Sunday, November 9, 2014

Systems of Equations 00010


I'm finally in double digits, and can't get this one done. If anyone wants to come over and give me a kick in the pants, feel free.

Absolute Value Inequalities 00009

Same as above, only the absolute value inequality says, "At least this far away" or "No more than this far away." So we have to solve it twice. Here's how.

Absolute Value Equations 00008

The absolute value function answers the question: "How far away is that thing, no matter which way away that is?" Because it makes a choice for you and you don't know which choice was made, we have to respect that it could have done two different things. We have to follow its decision-tree backward and find BOTH solutions.

Parent Functions 00007

The linear function (y = mx + b) is the simplest of the real-world models, and draws a straight line -- that's why it's called a LINEAR function. But the linear function can't describe everything. In fact, most things that happen in the real world are messier than that. So we start by showing you some other, more complicated ways to represent stuff. Each of those ways has its simplest, most basic, PARENT function. Here are the ones for x, x^2, x^3, and sqrt(x).

Writing Linear Equations 00006

Math is, at its heart, about SAYING what's happening in the real world in a language that we can use to manipulate it. Our first step in that realm is making equations -- functions -- nay, MATH MACHINES -- that replicate the real world in the language of math.

Solving Linear Equations 00005

Again with the 2 cameras, this time explaining how to solve 1-step, 2-step, and more-step equations. It's all about maintaining balance.

Exponents 00004

Here I explain exponential operations.
This was the first one with my basement 2-camera setup. It worked well enough and the lighting was better than I thought it would be, but getting the writing directly into the computer is better. You need a tablet to do that, though, and I hadn't gotten my Interwrite tablet working again (after our yearly computer wipe) yet.