Online Degrees and CLEP and DSST Exam Prep Discussion
College Math - Printable Version

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College Math - dc67 - 08-18-2008

I am taking College Math next Monday. Last week before I started to study I took a Peterson's practice test and got a 45. I thought, not passing but something to build on. I took the 2nd practice this morning and went down to a 38. It seemed like 75pct of the questions were functions and then 10 pct truth tables with just a little of everything else. I was feeling good but now I am in a panic. Is the real CLEP going to be that many function problems? Any advice on functions? I have been on youtube for the last hour trying to find videos. I get the whole thing about plug in the number. I am lost when it comes to graphing an equation though and when you have x and y my brain seems to freeze. any advice would sure be appreciated.

Thanks,

Doug


College Math - Kiwi Lover - 08-18-2008

dc67 Wrote:I am taking College Math next Monday. Last week before I started to study I took a Peterson's practice test and got a 45. I thought, not passing but something to build on. I took the 2nd practice this morning and went down to a 38. It seemed like 75pct of the questions were functions and then 10 pct truth tables with just a little of everything else. I was feeling good but now I am in a panic. Is the real CLEP going to be that many function problems? Any advice on functions? I have been on youtube for the last hour trying to find videos. I get the whole thing about plug in the number. I am lost when it comes to graphing an equation though and when you have x and y my brain seems to freeze. any advice would sure be appreciated.

Thanks,

Doug
Doug,

Did you already read all of the feedback for this exam in the Specific Exam Feedback section??? http://www.degreeforum.net/specific-exam-feedback-only/1525-college-mathematics-clep.html

There are 27 posts in that thread, including information about functions, so hopefully that will answer a lot of your questions.

Good luck!
JoAnne Smile


College Math - dc67 - 08-18-2008

Thanks JoAnne. I have read over it and over it, I was just hoping someone may have some magic words to make it all click. I am definitly hoping I get one of the tests that is not function heavy.


College Math - jkfuss - 08-18-2008

I'm not a math guy at all. This is how I got it into my head. Maybe it will help. I know you get the whole number-plugging-in thing, but I'll go from start to finish anyway.

Here's a simple function.

y=x+5

So let's say x=3. That means y=8 (3+5). The ordered pair expressing this relationship is (3,8). The x number always comes first. That means if x is 3 then y is 8.

Let's try another value for x. Let's say x=-6. That means y=-1 (-6+5). The ordered pair expressing this relationship is (-6,-1).

So we have two ordered pairs from this function. (3,8) and (-6,-1).

To graph it:

The graph is laid out this way. The x axis is horizontal. It goes left to right. They y axis is vertical. It goes up and down. They cross at (0,0). So how do we plot it?

The first coordinate is the first ordered pair (3,8). Start at the intersection of the axes and count right 3 units. You are now at (3,0). Then count straight up 8 units. You are now at (3,8) so put a dot.

The second coordinate is the second ordered pair (-6,-1). Start again at (0,0) and count 6 units to the left. You are at (-6,0). Now count straight down 1 unit. You are now at (-6,-1) so put a dot there.

Then draw a line through both dots. That is the graph for the function. So start at the intersection and count right if x is positive, left if x is negative. Then count up if y is positive, down if y is negative.

Functions with exponents are more complicated as they have curved lines in their graphs. But for a simple function without exponents this works well.
Hope that helps.


College Math - ali4nia - 08-19-2008

fastest and easiest way to pass this clep = Cracking the Clep the princeton review 5th or 4th edition + CLEP Official Study Guide practice exam = a score minimum 60 or above Wink


College Math - dingbat - 08-19-2008

Math has always confused me. Thats why I'm looking to take the CLEP exam to keep from looking like the idiot I am in class.


College Math - joel66 - 08-20-2008

I ended up taking self-study pre-algebra, algebra, and inter-algebra at my local community college, but I also checked out the videos below to help me understand the equations.

Muchomath

Check out MA 090, MA 091, and MA 101/103 with the link below.
Math Preparation Tips

The link below is okay, but not as straight forward as the ones above. The link below is good for explaining how math is used in real world.
Resource: Algebra: In Simplest Terms