Course Objectives for Precalculus

MATH 217

Dr Rick Butterworth

  • Objectives:
    • My overall objective in Precalculus is clear from its title to prepare the student for Calculus. Precalculus will also be useful in preparing a student for other courses since many advanced mathematics courses require a knowledge of functions, many engineering courses require a knowledge of trigonometry, and many science courses require a thorough knowledge of algebra.
  • Specific Objectives:
    • A student should be able to:
      • find the domain of a rational function;
      • graph a rational function;
      • identify a 1-1 function;
      • find the inverse of a function;
      • graph exponential and logarithmic functions;
      • solve exponential and logarithmic equations;
      • solve growth and decay equations;
      • find the trigonometric function of any angle;
      • graph trigonometric functions;
      • prove trigonometric identities;
      • use sum and difference formulas of trigonometric functions;
      • use double- and half-angle formulas;
      • use product-to-sum and sum-to-product formulas;
      • graph inverse trigonometric formulas;
      • solve for the other parts of a right triangle given some of them;
      • use the law of sines and cosines;
  • The Department Outcomes may be accessed as a
Revised:  01-Jan-2009 .