swimmermom3 Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 I am still working on course descriptions and my math ignorance is really showing through. To me, it looks as though Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus through Derek Owens cover many of the same topics. What am I missing and how would I distinguish between the two on the course descriptions? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arcadia Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 The textbooks the courses are based on? "The course was originally based on the book Algebra 2 by Larson, Boswell, Kanold and Stiff, published by McDougal Littell, 2001 edition. " "Precalculus by Michael Sullivan, 4th edition, published by Prentice Hall, 1996." 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiana Posted October 16, 2015 Share Posted October 16, 2015 Algebra 2 and precalc very commonly cover a lot of the same material, just precalculus does it faster and harder. I'd be surprised if they didn't look somewhat similar. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted October 16, 2015 Author Share Posted October 16, 2015 Algebra 2 and precalc very commonly cover a lot of the same material, just precalculus does it faster and harder. I'd be surprised if they didn't look somewhat similar. Thanks, Kiana. That's reassuring. I am just going to list the topics covered in both courses and not worry about the repetition then. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Precalculus (often) includes Trigonometry. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkT Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 Precalculus (often) includes Trigonometry. Regards, Kareni Not DO specific but many state standards list some specific Trig knowledge for Algebra 2. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted October 17, 2015 Share Posted October 17, 2015 I have used DO Algebra II and Precalculus (as well as the Lial Intermediate Algebra book, which is supposed to be Algebra II). DO Algebra II is like a light precalculus course (similar to a prealgebra course that stresses beginning algebra concepts throughout and does very little review of arithmetic). In contrast, the Lial book (which I know you didn't ask about) is like Algebra I on steroids (so, similar to a prealgebra course that emphasizes a review of arithmetic and then tacks a bit of algebra on at the end). So, yes, they are *very* similar--in fact I'm pretty sure that some of the trig lectures are identical between the courses. (And for anyone who does a search on the differences between Lial and DO and stumbles on this thread--there is a *huge* disconnect between the material taught in Lial Intermediate Algebra and DO Precalculus, so much so that I'm having my younger son go through DO Algebra II after doing Lial last year. I didn't realize the extent of the disconnect when my older son made the jump, and he struggled with precalculus as a result.) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmrich Posted February 19, 2016 Share Posted February 19, 2016 My dd is in DO Pre-Calc now and took DO ALG 2 last year. Cannot speak to all the differences because she is independent with her math. She recently tweeted that PreCalc is her new favorite foreign language.. and another how she misses seeing numbers during math. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 You're scaring me a bit here. My oldest is doing Algebra II with Lial's Intermediate Algebra book, and we have assumed she would go right into precalculus next year, possibly as dual-enrollment. I have noticed she finds her Algebra II class to be covering a lot of what she remembers from Algebra 1, and hasn't seemed to struggle with it very much (not to be confused with acing the class--she's not doing that, as she does continue to make careless errors. She's pulling a very low A at this point in the year). Has anyone else's kid had trouble going from Lial's Intermediate Algebra for Algebra II to precalculus? I've no experience with Derek Owens classes. My daughter did Algebra II at home using Lial's Intermediate Algebra. She then placed into College Algebra at the local community college. She made an A in that class as well as her subsequent Trigonometry class. Both of those classes used Sullivan's Precalculus for their text. Regards, Kareni 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 I have used DO Algebra II and Precalculus (as well as the Lial Intermediate Algebra book, which is supposed to be Algebra II). DO Algebra II is like a light precalculus course (similar to a prealgebra course that stresses beginning algebra concepts throughout and does very little review of arithmetic). In contrast, the Lial book (which I know you didn't ask about) is like Algebra I on steroids (so, similar to a prealgebra course that emphasizes a review of arithmetic and then tacks a bit of algebra on at the end). So, yes, they are *very* similar--in fact I'm pretty sure that some of the trig lectures are identical between the courses. If they're so similar, would it make sense to do a different (perhaps more rigorous) PreCalc after DO Algebra II? Does the DO PreCalc seem like a step up, or just a rehash with a bit more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 If they're so similar, would it make sense to do a different (perhaps more rigorous) PreCalc after DO Algebra II? Does the DO PreCalc seem like a step up, or just a rehash with a bit more? Going from DO Algebra II to DO precalculus, seems like a step up, but a smaller step than going from Lial's Intermediate Algebra to DO precalculus. So I guess it depends on how big you like your steps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.