Honestly, consumer math is usually a course for the non-college bound student to help give them enough math credits to graduate. It isn't at all necessary for college admission, unless he is short of math credits. Computer skills is not needed on the transcript, although he ought to be able to write a paper in word/turn a computer on and off/navigate websites. Economics is almost always a social science elective, not a required course. Civics occasionally is, but that doesn't have to include a major economics component. Check your community college's website to see what they say you should have. Most importantly -- don't panic! It is a community college. Even if you did forget something important, the worst they will do is admit him on some sort of probationary status.

What kind of errors is he making? Is he forgetting to reduce? Performing the algorithms correctly but making arithmetical errors? Difficulty with word problems? Blanking completely? Knowing where the errors are could help people give you better advice. Also, ditto what Jann said about teaching multiplication/division first.

I would rather watch paint dry than learn or teach from Saxon. (I do understand that people are different ... but *I* found it boring.) So no, you're not the only one :)

1. I'm having a slight bit of trouble understanding your notation -- is it (-x^2)(y^2)/(x^(1/2))(y^0)? If not -- ignore what I say next. Recall that dividing by x^(1/2) is the same as multiplying by x^(-1/2). Also recall that y^0 = 1. So this fraction can be converted into (-x^2)(y^2)(x^(-1/2)). Then combine the x's by adding the exponents, and you have (-x^(3/2))(y^2). If you need to continue further (i.e. convert to radical form), then x^(3/2) = x^(2/2+1/2) = x(x^1/2) = x * sqrt x. 2. To convert nth roots to exponents, use a^1/n. So you have a^(1/3) * a^(1/5). Then you can combine them by adding the exponents, so you end up with a^(8/15). 3. It can be simplified more. x^(5/3) = x(3/3 + 2/3) = (x^1)x^(2/3) = x * cube root of x^2, and y simplifies similarly.

She can probably end up doing OK on standardized tests without doing proofs, but before you give up -- is a tutor completely out of the question? Sometimes a fresh perspective from an outsider can really help. If finances might be an issue, is there possibly someone with whom you could arrange a swap?

Possibly try some sort of introduction to Statistics, as many nursing schools require it and it'd be nice to have an exposure before university. College Algebra is another good suggestion -- at least here, it generally covers the first half of precalculus so it'd be a slower pace, but she still wouldn't forget the algebra that she'd learned. One thing that you definitely don't want to have happen is have her use this year to forget all the math she's learned and place into algebra I at university (happens fairly frequently) so I'd definitely incorporate algebra review into whatever you do.

JFC: I honestly wasn't intending to snark in my original comment, as many people have been taught in the past that Geometry IS about rote memorization. But it's not. And a college minor barely begins to qualify you as to "what math is about", since from your own description I doubt you touched on any of the actual proof-based classes, which is all you find in math after a certain point. Again, I'm not meaning this to devolve into a flamewar, but simply was contradicting misinformation.

Taking Algebra II in 10th grade and pushing Geometry to 11th might cause her standardized test scores to be slightly lower, if that's important to y'all. Otherwise, really, either's a legitimate path -- Geometry programs often, however, have Algebra I review incorporated but not Algebra II, so she'd have to review a lot more if she went that path. To JFC: Geometry is not actually about "rote memorization of theorems", but rather understanding why the theorems work so that one can construct the proofs without needing to memorize them. Perhaps your class was taught as a rote memorization class -- if so, this would certainly explain your struggle and disillusionment. It's also possible to find bad teachers. The college sequences I've seen seen don't list geometry as a separate course because they incorporate it into the algebra/precalculus/calculus sequence. I assume, also, that if the OP's daughter struggles in Geometry, she will not terminate her math sequence.

Don't have the book, but given that the answer you gave is 196 = 14^2, I'm guessing that you have a circle drawn inside a square so that the circle touches every edge of the square? If not, disregard what I said. In order to find the area of the square, you need to find the length of an edge. Since the square doesn't vary in width, any horizontal line drawn between the two vertical edges will have the same length as the upper or lower edge. The diameter of the circle is such a line, so the diameter of the circle equals the length of one edge of the square. Since the area of the circle is 49pi, and the formula for an area is pi*r^2, r^2 = 49 -> r = 7. The diameter is twice the radius, so the diameter is 14, so edgelength of the square is 14, so the area is 14^2=196.

Can you figure out what definition EPGY is using? That is what will give you the "right" answer. Different programs define it in different ways, but I have always heard it defined as a quadrilateral with at least two parallel sides.

Since your child is sensitive, make sure you preread Where the Red Fern Grows. I love the book, but it made me cry.

Of course, you could be NASA and have your Mars lander crash because you forgot to convert :) More seriously -- for the average person in America, no, converting to metric is probably not that much use. But for anyone who will do science, they'll need it then (at least, I saw it in basic chemistry/physics). And even for someone in America, converting between inches/feet or between tablespoons/teaspoons or between cups/pints is useful. So while drilling the precise conversion factors is likely to be of little use, knowing how to convert given a conversion factor is of use.

When and how do you plan to transition away from open-book? To be honest, I'd recommend a 'formula sheet' rather than completely open book, as it's much easier to transition away later/make the sheet smaller. Open-book exams are occasionally given in advanced settings, but tend to be utterly brutal compared to standard exams.

1) This is the tangent addition formula, for tan (a + b) with a = 80 and b = 100 :) 2) I'd suggest substituting T = tan alpha (somehow, having one letter makes it WAY easier). Then cot alpha = 1/T. LHS = (1/T+1)/(1/T-1), multiply by T/T to get = (1+T)/(1-T) = RHS.

I just had mono over the summer. I think I drank two cups a day of elderflower tea. (spluttering all the while, I hate herbal teas.) It seems to have helped, however, I was back to 'mostly normal' in a month and back to my regular exercise schedule (which is pretty tiring:D) in two.

http://www.egge.net/~savory/maths1.htm If you're interested, here are divisibility rules for all primes up to 50. Some of them, however, are almost as much work as doing the problem!

Two weeks of doing nothing more than walking, two weeks of light activity, then back to "careful normal".

Does she/do you have PCOS? (polycystic ovary ...) I have this, and my symptoms were very similar to your dd's. You haven't mentioned if she has heavy cycles when they do come, but I did. The doctor suggested the pill, and my mother declined. I ended up growing hair (as in, a moustache), getting very depressed and gaining a lot of weight. I finally went on the pill at about 24 and it was great. Yes, check alternatives and see if you can get an actual diagnosis other than just 'irregularity', but I would consider it if other alternatives fail.

1) It looks like you're trying to find the remainder, so writing it as 3 and 5/6 pi. But a full circle is 2pi, so what you have here is 11/6 pi *more* than a full circle. Then sec 23pi/6 = sec 11pi/6 = sec pi/6 (because the reference angle is pi/6, and 11pi/6 is in quadrant 4, where secant is positive) It looks as though you may also have made an error in conversion -- 60 degrees is pi/3. 2) You really don't want to write sec 60deg = 5pi/6. The two quantities are not equal -- it is not a good habit to have mathematically.

This is the sort of arrant pedantry up with which I will not put! :):):)

Linear would imply that it's a straight line with constant slope. The slope in the second one is not constant. If you graphed it, the points would not form a straight line. Chart B can still represent a function, btw. A function is just a rule that associates an output to each input.

Does dropped with no grade mean that he receives a W, or that it doesn't show up at all? If it's not going to show up on his transcript, I see no reason to let the university know -- as far as they're concerned, he can have taken Spanish at the CC and PreCalc at home.

Not *my* child (hehe) but as a homeschooled child myself, I took the SAT at 10, 12, 13, 14, and 15. I'd say my composite score went up about 100-150 points each time, simply from greater maturity and familiarity with both the types of questions and standardized testing in general.

Magical Melons

Possibly because everyone's required to take Algebra II now (in many states), so it had to be made easier so everyone could pass? When I took math, though, there was no trig in algebra II. There was algebra and proof, and precalc was trig/logs/a bit more algebra and proof. According to my mother, when she was in HS (late 60s) they only did trig in geometry and again in trig. On the subject of the thread -- Our university, desiring more rigor in precalc, recently converted to using a text by Cohen. I used the first edition when I took precalc, and overall I'd consider it a pretty decent text. I wouldn't do ALL the problems (there are a huge number), but there are actual challenging problems. He does a good job of explaining "why" as well as how. My opinion only :)