Chapter 2
Operating with Real Numbers
IN THIS CHAPTER
Taking a look at the number line
Working with equations and inequalities
Mastering radicals and exponents
If you’re studying pre-calculus, you’ve probably already taken Algebra I and II and survived (whew!). You may also be thinking, “I’m sure glad that’s over; now I can move on to some new stuff.” Although pre-calculus presents many new and wonderful ideas and techniques, these new ideas build on the solid-rock foundation of algebra. A bit of a refresher will help you determine just how sturdy your foundation is.
It’s assumed that you have certain algebra skills down cold, but this book begins by reviewing some of the tougher ones that become the fundamentals of pre-calculus. In this chapter, you find a review of solving inequalities, absolute-value equations and inequalities, and radicals and rational exponents. There’s also an introduction of a new way to express solution sets: interval notation.
Describing Numbers on the Number Line
The number line goes from negative infinity to positive infinity with 0 right in the middle. You can show it with only integers as labels or you can divide up the intervals with fractions or ...
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