Vanessa's E-Portfolio

Course Description

This course covers in more depth basic algebra concepts introduced in Elementary Algebra. Topics of study include: linear equations and inequalities; quadratic equations; polynomial and rational expressions; radicals and complex numbers; exponential expressions (negative and rational exponents) and logarithmic expressions; linear systems of equations; introduction to conic sections; introduction to functions. Graphing of functions will be done by hand. Real world applications of algebra will be addressed throughout the course.

• Have competent algebraic skills for: three by three linear systems with unique solutions; operations with polynomials, radicals, rational expressions, and absolute values; and have competent algebraic and graphic skills for: equations of lines, two by two systems, inequalities, and the quadratic equation.
•  Understand how linear equations, quadratics, systems, radicals, and graphs relate to realistic applications.
• Advance readily to higher-level college mathematics courses.
  

Modeling Utah population project was the use of linear functions and using them in real life situation like population growth. Although, it wouldn't be the exact number of people that will be born five years from now it is just an approximation. I do think knowing the future population is of great importance because with population growth there is various factors to consider such as water, food, and housing. If we didn't keep track of the population growth we couldn't provide enough housing, clean drinking water, and wouldn't have enough food to go around.

 This project related to my Sociology class that I took this Fall semester because we learned theories of population growth and why it is important to know how many people are in the world. For example, Brazil didn't track population growth well, thus did not have enough livable housing, leaving many with out homes. It may seem like an unimportant task, but knowing the population growth gets us ready for the future and helps accommodate the future living situation.

Finally relating population growth in our lives today. If you are thinking of getting married, having children, or growing your company you need to consider all factors that come with growth. It is important to really think how big will my family be or how large will my company grow because an extra person you add to your life or company requires food, shelter, water,money, and insurance.

 In conclusion, tracking population growth is a necessary thing. We need to know how many people will we need to provide for like, having enough livable housing for the future generations. Along with the simple task of tracking population growth comes many things to consider with each person being added. It may seem like a simple task and not important at all, but knowing the resources we have and will need can be the difference of you're future grandchildren being able to have a house to live in.

 The optimize advertising project consists of using linear equations in a real life situation. This project changed my perspective greatly on math. I  always thought of math of being so unimportant telling myself "who needs math, I'll never use it again," of course now I know that is completely untrue. In fact math can make you're life much easier in your careers, if anything using math is a logical short cut.

 This project really opened my eyes and showed me all the possibilities of math. An advertising campaign, the commercials on TV and listened to the radio, they don't just play them randomly, but they have to think of the group of people, and the time most people will be able to listen their advertisement. It's pretty amazing how many people work so hard to consider groups of people. 

 Advertisements are used in everyday life for example, today on my walk to the gym I was listening to Pandora radio at 5 PM and I got an Ad telling me about a new gym, which is pretty smart and calculated if you think about it. Usually, around 5 PM most people are getting off work and many use Pandora now as their radios, so many people are likely to hear this Ad. Also, it is holiday season meaning most people will join the gym this month or early January for the new year. I find it mind blowing how much effort put in ads and I never even knew it required math at all, rather logic.

To summarize, using math is simply a logical shortcut. There is so much effort that goes into advertising, which we rarely think of. Advertisements are used in are daily lives whether you watch a commercial on TV, driving home and hear an ad on the radio, or get an ad in the mail, advertisements are literally everywhere. I hate ads like everyone else, but now I have admiration for the work that goes into them. This project really changed my view of math and why it is important.