33

Let's test it:

2 2
y + 5 y + 5
2 2
f ( ) = √2 − 5 = √y + 5 − 5 = √y = y,
2 2

where the final step only works because y ≥ 0.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:50:39

(If y < 0, then √y 2 = −y ≠ y. )

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:50:46

Again, because of the definition of the square root function, we can never have a negative value of y as the output of √2x − 5 . So
values y < 0 cannot be in the range of f (x) = √2x − 5 .

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:50:53

That means that we can achieve any non-negative value (and no negative value) for the function, so the range is indeed [0, +∞).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:50:56

Cool!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:51:00

Questions on this?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:51:26

Ok - last question.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:51:28

Do the functions

2x − 5 √2x − 5
f (x) = √ and g(x) =
x − 1 √x − 1

have the same domain? Justify your answer!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:51:39

It looks like these are the same, right? Are they?

goodskate 2022-08-25 20:52:47

no!

innout 2022-08-25 20:52:47

no

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:52:47

No

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carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:52:51

These two functions look very similar; however there is a subtle difference: one of them is a square root of a quotient and the other
one is a quotient of square roots.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:52:55

In the first case we must make sure the fraction under the square root is positive or zero. In the second case we have to make sure
the denominator is not zero, and also that each expression under the square roots is individually non-negative. Let's just worry for a
second about making the expressions under the roots positive.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:52:58

What is the domain for the first function?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:53:57

We need the fraction to take positive values, and the denominator to be nonzero. That means that x ≠ 1, and also

2x − 5
> 0,
x − 1

so either both the numerator and the denominator are positive or both negative. For what values of x does this happen?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:55:04

x < 1, x > 2.5

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:55:04

x>5/2

x<1

hermionegranger713 2022-08-25 20:55:04

(-inf,1) U (2.5, inf)

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:55:07

5 5
If 2x − 5 > 0 and x − 1 > 0, then x >
2
. If 2x − 5 < 0 and x − 1 < 0, then x < 1. So the domain is (−∞, 1) ∪ ( 2 , +∞) .

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:55:19

Let's now worry about making the expression under the square root equal to 0. What value should we add to the domain for this
case?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:55:49

2.5

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:55:49

5/2

MadScienceJack 2022-08-25 20:55:49

2.5

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:55:52

5
The fraction is 0, when x = . Therefore the domain for the function f is actually
2

5
(−∞, 1) ∪ [ , +∞) .
2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:56:00

√2x − 5
What about the domain of g(x) = ?
√x − 1

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:56:02

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
√2x − 5
First of all we need the denominator of the fraction to be nonzero. That means x − 1 ≠ 0 , or x ≠ 1. What next?
√x − 1

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:57:06

inside sqrt is greater than or = 0

tigerbw 2022-08-25 20:57:06

x − 1 > 0

Blueshark_ 2022-08-25 20:57:06

The numerator must also be greater than 0?

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:57:11

5
We also need both 2x − 5 ≥ 0 and x − 1 ≥ 0, which implies x ≥ .
2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:57:12

What is the domain of g?

Jellocello 2022-08-25 20:58:03

x>=2.5

Robotgamer663 2022-08-25 20:58:03

x>=2.5

Scorpion1562 2022-08-25 20:58:03

5
[ , ∞)
2

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:07

5
The domain of g is [ 2 , +∞) , therefore the two domains are different.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:10

The difference comes from the fact that when both 2x − 5 and x − 1 are negative, f is defined but g is not.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:17

That's our last problem for today. For each class, I'm going to end with a summary of what we've done.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:24

Summary

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:26

Today we undertook a pretty massive review of earlier algebra material!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:35

After looking ahead at what we'll do in the class, we reminded ourselves about polynomials, factoring, and the quadratic formula.
Then we thought about functions. We looked at graphs as a way to get an overview of what a function does. We also talked about
functions' domain and range.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:41

Next time, we'll look a lot more at functions and graphing. Before next class, make sure to read Chapter 2 in the textbook.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:43

Now, let's talk a little bit more about what you should do between classes. The homework is crucial for your learning; you'll
reinforce what you learned today and investigate concepts more deeply.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:46

First, if you haven't been to the course homepage yet, check it out right after class. You can get to it by clicking "My Classes" when
you're logged in to the AoPS website. You can also go to aops.com/class/3205.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:49

Overview
This tab includes important introductory information and the lesson schedule. I'll post transcripts of all the class material here
after each lesson.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:58:50

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
Have you come up with a plan for when to do your homework?

I know when and where I intend to study. I have a vague idea.

I haven't thought about it yet, but making a plan is a good idea!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:59:17

Have you come up with a plan for when to do your homework?

50

40
Percent of Students

30

20

10

0
Ye So No
s rt o t yet
f

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:59:24

My Goals
Once you enter the days you want to study, this tab will suggest when to complete each task. Following this schedule will help you
be successful in class without cramming. The My Goals tab will check some items off the list automatically.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:59:35

Homework
This tab includes problems to solve between lessons. We provide full solutions to every problem. The short-answer challenge
problems will be graded by the computer as soon as you submit your answer.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:59:41

To answer a Writing Problem, write a full solution to the challenge problem using words and notation. It's best to write out your
reasoning in a way that you think one of your classmates could understand! Whatever you have saved will be automatically
collected the evening the homework is due and then graded by AoPS staff within a week. If you run out of time, you can click
"Request Extension" on the Homework tab to ask for more time.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:59:54

Look for the recommended reading on the Overview, My Goals, or Homework tabs.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 20:59:56

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra
We urge you to do the reading before each lesson. If you didn't do the first reading yet, do it while working on the first homework
set.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:03

Check out "How to use this book" for tips on effective reading. We expect you to work through the problems, but not the exercises.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:07

If you have the online version of the book, you can find it on the Textbook tab of the class homepage and create linked threads on
the message board.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:15

Report
This tab will tell you how you're doing in this course. Report bars track your performance in class and on the homework.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:20

How can you check if you've understood the material without solving every problem?

I can move on when every report bar is or .

red orange green blue

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:50

How can you check if you've understood the material without solving every problem?

80
Percent of Students

60

40

20

0
gre blu red
en e ,g , ora
,b ree ng
lue n e

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:54

Green bars mean that you've passed the task and can move on. Blue bars mean you've mastered the task.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:00:56

Red bars and orange bars mean "Keep going!" Either solve more problems or review the problems you solved incorrectly to make
sure you know how to solve them now.

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3/3/23, 10:33 PM 3205 Intermediate Algebra

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:01:00

The problems are intentionally difficult, and we don't expect you to be able to solve all of them on your first try. So we provide
several resources to help you when you inevitably get stuck.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:01:21

Message Board
The Message Board is a great place to ask questions about course content or socialize with your classmates. If you have questions
about course logistics, please email [email protected] instead.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:01:36

Find the Message Board tab in your course homepage, or use the direct link: aops.com/class/3205/forum.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:01:40

We have integrated the message board into the transcripts and homework to make it easier to discuss course materials -- even
specific lines in the transcript or problems in the homework. If you see a speech balloon icon, t, clicking it will show you the
threads already discussing that item.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:01:50

Click a pencil and paper icon, V, to create a new thread linked to that item. A linked thread will make it easier for everyone to see
exactly what you want to discuss. If you've already solved a challenge problem and read the solution, click V to create a new
thread invisible to students who have not yet solved the problem.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:01:53

You have the option to ask questions that are anonymous to the other students (though you needn't ever be embarrassed to ask a
question!).

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:02:04

Ask a question at any time, and someone will help you with your question within a business day. We will have staff online
responding live during our office hours.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:02:12

We will post optional message board problems after each lesson to give you all something to talk about! Solutions will be posted
after the next lesson.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:02:19

That's it for today!

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:02:29

I'll hang around for a couple of minutes if you have any other questions.

carlyerger 2022-08-25 21:02:32

See you next time!

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