Computing with Radicals

We spent about half of the period graphing last night's homework on the handheld computers. Students discovered patterns that existed as the basic equation was altered. Adding or subtracting under the radical sign will cause the graph of the function to move right or left along the x-axis, while adding or subtracting outside of the radical sign results in the graph of the function to move up or down the y-axis. None of our graphs have entered into quadrant III . . . yet.

We switched gears and learned how to add and subtract radical expressions. This is similar to adding variable expressions, but one must be aware that certain radical expressions might need to be reduced before being combined.

Tonight's Homework: Complete the worksheet labeled "P, 31"