Adult Education Algebra 1

Competency

Exponential Functions: Students will demonstrate an understanding of exponential functions by applying analytical and graphical methods to simplify, solve, and analyze problems involving exponents.

Project

You are a consumer loan officer at a local bank or credit union, and it is your job to guide consumers to find the best loans based on their personal financial information. You are most frequently asked to help customers find loans for home mortgages, cars, and college tuition. Although most of the process is fully automated, it is also your job to educate the customer and provide them with a variety of viable options in multiple representations so they can make the best, most informed decision.

Your current customers need a new car and would like your help in choosing the best car loan option to fit their financial needs. Using exponential functions, you will model various loan options for your customers to analyze.

Competency

Inequalities: Students will demonstrate an understanding of inequalities by applying graphical and analytic methods to analyze and solve inequalities involving one or two variables.

Project

You are a radio account executive for a local radio station and are responsible for prospecting and closing sales with potential advertising clients. Your radio station also has the capabilities to help customers produce their own ads to air during radio programs.

To meet your radio station’s advertising goals, you will create a rate sheet for potential clients by determining the types and quantities of advertising that will be most effective while still being profitable for your radio station. Using inequalities, you will examine how your rates could potentially affect the station’s revenue. To accomplish this, you will develop rate sheets for clients based on your analysis from the graphs you create.

Competency

Linear Equations: Students will demonstrate an understanding of linear equations by applying graphical and analytic methods to analyze and solve problems modeled by linear equations.

Project

You are a head chef at a restaurant and are responsible for designing the menu, calculating the costs of preparation, and properly pricing the menu. To stay competitive with other local restaurants, you have decided to add some new items to the menu.

While maximizing the restaurant’s profits is always your goal, you must ensure that your patrons can afford these new dishes as well. You will use linear equations to price these new menu items in more than one way, to analyze your menu items, and to account for price increases. Finally, you will create a report for the restaurant owner highlighting your new products, their cost, and price to diners.

Competency

Polynomial Functions and Factoring: Students will demonstrate an understanding of polynomial functions and factoring by applying analytic methods to simplify, perform arithmetic operations, and solve problems.

Project

You are an Agricultural Manager for an organic farmer who believes that his crops will grow most efficiently if the Golden Ratio is integrated in his field planning. It is your job to ensure that the crop plan aligns with this philosophy so that production and profit are maximized. You have been asked by the farmer to create a field plan for a theoretical rectangular farming field that incorporates the Golden Ratio.

Competency

Quadratic Equations: Students will demonstrate an understanding of quadratic equations by applying graphical and analytic methods to analyze and solve problems modeled by quadratic equations.

Project

You are a civil engineer responsible for the design and construction of bridges as well as the analysis of pre-existing structures.

For your next project, you have been asked to will redesign an existing bridge or to design a bridge for a location that needs one. In your design, you will model two bridge plans using quadratic functions and analyze these functions as they relate to specifications of the bridge and the surrounding features.

Competency

Statistics: Students will demonstrate an understanding of statistical analysis of univariate and bivariate data sets through analytical analysis and visual representations of data sets.

Project

You are a scout for a professional athletic team and you have been asked to make trade recommendations based on statistical analysis. The analysis will be used to show the general manager why this particular trade will be successful to the team based on statistics.

As a scout, you want your general manager to understand what the statistics insinuate about the players and ultimately what cannot always be seen by watching videos and attending games. You will use statistics to compare two players in order to make a trade recommendation. You will display your results tabularly, graphically, and statistically.

Competency

Systems of Equations: Students will demonstrate an understanding of systems of equations by applying graphical and analytic methods to analyze and solve systems of equations in two variables.

Project

You are the sole proprietor of a small business. As the owner, you are responsible for accurately calculating costs and revenue for the business and products. You must also set competitive prices that attract consumers. Before opening this business, you have many decisions to make regarding its profitability.

• How many items must you sell in order to break-even?
• Is it worth it or too risky?

In order to make these decisions this, you will:

• Compare cost and revenue equations to analyze your business.
• Make adjustments to ensure that this venture is successful.