College Algebra Section 1.

1 Equations in One Variable

Definitions: Equation: Solution or Root: Solution Set: Linear Equation in One Variable: Properties of Equalities: Addition /Subtraction Multiplication Division Ex 1: Solve

x x 3 = +3 4 2

Identities: Conditional Equations: Inconsistent Equations:

Ex 2: Solve and Identify. 4(y - 1) = 4y 4

Equations Involving Rational Expressions:

Ex 3: Solve and Identify

x 6 3 = 1 x+6 x+6

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.1 Equations in One Variable

page 2

Equations Involving Absolute Value

Ex 4: Solve and Identify

| 3x + 4 | = 12

Ex 5: Solve and Identify

5 + 3| x 4| = 0

Ex 6: Corporate Taxes. For a class C corporation in Louisiana, the amount of stat income tax S is deductible on the federal return and the amount of federal income tax F is deductible on the state return. With $200,000 taxable income and a 30% federal tax rate, the federal tax is 0.30(200,000 S). If the state tax rate is 6% them the state tax satisfies S = 0.06(200,000 0.30(200,000 S)). Find the state tax S and the federal tax F.

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

College Algebra Section 1.2 Constructing Models to Solve Problems

Applied problems do not come in the form Solve the equation. In this section we will review how to translate verbal descriptions into the language of mathematics. Sometimes we use well-known formulas to model real situations, but we must often construct our own models. A Formula is:

Solve a formula for a specified variable: when a variable is solved for a specified variable, that variable is isolated on one side of the equal sign and must not occur on the other side. 5 Ex 1: Solve for F: C = ( F 32) 9

Solve a Problem involving sales tax

Ex 2: To be able to afford the house of their dreams, Dave and Leslie must clear $128,000 form the dale of their first house. If they must pay $780 in closing costs and 6% of the selling price for the sales commission, them what is the minimum selling price for which they will get $128,000?

Solve a Geometric problem

Ex 3: Julias soybean field is 3 m longer than it is wide. To increase her production, she plans to increase both the length and width by 2m. If the new field is 46m2 larger than the old field, then what are the dimensions of the old field?

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.2 Constructing Models to Solve Problems

Page 2

Solve Uniform Motion Problems

Uniform Motion Formula: If an object moves at an average velocity r, the distance d covered in time t is given by the formula d=rt. That is, Distance = Velocity Time. Ex 4: An air rescue plane averages 300 miles per hour in still air. It carries enough fuel for 5 hours of flying time. If, upon takeoff, it encounters a head wind of 30 mi/hr, how far can it fly and return safely? (Assume that the wind remains constant.)

Solve Mixture Problems

In mixture problems, two or more quantities are combined to form a mixture. To solve these types of problems, set up two equations; one for quantity and one for value. Ex 5: A candy store sells boxes of candy containing white and dark chocolates. Each box sells for $12.50 and holds 30 pieces of candy (all pieces are the same size). If the whites cost $0.25 to produce and the darks cost $0.45 to produce, how many of each should be in a box to make a profit of $3?

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.2 Constructing Models to Solve Problems

Page 3

Solve Interest Problems

Simple Interest Formula: If a principal of P dollars is borrowed for a period of t years at a per annum interest rate r, expressed as a decimal, the interest I charged is I = Prt . Ex 6: Suppose you borrow $1000 for 6 months at the simple interest rate of 6% per annum. What is the interest you will be charged on this loan? If you pay the loan back at the end of six months, what is the amount you must pay?

Solve Constant Rate Job Problems

Some problems involve jobs that are performed at a constant rate. Our assumption is that, if a job can be 1 done in t units of time, of the job is done in 1 unit of time. t Ex 7: A large pump can empty a pool in 5 hours. A smaller pump empties the same pool in 8 hours. If the pumps are used together, how long will it take them to empty this pool?

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

College Algebra Section 1.3 Equations and Graphs in Two Variables

The Cartesian Plane Ordered pairs of real numbers can be represented graphically using the Cartesian plane, or the rectangular coordinate system. The Cartesian plane is formed by using two real lines, called axes, intersecting at right angles. The names of the axes depend on the variables being used, however, the vertical axis is usually called the y-axis, and the horizontal axis is usually called the x-axis. The intersection of the axes is called the origin, and the axes divide the plane into four regions called quadrants. Each point in the plane is represented by the ordered pair (x , y ), where x is the x-coordinate and y is the y-coordinate. The rectangular coordinate system allows us to see the relationship between data at a glance. There are

Quadrant II

Vertical axis

Quadrant 1

Origin (0, 0) Horizontal axis Quadrant III Quadrant IV

different types of graphical representations that can be illustrated in the plane, for example scatter plots, bar graphs, and line graphs. Which representation is best depends upon certain characteristics, such as what the variables represent and the size of the variables. In a scatter plot, a discreet number of data points are plotted which allows us to see the general distribution of the data. In a line graph the data points are joined by lines, determined by the independent variable, which allows us to see the change of the dependent variable with respect to the independent variable. Example: Plot the points (2,3), (0, 1), and ( 5, 4 ).
5 4 3 2 1 5 4 3 2 1 1 2 3 4
Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

5 x

Section 1.3 Equations and Graphs in Two Variables

Page 2

The Distance Formula The Pythagorean Theorem tells us that for any right triangle with hypotenuse of length c and sides of lengths a and b that a 2 + b2 = c 2 . It is also true that if a 2 + b2 = c 2 for some triangle, then the triangle must be a right triangle. We can determine the distance d between two points (x1 , y1 ) and (x 2 , y 2 ) in the plane using the Pythagorean Theorem.

(x1 , y1)
y1

y 2 y1

y2

(x 2 , y2 )

Using the right triangle in the picture we see that d 2 = x2 x1 + y 2 y1 d= d= x 2 x1 + y 2 y1

2 2 2 2

x1 x 2 x1

x2

(x 2 x1)2 + (y2 y1)2

Distance Formula The distance between the points (x1 , y1 ) and (x 2 , y 2 ) in the plane is

d=

(x 2 x1)2 + (y2 y1)2 .

Example: Find the distance between the points ( 7, 4) and (2,8) .

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.3 Equations and Graphs in Two Variables

Page 3

Example: Verify that the triangle with vertices ( 1,5), (5, 2), and ( 1, 2) is a right triangle. The distance between (1,5) and (5, 2 ) is The distance between (1,5) and (1, 2) is The distance between (1, 2 ) and (5, 2) is

(5 1) + ( 2 5) = 42 + (7) = 16 + 49 = 65
2 2 2

(1 1) + (2 5) = 0 2 + (7) = 49 = 7
2 2 2

(5 1) + (2 (2)) = 4 2 + 02 = 16 = 4
2 2

To find the midpoint of a line segment that joins two points in the coordinate plane, we can find the average values of the respective coordinates of the two endpoints.
Midpoint Formula The midpoint of the line segment joining the points (x1 , y1 ) and (x 2 , y 2 ) is x + x 2 y1 + y2 M= 1 . , 2 2

Example: Find the midpoint of the line segment joining the points ( 7, 4) and (2,8) .

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.3 Equations and Graphs in Two Variables

Page 4

Calculator Functions

Graphing; y = Table Tableset Window x- and y-intercepts; value and zero Example: Graph y = 3x 2 + 19 . Use a graphing utility to approximate the intercepts rounded to two decimal places. Use the TABLE feature to help establish the viewing window.

Circles
A circle is a set of points in the xy-plane that are a fixed distance r from a fixed point ( h, k ) . The distance r is called the radius and the point ( h, k ) is called the center of the circle.

Standard Form of the Equation of a Circle

( x h) + ( y k )
2

= r2

A circle centered at the origin has the equation x 2 + y 2 = r 2 . Why? A circle centered at the origin with radius r = 1 is called a unit circle and has the equation x 2 + y 2 = 1 . Example: Write the standard form of the equation of the circle with radius 4 and center ( 2, 4 ) .
Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.3 Equations and Graphs in Two Variables

Page 5

Graphing Circles by Hand and Using a Graphing Utility

Example: Graph the equation ( x 4 ) + ( y + 3) = 25 .

2 2

By hand:

By calculator:

The General Form of the Equation of a Circle is x 2 + y 2 + ax + by + c = 0 . In this form its difficult, if not impossible, to recognize the center and radius of the circle. Convert the equation of a circle from general form to standard form by completing the square in both x and y to find the center and radius. Example: Graph the equation x 2 + y 2 2 x + 4 y 17 = 0 .

By hand:

By calculator:

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.3 Equations and Graphs in Two Variables

Page 6

Example: Find the standard equation of the circle with center at ( 2,3) and whose graph contains the point (1, 4 ) .

By hand:

By calculator:

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

College Algebra Section 1.4 Linear Equations in Two Variables

The ratio of the dimensions of the width and height of your calculator screen is approximately 3:2. Keeping this in mind as we discuss lines, be aware of the Zoom Square function that will adjust your viewing window such that the length of a unit in the x-direction is equal to a unit in the y-direction. Compare the graph of y = x in a standard window to the graph in a square window. Equations of Vertical and Horizontal Lines A vertical line is given by an equation of the form x = a where a is the x-intercept. Example: Graph the equation x = 3 .

A horizontal line is given by an equation of the form y = b where b is the y-intercept. Example: Graph the equation y = 2

Point-Slope Form of a Line

An equation of a nonvertical line of slope m that contains the point ( x1 , y1 ) is y y1 = m ( x x1 ) . Example: Find the equation of the line with slope

4 and containing the point ( 3, 2 ) . 5

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.4 Linear equations in Two Variables

Finding the Equation of a Line Given Two Points.

Example: Find an equation of the line L containing the points ( 1, 4 ) and ( 3, 1) . Graph the line L.

Slope-Intercept and Standard Form of the Equation of a Line

The Slope-Intercept Form of an equation of line L is y = mx + b . In this equation, m is the slope and b is the y-intercept. The equation of a line L is in Standard Form when it is written as Ax + By = C where A,B, and C are real numbers and A and B are not both 0. (Usually A and B are whole numbers with A 0 .) Example: Find the slope-intercept and Standard forms of the equation of line L given by x = Then find the x- and y-intercepts and use them to graph the line. 2 y+2. 3

Equations of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines

Example: Find the equations of the lines that contain the point ( 4, 3) and are (a) parallel and (b) perpendicular to the line x + 3 y = 6 . Graph the || and lines.

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

College Algebra Section 1.5 Scatter Diagrams and Curve Fitting

Linear functions have a constant rate of change. For linear functions of the form f ( x ) = mx + b , the constant rate of change is equal to m, the slope.

Notice that m =

any ( x2 , f ( x2 ) ) , as long as x1 x2 .

y 3 = = 3 and that this ratio is x 1 a constant rate of change from any ( x1 , f ( x1 ) ) to

Example: The total private health expenditures H, in billions of dollars, is given by the function H ( t ) = 26t + 411 , where t is the number of years since 1990. (a) What was the total private health expenditures in 2000 ( t = 10 ) ? (b) In what year will total private health expenditures be $879 billion? (c) In what year will total private health expenditures exceed $1 trillion ($1000 billion) ? Usually, data isnt neatly packaged and perfectly fitted to an equation. But we can often approximate the behavior of data by fitting a graph to it. Well start by drawing a scatter diagram with the independent variable plotted on the horizontal axis and the dependent variable plotted on the vertical axis. Lets do an example
Finding the line of best fit

Height, H (inches) 25.25 25.75 25 27.75 26.5 27 26.75 26.75 27.5

Head circumference, C (inches) 16.4 16.9 16.9 17.6 17.3 17.5 17.3 17.5 17.5

A pediatrician wanted to estimate a linear function that relates a childs height, H (the independent variable), to their head circumference, C (the dependent variable). She randomly selects nine children from her practice, measures their height and head circumference, and obtains the data shown.

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.5 Linear Functions and Models

Page 2

(a) Use a graphing utility to draw a scatter diagram. (b) Find the line of best fit to the data. Express the equation in function notation.

(c) Interpret the slope.

(d) Predict the head circumference of a child that is 26 inches tall. (e) What is the height of a child whose head circumference is 17.4 inches? Its probably not surprising that data is not always linear. Data, and their resulting scatter diagrams, form a variety of different relationships. For now, well learn to distinguish linear from nonlinear relations.

Determine whether the relationship between the two variables is linear or nonlinear.
7 . 0
1 0 . 0 1 5 . 0 8 . 0

. 0

0 . 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

0 . 0 0 . 0

2 -

. 5

. 5

0 . 5

0. 5

. 5

. 5

. 0
2 . 5 2 1 . 5 1 0 . 5 0 0. 5 1 1 . 5 2 2 . 5

2 -

. 0

. 0
5 . 0

4 -

. 0

6 -

. 0

. 0

1 -

0 . 0

8 -

. 0

0. 0

2 -

. 5

. 5

0 . 5

0 . 5

. 5

. 5

1 -

0 . 0 1 5 . 0

1
8 . 0

. 0

0. 0

. 0

. 0

0 . 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

. 0

0. 0
6 . 0

2 -

. 5

. 5

0 . 5

0 . 5

. 5

. 5

0 . 0
5 . 0

2 -

. 0

2 -

. 5

. 5

0 . 5

0 . 5

. 5

. 5

. 0

4 -

. 0

5 -

. 0

. 0

6 -

. 0

. 0

8 -

. 0

1 -

0 . 0

. 0

1 -

0. 0

0. 0

2 -

. 5

. 5

0 . 5

0. 5

. 5

. 5

1 -

. 0

1 -

. 0

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

College Algebra Section 1.6 Quadratic Equations

A quadratic equation is an equation equivalent to one of the form ax 2 + bx + c = 0 . There are a variety of ways to solve quadratic equations. Following are four algebraic methods for solving quadratic equations. All solutions will be verified using a graphing utility. Solving Quadratic Equations by Factoring When a quadratic equation is written in the form ax 2 + bx + c = 0 , it is often possible to factor the left side as the product of two linear factors. By setting each factor equal to zero and solving, we obtain the exact solutions of the quadratic equation.

Example: Solve 15 x 2 + 29 x + 12 = 0

Solving Quadratic Equations Using the Square Root Method Recall, if x 2 = p and p 0 , then x = p or x = p . If p > 0 , we usually abbreviate these solutions

as x = p . Example: Solve 25 x 2 + 16 = 40 x

Solving Quadratic Equations by Completing the Square The idea behind the method of completing the square is to modify the left side of a quadratic equation so that it becomes a perfect square. We do this by adding the same constant to both sides of the equation. When the left side is a perfect square, we can use the square root method to solve the quadratic equation.

Example: Solve 2 x 2 3x 1 = 0

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.6 Quadratic Equations

Page 2

Solving Quadratic Equations Using the Quadratic Formula If a > 0 , we can use the method of completing the square to obtain a general formula for solving the quadratic equation ax 2 + bx + c = 0 . This derivation is presented in your book.
b b 2 4ac . b 2 4ac is called the discriminant and yields The solutions of ax + bx + c = 0 are x = 2a information concerning the number and type of solutions to the quadratic equation. Do you remember? If b 2 4ac > 0 , then If b 2 4ac = 0 , then If b 2 4ac < 0 , then
2

Example: Solve 4u 2 6u + 9 = 0

Example: An object is propelled vertically upward with an initial velocity of 20 meters per second. The distance s (in meters) of the object from the ground after t seconds is s = 4.9t 2 + 20t . a) When will the object be 15 meters above the ground?

b) When will it strike the ground?

c) Will the object reach a height of 100 meters?

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

College Algebra Section 1.7 Linear and Absolute Value Inequalities

Remember, when solving inequalities, multiplying (or dividing) by a negative number reverses the direction of the inequality. In this section we will solve inequalities both algebraically and graphically. Solving Linear Inequalities Example: Solve 5 x 7 3 x + 1 and graph the solution set.

Solving Compound Inequalities Example: Solve 4 < 5 x + 1 < 11 and graph the solution set.

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli

Section 1.7 Linear and Absolute Value Inequalities

Page 2

Solving Absolute Value Inequalities If a is any positive number and if u is any algebraic expression, then u < a is equivalent to a < u < a . (This relationship also holds for .) Example: Solve 2 x + 4 3 and graph the solution set.

If a is any positive number and if u is any algebraic expression, then u > a is equivalent to u < a or u > a . (This relationship also holds for .) Example: Solve 2 x 5 > 3 and graph the solution set.

Copyright 2008 by Farimah Fazeli