Algebra 2 Curriculum
Below are skills needed, with links to resources to help with that skill. We also encourage plenty of exercises and book work. Curriculum Home
Important: this is a guide only.
Check with your local education authority to find out their requirements.
Algebra 2 | Numbers
☐ Perform arithmetic operations (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) with expressions containing irrational numbers in radical form
☐ Perform arithmetic operations on irrational expressions
☐ Rationalize a denominator containing a radical expression
☐ Understand the meaning of algebraic numbers and transcendental numbers.
☐ Investigate advanced concepts of prime numbers and factors, including: Coprimes, Mersenne primes, Perfect numbers, Abundant numbers, Deficient numbers, Amicable numbers, Euclid's proof that the set of prime numbers is endless, and Goldbach's conjecture.
☐ Investigate numbers that are Pythagorean triples.
☐ Be familiar with well-known trancendental numbers, such as e, pi and the Liouville Constant.
☐ Pi
Algebra 2 | Complex Numbers
☐ Write square roots of negative numbers in terms of i, and solve simple equations whose solutions are powers of i
☐ Simplify powers of i
☐ Determine the conjugate of a complex number
☐ Perform arithmetic operations on complex numbers and write the answer in the form "a+bi"
Note: This includes simplifying expressions with complex denominators.
☐ Represent a complex number on the Argand diagram
☐ Know how to calculate the modulus and argument of a complex number, and express a complex number in polar form
Algebra 2 | Measurement
☐ Be familiar with the metric (SI) units used in Mathematics and Physics.
Algebra 2 | Algebra
☐ Solve absolute value equations and inequalities involving linear expressions in one variable
☐ Simplify radical expressions
☐ Perform addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division of radical expressions
☐ Rationalize denominators involving algebraic radical expressions
☐ Perform arithmetic operations on rational expressions and rename to lowest terms
☐ Simplify complex fractional expressions
☐ Solve radical equations
☐ Solve rational equations and inequalities
☐ Understand what is meant by the terms and the degree of a polynomial and the degree of a rational expression.
☐ Understand how mathematical modelling can be used to "model", or represent, how the real world works.
☐ Know how to decompose a rational expression into partial fractions.
☐ Determine whether a given value is a solution to a given radical equation in one variable.
Algebra 2 | Exponents
☐ Analyze and solve verbal problems that involve exponential growth and decay
☐ Rewrite algebraic expressions with fractional exponents as radical expressions
☐ Rewrite algebraic expressions in radical form as expressions with fractional exponents
☐ Evaluate exponential expressions, including those with base e
☐ Solve exponential equations with or without common bases
☐ Graph exponential functions of the form y = bx for positive values of b, including b = e
☐ Solve an application which results in an exponential function
☐ Apply the rules of exponents to simplify expressions involving negative and/or fractional exponents
☐ Rewrite algebraic expressions that contain negative exponents using only positive exponents
☐ Evaluate numerical expressions with negative and/or fractional exponents, without the aid of a calculator (when the answers are rational numbers)
Algebra 2 | Inequalities
☐ Solve quadratic inequalities in one and two variables, algebraically and graphically (includes higher degree - graphically only).
☐ Know open and closed interval notation and how they relate to points on the number line and the solution of inequalities.
☐ Know the properties of inequalities, including the Transitive Property, the Reversal Property, and the Law of Trichotomy.
Algebra 2 | Linear Equations
☐ Solve systems of three linear equations in three variables algebraically, using the substitution method or the elimination method.
Algebra 2 | Quadratic Equations
☐ Use the discriminant to determine the nature of the roots of a quadratic equation
☐ Determine the sum and product of the roots of a quadratic equation by examining its coefficients.
☐ Know and apply the technique of completing the square
☐ Solve quadratic equations, using the quadratic formula
☐ Solve quadratic equations by factoring
☐ Apply quadratic equations to examples from the real world
Algebra 2 | Logarithms
☐ Evaluate logarithmic expressions in any base
☐ Apply the properties of logarithms to rewrite logarithmic expressions in equivalent forms
☐ Solve a logarithmic equation by rewriting as an exponential equation
☐ Graph logarithmic functions, using the inverse of the related exponential function
☐ Understand that Euler's number, e, is the base of the Natural Logarithms and the Natural Exponential Function.
☐ Write a logarithmic expression in exponential form and vice versa
Algebra 2 | Polynomials
☐ Find the solutions to polynomial equations of higher degree that can be solved using factoring and/or the quadratic formula
☐ Approximate the solutions to polynomial equations of higher degree by inspecting the graph
☐ Factor polynomial expressions completely, using any combination of the following techniques: common factor extraction, difference of two perfect squares, quadratic trinomials
☐ Perform arithmetic operations with polynomial expressions containing rational coefficients
☐ Identify and factor the difference of two cubes or the sum of two cubes.
☐ Know and understand the Fundamental Theorem of Algebra.
☐ Divide a polynomial by a monomial or binomial, where the quotient has a remainder. Use Polynomial long division.
☐ Investigate ways to search for all real roots (zeros) of a polynomial expression.
☐ Know the rule of signs for polynomials.
☐ Understand and apply The Remainder Theorem and The Factor Theorem.
☐ Determine the sum and product of the roots of a cubic and higher poynomials by examining its coefficients.
Algebra 2 | Sets
☐ Introduction to groups.
☐ Understand what is meant by a Power Set of a given set, and that the power set for a set with n members has 2n members.
Algebra 2 | Logic
☐ Determine the negation of a statement and establish its truth value
☐ Triplets
☐ Write a proof arguing from a given hypothesis to a given conclusion
☐ Understand the principle of Mathematical Induction as a method of proof.
☐ Understand what is meant by each of the terms: Theorems, Corollaries and Lemmas.
Algebra 2 | Functions
☐ Determine the domain and range of a function from its equation
☐ Write functions in functional notation
☐ Use functional notation to evaluate functions for given values of the domain
☐ Find the composition of functions
☐ Define the inverse of a function
☐ Determine the inverse of a function and use composition to justify the result
☐ Perform transformations with functions and relations: f(x+a), f(x)+a, f(-x), -f(x), af(x)
☐ Determine the domain and range of a function from its graph
☐ Identify relations and functions, using graphs
☐ Introduction to functions
☐ Types of function
☐ Understand the meaning of an asymptote and distinguish between the three types - horizontal asymptote, vertical asymptote and oblique asymptote.
☐ Find the equations of the horizontal, vertical and oblique asymptotes for a rational expression.
☐ Give the correct domain for the composition of two functions.
☐ Recognize the properties, shape and symmetry of the graph of a cubic function.
☐ Understand the difference between Range and Codomain.
☐ Understand that a function can be even, odd or neither even nor odd, and know how to determine whether a given function is even, odd or neither even nor odd.
☐ Define and understand the 'floor', 'ceiling', 'integer' and 'fractional part' functions, and investigate their graphs.
☐ Add, subtract, multiply and divide functions; and find the Domain of the sum, difference, product or quotient respectively.
☐ Understand what is meant by a 'Piecewise' function, how to define the various pieces, and how to determine the domain for such a function.
☐ Write a domain or range of a function using Set Builder notation.
Algebra 2 | Sequences and Sums
☐ Identify an arithmetic or geometric sequence and find the formula for its nth term
☐ Determine the common difference in an arithmetic sequence
☐ Determine the common ratio in a geometric sequence
☐ Determine a specified term of an arithmetic or geometric sequence
☐ Specify terms of a sequence, given its recursive definition
☐ Represent the sum of a series, using sigma notation
☐ Determine the sum of the first n terms of an arithmetic or geometric series
☐ Apply the binomial theorem to expand a binomial and determine a specific term of a binomial expansion
☐ Know and apply sigma notation
☐ Define the Fibonacci sequence and the Golden ratio and investigate the relationship between them.
☐ Know the names of special sequences such as Triangular Numbers, Square Numbers, Cube Numbers, Tetrahedral Numbers and Fibonacci numbers; and how they are generated.
☐ Know the formulae for:
1. The sum of the first n natural numbers.
2. The sum of the squares of the first n natural numbers.
3. The sum of the cubes of the first n natural numbers.
☐ Investigate Pascal's Triangle and its properties; including its relationship to sets of numbers (such as triangular numbers and Fibonacci numbers), and the Binomial coefficients.
☐ Use differences to find the rule for a sequence
Algebra 2 | Vectors
☐ Understand what is meant by a vector
☐ Vectors
☐ Know how to add and subtract vectors, and how to break a vector into two pieces
☐ Vectors
☐ Understand what is meant by the magnitude of a vector and how to multiply a vector by a scalar
☐ Vectors
☐ Calculate the magnitude and direction of a vector from its x and y lengths, or vice versa
☐ Vectors
☐ Understand unit vectors
☐ Vectors
☐ Know the two ways to find the dot product of two vectors (in 2 or 3 dimensions)
☐ Vectors
☐ Know the two ways to find the cross product of two vectors (in 2 or 3 dimensions)
☐ Vectors
Algebra 2 | Matrices
☐ Know how to add and subtract matrices, how to find the negative of a matrix, how to multiply a matrix by a constant, and how to find the transpose of a matrix.
☐ Matrices
☐ Know the conditions under which two matrices can be multiplied, and how to perform the multiplication.
☐ Understand that multiplication of matrices is not commutative.
☐ Know what is meant by an identity matrix.
☐ Evaluate the determinant of a 2 by 2 matrix or a 3 by 3 matrix.
☐ Know the conditions under which a matrix has a multiplicative inverse and what is meant by a singular matrix.
☐ Matrices
☐ Find the inverse of a matrix (if it exists) by swapping around the elements and multiplying by the reciprocal of the determinant.
☐ Matrices
☐ Find the inverse of a matrix (if it exists) using elementary row operations.
☐ Find the inverse of a matrix (if it exists) using Minors, Cofactors and Adjugate.
☐ Solve a system of linear equations using matrices.
☐ Matrices
Algebra 2 | Graphs
☐ Determine the center-radius form for the equation of a circle in standard form
☐ Write the equation of a circle, given its center and a point on the circle
☐ Write the equation of a circle from its graph
☐ Graph and solve compound loci in the coordinate plane
☐ Ellipse
☐ Write the equation of a circle, given its center and radius or given the endpoints of a diameter
☐ Write the equation of a circle, given its graph. Note: The center is an ordered pair of integers and the radius is an integer.
☐ Find the center and radius of a circle, given the equation of the circle in center-radius form
☐ Graph circles of the form (x - h)2 + (y - k)2 = r2
☐ Understand Conic Sections (circle, ellipse, parabola, hyperbola)
☐ Ellipse
☐ Parabola
☐ Circle
☐ Find the x and y intercepts for a graph given its equation.
☐ Investigate various approximate formulae for finding the perimeter of an ellipse, and compare them.
☐ Ellipse
☐ Determine the equation of a curve given some points on the curve.