Level: Form IV (10th–12th grades)
Subject(s): Math
Description:
The Precalculus curriculum is developed by a “nationally recognized author team” and utilizes “The Rule of Four: concepts are presented through a balance of algebraic, numerical, graphical, and verbal methods. Students learn to solve problems by one method and then support or confirm their solutions by another method.” —Pearson
This course provides a study of fundamental topics needed for calculus. Topics include applications of algebra and trigonometry, elementary functions and their graphs, polynomial, rational, exponential, and logarithmic functions, solutions to equations and inequalities, trigonometric functions, inverse trigonometric functions, analytic trigonometry, and polar coordinates. To continue kindling wonder and creative thinking, Mrs. Panam supplements the traditional textbook approach by adding in substantial amounts of curated supplemental material for enrichment and extension, along with practice standardized test problems. These challenging problem-solving activities are integrated to help students hone their mathematical and critical thinking skills and apply concepts across a wide range of situations and scenarios.
Materials:
Families should purchase the following supplies:
- Precalculus: Graphical, Numerical, Algebraic, 9th Edition, By Franklin D. Demana, Bert K. Waits, Gregory D. Foley, Daniel Kennedy (ISBN 13: 9781269614382; ISBN 10: 126961438X)—New or used is fine, but it must be the correct ISBN. Mrs. Panam recommends purchasing the teacher’s edition:
- Pencils & Erasers
- 1 black/blue and 1 red non-erasable pen
- 1 ruler (a small one is fine)
- Index cards (about 100) and an index card holder/case
- A few colored pencils or colored erasable pens (optional, 3 colors other than black)
- A three-ring binder with lined/graph paper and dividers—or—a notebook (graphing or lined) with a 1.5″ binder (with lined/graph paper and dividers)
- Index cards (about 100) and an index card holder/case
- Graphing Calculator*
*As of May 2025, the SAT Calculator Policy has been revised and graphing calculators (with CAS) are no longer allowed for the PSAT or SAT. While CAS is beneficial in college, for our high school students please see the following options:
- Purchase a calculator with CAS (Mrs. Panam prefers TI-89 and up with CAS) that is suitable for use in college STEM programs—even though such calculators cannot be used on standardized tests like the PSAT and SAT. If choosing this option, also select one or both of the next two options if your student plans to take standardized tests like the PSAT/SAT.
- Use an online calculator (like DESMOS)—this means the student will need access to a laptop/desktop/tablet with access to internet. It is recommended that students master using this online calculator prior to taking a standardized test to avoid any issues during testing. (Students can also practice using the provided online test calculators via practice online PSAT/SAT tests.)
- Purchase an allowed calculator following the College Board’s instructions—here are some examples of allowed TI calculators, the underlined ones are BHSC’s recommendations:
- TI-83 Plus graphing calculator
- TI-84 Plus graphing calculator
- TI-84 Plus CE graphing calculator
- TI-84 Plus CE Python graphing calculator
- TI-Nspire™ CX graphing calculator
- TI-Nspire™ CX II graphing calculator
