Romblon State University

College of Engineering and Technology

Civil Engineering Department

MODULE 1
PRECALCULUS 1
(College Algebra and Trigonometry) CHAPTER 1:
College Algebra Real Number and their Properties
Systems of Linear Equation,
TOPIC COVERAGE: Function
Graphs and their Application
Chapter 1
Real Number and their Properties INTRODUCTION:
Systems of Linear Equation, Algebra uses letters, such as x and y, to
Function, Graphs and their represent numbers. If a letter is used to
Application represent various numbers, it is called a
Chapter 2 variable. A combination of variables and
Exponents and Radicals numbers using the operations of addition,
Polynomials and Factoring subtraction, multiplication, or division, as well
Complex Number as powers or roots, is called an algebraic
Chapter 3 expression. Many algebraic expressions
involve exponents.
Rational Expression Example:
Partial Fraction
Solving Equations, Quadratic 5x2 + 670x + 1057 = 0
Equations Exponential Notation:
Chapter 4
If “n” is a counting number (1, 2, 3, and so
Exponential and Logarithm on), below
Equations
Progression
Chapter 5
Worded Problems, Application of .
Algebra

OBJECTIVES: bn is read “the nth power of b ” or “

At the end of the session the students must b to the nth power.” Thus, the nth
learn to: power of b is defined as the product of n
factors of b. The expression bn is called
Operate and simplify algebraic an exponential expression. Furthermore, b1 =
expression b.
Determine the solution sets of all
types of algebraic equations, exponential SETS
and logarithmic equations; and A set is a collection of objects whose
inequalities; contents can be clearly determined. The
Analyze worded problem objects in a set are called the elements of the
Identify the domain and range of a set. For example, the set of numbers used for
given relation and function. counting can be represented by {1, 2, 3, 4, 5
…}. The braces, { }, indicate that we are
representing a set. This form of
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College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department
representation, called the roster method,
uses commas to separate the elements of
the set. The symbol consisting of three dots
after the 5, called an ellipsis, indicates that
there is no final element and that the listing
goes on forever.
A set can also be written in set-builder
notation. In this notation, the elements of the
set are described but not listed. Example:
The same set written using the roster method
is {1, 2, 3, 4, 5}. If A and B are sets, we can
form a new set consisting of all elements that
are in both A and B. This set is called
the intersection of the two sets.
Definition of the Intersection of Sets
The intersection of sets A and B, written
A B, is the set of elements common to
both set A and set B. This definition can be
expressed in set-builder notation as
follows: A B = {x l x is an element of A
and x is an element of B}.
Example: Find the intersection {7, 8, 9, 10,
11} {6, 8, 10, 12}.
Solution:
{7, 8, 9, 10, 11} and {6, 8, 10, 12} are 8
and 10.
Answer: {7, 8, 9, 10, 11} {6, 8, 10, 12} =
{8, 10}.
Another set that we can form from sets A
and B consists of elements that are in A or
B or in both sets. This set is called the union
of the two sets.
Definition of Sets
The union of sets A and B, written A B, is
the set of elements that are members of set
A or of set B or of both sets. This definition
can be expressed in set-builder notation as
follows: A B = {x l x is an element of A or x
is an element of B}.
Example: Find the union:
{7, 8, 9, 10, 11} {6, 8, 10, 12}.
Solution:
Just rewrite all the numbers encase the
two sets have same numbers, just write it
once {7, 8, 9, 10, 11} {6, 8, 10, 12},
Answer: {7, 8, 9, 10, 11} ∪ {6, 8, 10, 12} =
{6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12}.
Application Problems of Venn Diagram
1. In a class of 40 students, 27 like
Calculus and 25 like Chemistry. How
many like both Calculus and
Chemistry?
2. A survey of 100person s revealed
that 72 of them had eaten at
restaurant P and that 52 of them had
eaten at restaurant Q. Which of the
following could not be the number of
persons in the surveyed group who
had eaten at both P and Q
restaurant?
 Romblon State University
College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department

3. A survey of 100 students reported that the SOLUTION AREA

number of those enrolled in various
Mathematics subjects were, Algebra,
Geometry and Calculus 20 enrollees;
Algebra and Geometry 30 enrollees; Algebra
and Calculus 35 enrollees; Geometry and
Calculus 35 enrollees, Algebra only 70
enrollees and Calculus only 60 enrollees.
How many enrolled in Geometry?
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 Romblon State University
College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department

REAL NUMBERS
AND THEIR PROPERTIES
Real Numbers are used in everyday life to
describe quantities such as age, miles per
gallon, and population. Real numbers are
represented by symbols such as -2, 5, 0, 4/3
, 0.667 . . . , 12.6, √12 and 4√12384.
also be described by saying that b is greater
than a and writing b > a. The inequality a ≤ b
means that a is less than or equal to b and
the inequality means that b is greater than or
equal to a. The symbols <, >, ≤, and ≥ are
inequality symbols.

Subsets of Real Numbers

Real numbers are represented
graphically by a real number line.
The point 0 on the real number line
Exercises No.2:
is the origin. Numbers to the right
of 0 are positive, and numbers Identify the subset of number represented
to the left of 0 are negative, in the figures.
as shown in Figure. The term 1. ______________
nonnegative describes a number 2. ______________
that is either positive or zero.

Sketch the subset on the real number line

and state whether the interval is bounded or
unbounded
3. -2 < x < 2 ________________
Ordering Real Numbers
One important property of real
4. 0 ≤ x ≤ 4 ________________
numbers is that they are ordered. If a and b
are real numbers, a is less than b if b – a is
positive. The order of a and b is denoted by
the inequality a < b. This relationship can
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College of Engineering and Technology
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Absolute value and distance
The absolute value of a real number
is its magnitude, or the distance between
the origin and the point representing the real
number on the real number line.
Exercises No.3:
1. Evaluate | x | / y for
a. x > 0
b. x < 0
2. Evaluate | x/y | for
a. x = 15 and y = -3
b. x = -24 and y = -4
3. Determine the distance of two points from
the given figure.
Algebraic Expressions
One characteristic of algebra is the use of
letters to represent numbers. The letters are
variables, and combinations of letters and
numbers are algebraic expressions. Here
are a few examples of algebraic expressions.
2x, 3x + 5, 2x² – 4 + 16, 5x + 7y
The term algebraic expression are those that
are separated by addition.
Example:
2x² - 8 x + 16 = 2x², (-8 x), 16 = 3 term
16 is called the constant term
2x2 and (-8x) is called variable term
(one with x)
2 and -8 is called coefficient of
variable
Basic Rules of Algebra
There are four arithmetic operations with
real numbers: addition, multiplication,
subtraction, and division, denoted by the
symbols +, x or *, –, and ÷ or /. Of these,
addition and multiplication are the two
primary operations. Subtraction and division
are the inverse operations of addition and
multiplication, respectively.
Because the properties of real
numbers below are true for variables and
algebraic expressions as well as for real
numbers, they are often called the Basic
Rules of Algebra. Try to formulate a verbal
description of each property. For instance,
the first property states that the order in
which two real numbers are added does not
affect their sum.
 Romblon State University
College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department
 Romblon State University
College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department
RECTANGULAR COORDINATES
The Cartesian Plane
Just as you can represent real numbers
by points on a real number line, you can
represent ordered pairs of real numbers by
points in a plane called the rectangular
coordinate system, or the Cartesian plane,
named after the French mathematician René
Descartes (1596–1650). The Cartesian
plane is formed by using two real number
lines intersecting at right angles, as shown in
Figure. The horizontal real number line is
usually called the x-axis, and the vertical real
number line is usually called the y-axis. The
point of intersection of these two axes is the
origin, and the two axes divide the plane into
four parts called quadrants.
Each point in the plane corresponds to
an ordered pair (x, y) of real numbers x and
y, called coordinates of the point. The
xcoordinate represents the directed distance
from the -axis to the point, and the
ycoordinate represents the directed distance
from the -axis to the point, as shown in
Figure. The notation(x,y) denotes both a
point in the plane and an open interval on the
real number line. The context will tell you
which meaning is intended.
The Pythagorean Theorem and the
Distance Formula
The following famous theorem is
used extensively throughout this course.
Pythagorean Theorem
For a right triangle with hypotenuse of
length and sides of lengths a and b you have
as a² + b² = c². (The converse is also true.
That is, if a² + b² = c², then the triangle is a
right triangle.)
Suppose you want to determine the
distance d between two points (x1, y1) and
(x2, y2) in the plane. With these two points, a
right triangle can be formed, as shown in
Figure. The length of the vertical side of the
triangle is and the length of the horizontal
side is lx2 – x1l. By the Pythagorean
Theorem, you can write
This result to the DISTANCE FORMULA
 Romblon State University
College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department

Function -intercept is (0, b). The steepness or slope of

A function f from a set A to a set B is
a relation that assigns to each element x in
the set A exactly one element y in the set B.
The set A is the domain (or set of inputs) of
the function f, and the set B contains the
range (or set of outputs).
the line is
y = mx +b
where m is slope and b is y-intercept
The slope of a non-vertical line is the
number of units the line rises (or falls)
vertically for each unit of horizontal change
from left to right, as shown in Figure. A linear
equation that is written in the form is said to
be written in slope-intercept form.

FOUR WAYS TO REPRESENT A

FUNCTION
1. Verbally by a sentence that describes
how the input variable is related to the
output variable.
2. Numerically by a table or a list of
ordered pairs that matches input
values with output values.
3. Graphically by points on a graph in a
coordinate plane in which the input
values are represented by the
horizontal axis and the output values
are represented by the vertical axis.
4. Algebraically by an equation in two
variables.
THE SLOPE-INTERCEPT FORM OF THE
LINEAR EQUATION IN TWO VARIABLES
EQUATION OF A LINE
Using Slope
The graph of the equation y = mx +b
The simplest mathematical model for is a line whose slope is m and whose y-
relating two variables is the linear equation in intercept is (0, b).
two variables y = mx + b. The equation is
Once you have determined the slope
called linear because its graph is a line. (In
and the y – intercept of a line, it is a relatively
mathematics, the term line means straight
simple matter to sketch its graph. In the next
line.) By letting x = 0 you can see that the line
example, note that none of the lines is
crosses the -axis at y = b. In other words, the
vertical. A vertical line has an equation of the
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College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department

form x = a (vertical line). The equation of a

vertical line cannot be written in the form y =
mx +b because the slope of a vertical line is
undefined, as indicated in Figure.

Finding the Slope of a Line

Given an equation of a line, you can
find its slope by writing the equation in slope-
intercept form. If you are not given an
equation, you can still find the slope of a line.
For instance, suppose you want to find the
slope of the line passing through the points
(x1, y1) and (x2, y2) as shown in Figure. As
you move from left to right along this line, a Exercises No.4:
change of (y2 – y1) units in the vertical
direction corresponds to a change of (x2 – x1) 1. Plot the following function and
units in the horizontal direction. connect the points by a line.
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College of Engineering and Technology
Civil Engineering Department

2. Find the midpoint of the line segment value of x if this line intersects the x-axis
joining the points (-5, -3) and (9,3). from point (6, 4).
3. Find the midpoint of the line segment 4. The slope of a line passing through the
joining the points (-2, -6) and (5,10) centroid is equal to 4/3. One point is at (1,
2). (a) If the centroid of the line is located
4. FedEx Corporation had annual at (4, y) find the value of y. (b) What is the
revenues of $20.6 billion in 2002 and distance of the point to the centroid? (c)
$34.7 billion in 2006. Without Determine the equation of the line.
knowing any additional information,
what would you estimate the 2004
revenue to have been? (Source:
FedEx Corp.)
5. Sketch the graph of the following
equations.
a. y = 7 – 3x
b. y = x² – 2
c. y = x³ – 4x
6. Find the slope of the line passing
through each pair of points.
a. (-2, 0) and (3, 1)
b. (-1, 2) and (2, 2)
c. (0, 4) and (1, -1)
d. (3, 4) and (3, 1)
ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS
1. A line has a parametric equation of x = 4
+ 3t and y = 7 + t. Find the y-intercept of
the line.
2. A line has an equation of x + 5y + 5 = 0.
(a) Find the equation of the line through
point (3, 1) that is perpendicular to this
line. (b) Find the equation of the line
through (3, 1) that is parallel to this line.
3. (a) Find the value of y if a line having a
slope of 4/3 and passing through point (6,
4) intersects the y-axis. (b) What is the
length of the line from point (6, 4) to the
y-axis. (c) Find the