Blog Post #1 Getting to Know Me

Questions: 

1.     Hello, my name is Sara Pierson.

2.     I do not have a nickname since my name is already short.

3.     61 inches

4.     19 years young

5.     9:45 am, but if I am sleeping late any time before 10:59am (if I sleep past 11, I feel like I woke up too late and wasted a good portion of my morning—hence the 10:59 is fine).

6.     My favorite candy is Reese’s peanut butter cups

7.     My favorite snack food is cheese sticks.

8.     My favorite artists are Imagine Dragons and Ellie Goulding (it’s a tie).

9.     For fun, I really enjoy baking. I am obsessed with Paris ever since I visited a few summers ago. Mixing my two passions for baking and Paris, I really enjoy making French macaroons.

10.  I have taken alegebra1, geometry, algebra 2, and pre-calculus in high school. In college, I took pre-calculus and statistics.

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

I would say I am comfortable (C)

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

I am comfortable (C)

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 (C)

Instantaneous rate of change (C/U)

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

Difference quotient (U)

Limits (U)

Continuity (U)

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

Product and quotient rules for derivatives (U)

Finding local and global maximums and minimums (C)

Determining inflection points  (U)

Area under a curve (C)

Anti-derivatives (U)

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

Integration by parts (C)

Integration by substitution (C)

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 (C)

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 (C)

Operations involving whole number exponent expressions (C)

Finding common denominators (C)

Inequalities (C)

Functions (C)

Absolute value (C)

Linear functions (C)

Systems of equations

Domain and range (C/U)

Inverse functions (C)

Transformations (shifting, scaling, stretching, etc) (C)

Quadratic functions (C/U)

Completing the square (C)

Exponential functions (C)

Logarithmic functions (C)

Base e (C)

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

Trigonometric concepts (C)

15.  No, I did not take applied pre-calculus

16.  Yes, I did take an American University’s math 170 (precalculus mathematics class) and I received an A.

17.  (took university course)

18.  Which social media formats are you familiar with?

I am familiar with texting, Facebook, pinterest, google plus, wordpress, and blogspot. I know of instagram and snapchat, but I do not participate.

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

I use texting the most often. I like to text friends, families, and colleagues, as it is one of the fastest and easiest way to communicate. I do have a Facebook, but I do not use it that often. I have been progressing to be on Facebook only twice a day and I do not typically participate in posting—typically just use it to message people; mostly classmates.

20.  My major is Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and Entrepreneurship.

21.  I am taking this math course because it is a requirement for my major.

22.  This will be last math course at American University.

23.  I hope to learn techniques and tools to assist me in learning calculus so that I may have knowledge to help me with my future endeavors.

24.  Is there anything else you would like me to know about you? None, except I am looking forward to this semester!