2025-26 Course Descriptions - Catalog - Page 12
MATHEMATICS
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
How data is used to prove points? 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
Curriculum Guide | 12
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 through designing
their own survey or experiment, working with real
world data, among other assessments. 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
