College Algebra

[DixieGirl]

I am going to take the College Algebra CLEP soon and need some advice. Is college algebra really that different from Algebra II? Also, what books are best to study with? Is there anything online that I could use (preferably free)?

[Matymus]

I am going to take the College Algebra CLEP soon and need some advice. Is college algebra really that different from Algebra II? Also, what books are best to study with? Is there anything online that I could use (preferably free)?

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the College Algebra CLEP basically covers all the algebraic concepts, including Algebra II. I have yet to take this exam, but I tell you this....I'm going through the Idiot's Guide to Algebra. It has been a God-send...no joke. It has helped me sooo much. I have yet to make it through ALL the material, though I'm almost there, but it explains the concepts that makes it easy for me to grasp...so I will actually be able to go into this exam extremely confident...FOR ONCE IN MY LIFE!! I hope that helps.

[cookderosa]

Free stuff!! I am the queen of free. I have 5 favorites that I use religiously! If you are already using IC, a DVD audio tape or lecture may help you pull it all together.

1. Netflix Online Movie Rentals - Rent DVDs, Classic Films to DVD New Releases - Free Trial If you have a subscription, you can get DVDs on nearly everything. You can get actual educational videos, documentaries, independent films, history channel, discovery channel, instructional, how-to, etc. If you don't have a subscription, consider joining for a month for under $15. Also, they added a feature that you get free hours of instant viewing in addition to disks- I have found several educational resources here. (OK not free, but my favorite anyway- and they have gobs of algebra resources)

2. Teacher Resources by Annenberg Media is a regular study spot for me. I can't say enough about these free K-12/college courses. They are on-demand viewing, totally free, and divided up by subject. Nice 30-90 minute lectures that you view on your computer. If you end up in the "pay" area, you need to go back out to home and use the search feature. It is free. Most courses are 10ish hours (lots of algebra choices) *note* if you are highly motivated, some of the the courses allow you to earn cheap grad school credit. For around $70 per credit (!) you can earn credit by watching the videos and mailing in the homework. All grad credit is "EDU", and offered through Colorado State, but you can't get the info through the Colorado State webiste. (enter through above link) If your grad program allows electives, or you already have a master and are looking to +30 your resume, it is the best price around!

3. MIT OpenCourseWare | MIT OpenCourseWare MIT offers many of it's courses for video viewing online -totally free- and they are the real deal. Syllabus, reading list, homework, etc. are all there. The video lectures are downloadable through iTunes as well. (from the iTunes store, search "MIT" it's called open course ware) While you can get an actual MIT professor to teach you college algebra, you can't earn credit- they are totally for your own personal interest.

4. Main Page - Gutenberg Free books you can print off (if you have a laser printer) or read online. I printed off Uncle Tom's Cabin and Fredrick Douglas' biography to read when I studied for my US History I.

5. LibriVox Free AUDIO books. You can listen to these on the spot on your computer, save them to your iTunes to listen on your iPod, or burn it to a disk. free free free!

The last 2 won't have algebra help, but I wanted to throw them in since you might find them useful down the road. If you have any trouble with the links or finding your way around the sites, just let me know.

[cookderosa]

2. Teacher Resources by Annenberg Media is a regular study spot for me. I can't say enough about these free K-12/college courses. They are on-demand viewing, totally free, and divided up by subject. Nice 30-90 minute lectures that you view on your computer. If you end up in the "pay" area, you need to go back out to home and use the search feature. It is free. Most courses are 10ish hours (lots of algebra choices) *note* if you are highly motivated, some of the the courses allow you to earn cheap grad school credit. For around $70 per credit (!) you can earn credit by watching the videos and mailing in the homework. All grad credit is "EDU", and offered through Colorado State, but you can't get the info through the Colorado State webiste. (enter through above link) If your grad program allows electives, or you already have a master and are looking to +30 your resume, it is the best price around!

>>

Sorry- correction! The grad credit is $85 per credit.

[DixieGirl]

I took my first CLEP yesterday - College Algebra. I passed with a 58. I was wondering, does anybody else not want to push the "proceed" button at the end?

If you are studying for College Algebra, you probably need to study logarithims a little bit, but don't stress out over it!

[Matymus]

I took my first CLEP yesterday - College Algebra. I passed with a 58. I was wondering, does anybody else not want to push the "proceed" button at the end?

If you are studying for College Algebra, you probably need to study logarithims a little bit, but don't stress out over it!

I didn't want to push it. I did pass, though...thank God!

[DixieGirl]

I just remembered something else, you need to know how to do long division!

[mstcrow5429]

I just remembered something else, you need to know how to do long division!

Why do you need to know how to do long division? There's an online calculator available on the computerized version.

[DixieGirl]

I meant you need to know how to divide something like X^2 + 2X + 4 by x+2. That wasn't a problem on the test, the ones on the test are much harder.

[CDM]

[QUOTE=DixieGirl]I took my first CLEP yesterday - College Algebra. I passed with a 58. I was wondering, does anybody else not want to push the "proceed" button at the end? QUOTE]


congratulations!! you know - i hate looking at that number SO MUCH after my tests that I've started asking the protor to tell me if I've passed or not. ha ha.