2024-2025 Course Flipbook v2 - Flipbook - Page 12
ANALYTICAL PRECALCULUS
How can we move beyond “doing” math to creative problem solving? What skills
and mindsets are needed to pursue math at a higher level? In Analytical Precalculus
students begin to move from concrete applications to abstract math concepts while
still emphasizing the value and importance of modeling mathematical phenomena.
This pathway is particularly visible in the progression through topics in trigonometry, a
foundational concept of the course. A review of right-triangle trigonometry moves to
the introduction of the Unit Circle as a tool. This tool is then adapted in an exploration of
how trigonometric patterns can be used to model cyclical behavior, followed by a look
at analytic trigonometry where identities and algebra skills are used to manipulate and
transform expressions to verify equivalence. Students use this context to review math
skills such as operations with fractions and factoring, strengthening and applying them
to new contexts. Additional units include exponential and logarithmic functions as well as
an introduction to limits and the derivative, preparing Analytical Precalculus students with
the material they need to be ready for Single Variable Calculus, the subsequent course
many will take.
Prerequisite: Analytical Algebra II or department chair approval
STATISTICS AND QUANTITATIVE REASONING
MATHEMATICS
Have you ever noticed how data is used to prove points? Have you ever wondered
who is being represented in surveys that are being referenced to sway you towards a
particular decision or product? Once you start looking for data you will see it everywhere.
Statistics is the science of collecting and analyzing data. In this class students explore the
components of statistical problem solving: formulate a question; design and implement
a plan to collect data; analyze the data by measurement and graphs; and
interpret the results in the context of the original question. Unit topics include
population surveys, observational studies, randomized experiments, the Normal
Distribution, probability, and introductory hypothesis testing. Through these topics,
students work to answer questions with data they have gathered and drawn
from professional research organizations and popular media. Students stretch
to think beyond the traditional math classroom. They will lean into and explore
uncertainty, approach the world with questions rather than answers, and consider
the way data is presented in the media. Students demonstrate their learning by
designing their own survey or experiment, applying the Normal Distribution to SAT
and ACT data, and designing a game that relies on probability, in addition to more
traditional assessments. Students rely heavily on Desmos and Google sheets for
their data analysis. Students apply the skills they develop throughout the year
in the last unit as they construct questions that can be answered quantitatively,
conduct hypothesis testing, and craft a report to present their results.
Prerequisite: Algebra II with Data and Modeling or Analytical Algebra II
