Blog Post 1 Maria Jose Garcia

1.     What is your full name? Maria Jose Garcia

2.     Do you have a nickname that you prefer to go by? Maria

3.     What is your height IN INCHES (not feet)? 62 inches

4.     What is your age in years? 19

5.     What time do you generally wake up on any given day? 9am

6.     What is your favorite candy? Milk Chocolate

7.     What is your favorite snack food? Special K granola bars

8.     Who is your favorite musical artist/band? Bastille

9.     Do you have any hobbies/things you like to do for fun? Run, watch movies and tv shows.

10.  What is your mathematical background? 

Basic math      algebra1          algebra2         College level statistics           probability       trigonometry 

High school Precalculus                      high school calculus  

11.  What is your comfort level with solving math word problems, math application problems, and conceptual math problems? (U)

Very comfortable (V)    comfortable (C)                uncomfortable (U)    extremely uncomfortable (E)

12.  What is your comfort level with math computations and calculations/using formulas and following steps and procedures? (C)

Very comfortable (V)    comfortable (C)                uncomfortable (U)    extremely uncomfortable (E)

13.  What is your comfort level with any of the following calculus concepts?

Write one of the following next to each topic:

Very comfortable (V)    comfortable (C)                uncomfortable (U)    extremely uncomfortable (E)

Curve sketching (U)

Instantaneous rate of change (C)

Derivatives (of constant, linear, polynomial, power, rational, exponential, trigonometric, logarithmic functions) (U)

Difference quotient (U)

Limits (C)

Continuity (U)

Chain rule (an application of composition of functions) (C)

Product and quotient rules for derivatives (C)

Finding local and global maximums and minimums (C)

Determining inflection points (U)

Area under a curve (U)

Anti-derivatives (C)

Integration (of constant, linear, polynomial, power, rational, trigonometric, exponential, logarithmic functions) (U)

Integration by parts (U)

Integration by substitution (U)

14.  The following are concepts from algebra and precalculus that students taking applied calculus should be comfortable with.

What is your comfort level with any of the following algebraic and precalculus concepts? (please note that weakness in any of these areas may make most aspects of this class more challenging than others)

Write one of the following next to each topic:

Very comfortable (V)    comfortable (C)                uncomfortable (U)    extremely uncomfortable (E)

Equations V

Factoring C

Adding/subtracting/multiplying/dividing fractions/rational expressions C

Simplifying expressions C

Simplifying rational expressions (fractions and fractional polynomials) C

Operations on roots and fractional exponent expressions U

Operations involving whole number exponent expressions C

Finding common denominators C

Inequalities V

Functions V

Absolute value V

Linear functions C

Systems of equations C

Domain and range C

Inverse functions U

Transformations (shifting, scaling, stretching, etc) C

Quadratic functions U

Completing the square U

Exponential functions C

Logarithmic functions C

Base e U

Graphing (trigonometric, quadratic, linear, exponential, and logarithmic functions) C

Trigonometric concepts U

15.  Have you taken American university’s math 160 (applied precalculus) class? If yes, was your grade a “b” or better?

No

16.  If you have not taken American university’s math 160 (applied precalculus) class, have you taken a college level (not a college equivalent high school class) equivalent?  If yes, was your grade a “b” or better?

No, I took high school Calculus and college level STAT.

17.  Have you taken American university’s math 170 (precalculus mathematics) class? If yes, was your grade a “b” or better?

No

18.  If you have not taken American university’s math 170 (precalculus mathematics) class, have you taken a college level (not a college equivalent high school class) equivalent?  If yes, was your grade a “b” or better?

No

19.  Which social media formats are you familiar with?

All of them except, flickr, blogspot, and google plus.

Texting            facebook          pinterest           flickr     wordpress         blogspot           tumblr  twitter

google plus      Instagram       snapchat       Yik Yak

20.  Which social media formats do you use most frequently?

Texting, facebook, instagram and snapchat.

Texting            facebook          pinterest           flickr     wordpress         blogspot           tumblr  twitter  

google plus      Instagram       snapchat       Yik Yak

21.  What is your major? Finance

22.  Why are you taking this math class? My major requires it.

23.  Will you take other math classes in the future at American University or will this be your only math class? If yes, which classes do you anticipate taking? I am not sure, probably financial math.

24.  What do you hope to learn in this class? How to apply calculus on real life situations and to solve problems fastly.

25.  Is there anything else you would like me to know about you? I might be slow sometimes on learning how to do some problems.