Honors Precalculus

All students pursuing honors should expect to find the content and pace of the coursework challenging and should be sure to allot extra time for their studies. The Kolbe Honors (OH) course is recommended for students who have achieved one of the following: a “B” or better in Algebra II/Trig (H) or an “A” in Algebra II (K). All students pursuing honors should expect to find the content and pace of the coursework challenging and should be sure to allot extra time for their studies. The Kolbe Core (OK) Precalculus course is recommended for any student who has successfully completed Algebra II (K) or Algebra II/Trig (H).

Topics covered are as follows:

Unit 1: Algebraic, Exponential, and Logarithmic Functions

1. Functions and Mathematical Models
2. Properties of Elementary Functions
3. Fitting Functions to Data 
4. Polynomial and Rational Functions

Unit 2: Trigonometric and Periodic Functions

1. Periodic Functions and Right Triangle Problems
2. Applications of Trigonometric and Circular Functions
3. Trigonometric Function Properties, Identities, and Parametric Functions
4. Properties of Combined Sinusoids
5. Triangle Trigonometry

Unit 2:  Analytic Geometry

1. Conic Sections and Quadratic Surfaces
2. Polar Coordinates, Complex Numbers, and Moving Objects
3. Three Dimensional Vectors 

Unit 4: Introduction to Discrete and Continuous Mathematics

1. Probability, and Functions of a Random Variable
2. Sequences and Series
3. Introduction to Limits, Derivatives, and Integrals 

Students taking this course for Kolbe Honors (H) credit are expected to complete daily assignments, periodic exams and quizzes as assigned by their parent.  Kolbe Honors (H) students will go into more depth and cover more material than the Kolbe Core (K) students.

Assignment due-dates and some grades are established by the parent.  To receive honors credit with Kolbe Academy, students must submit a number of designated assignments to Kolbe Academy for grading, usually exams and select papers.  The parent- and Kolbe-established grades are averaged to produce the final grade for the honors course. Alternatively, a student may enroll in the Self-Paced Plus© grading assistance program to receive additional grading assistance by a Kolbe Academy faculty or staff member on designated assignments in the course.  In this case, parents may still submit grades for the student to be averaged in with the required Kolbe-graded honors assignments, or they may use the teacher-graded materials only to receive credit.

• Precalculus: Concepts and Applications, Paul A. Foerster
• Home Study Companion for Precalculus: Concepts and Applications, Math Without Borders (This course companion is optional, but recommended. It is listed under the Precalculus “Optional Material” section in the Kolbe Bookstore.)
  

Other required material:

• Graphing Calculator, TI-83 or TI-84

Note that this is the digital version of the homeschool course plan, which is found in the course’s associated Parent Group.  This course plan is built into the Schoology course for the student. 

FoersterPreCalculusSample