Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Practice Problems
Paul Dawkins
College Algebra
Table of Contents
Preface ........................................................................................................................................... iii
Outline ........................................................................................................................................... iv
Preliminaries .................................................................................................................................. 6
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................ 6
Integer Exponents ...................................................................................................................................... 6
Rational Exponents .................................................................................................................................... 7
Real Exponents .......................................................................................................................................... 8
Radicals ...................................................................................................................................................... 9
Polynomials...............................................................................................................................................10
Factoring Polynomials ..............................................................................................................................10
Rational Expressions .................................................................................................................................12
Complex Numbers ....................................................................................................................................13
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College Algebra
Systems of Equations................................................................................................................... 40
Introduction ...............................................................................................................................................40
Linear Systems with Two Variables .........................................................................................................41
Linear Systems with Three Variables .......................................................................................................42
Augmented Matrices .................................................................................................................................42
More on the Augmented Matrix ................................................................................................................43
Non-Linear Systems ..................................................................................................................................44
ii
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College Algebra
Preface
Here are a set of practice problems for my Algebra notes. If you are viewing the pdf version of
this document (as opposed to viewing it on the web) this document contains only the problems
themselves and no solutions are included in this document. Solutions can be found in a number
of places on the site.
1. If youd like a pdf document containing the solutions go to the note page for the section
youd like solutions for and select the download solutions link from there. Or,
2. Go to the download page for the site http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/download.aspx and
select the section youd like solutions for and a link will be provided there.
3. If youd like to view the solutions on the web or solutions to an individual problem you
can go to the problem set web page, select the problem you want the solution for. At this
point I do not provide pdf versions of individual solutions, but for a particular problem
you can select Printable View from the Solution Pane Options to get a printable
version.
Note that some sections will have more problems than others and some will have more or less of
a variety of problems. Most sections should have a range of difficulty levels in the problems
although this will vary from section to section.
iii
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College Algebra
Outline
Here is a list of sections for which problems have been written.
Preliminaries
Integer Exponents
Rational Exponents
Real Exponents
Radicals
Polynomials
Factoring Polynomials
Rational Expressions
Complex Numbers
Solving Equations and Inequalities
Solutions and Solution Sets
Linear Equations
Applications of Linear Equations
Equations With More Than One Variable
Quadratic Equations, Part I
Quadratic Equations, Part II
Quadratic Equations : A Summary
Applications of Quadratic Equations
Equations Reducible to Quadratic Form
Equations with Radicals
Linear Inequalities
Polynomial Inequalities
Rational Inequalities
Absolute Value Equations
Absolute Value Inequalities
Graphing and Functions
Graphing
Lines
Circles
The Definition of a Function
Graphing Functions
Combining functions
Inverse Functions
Common Graphs
Lines, Circles and Piecewise Functions
Parabolas
Ellipses
Hyperbolas
Miscellaneous Functions
Transformations
2007 Paul Dawkins
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College Algebra
Symmetry
Rational Functions
Polynomial Functions
Dividing Polynomials
Zeroes/Roots of Polynomials
Graphing Polynomials
Finding Zeroes of Polynomials
Partial Fractions
Exponential and Logarithm Functions
Exponential Functions
Logarithm Functions
Solving Exponential Equations
Solving Logarithm Equations
Applications
Systems of Equations
Linear Systems with Two Variables
Linear Systems with Three Variables
Augmented Matrices
More on the Augmented Matrix
Nonlinear Systems
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College Algebra
Preliminaries
Introduction
Here are a set of practice problems for the Preliminaries chapter of my Algebra notes. If you are
viewing the pdf version of this document (as opposed to viewing it on the web) this document
contains only the problems themselves and no solutions are included in this document. Solutions
can be found in a number of places on the site.
4. If youd like a pdf document containing the solutions go to the note page for the section
youd like solutions for and select the download solutions link from there. Or,
5. Go to the download page for the site http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/download.aspx and
select the section youd like solutions for and a link will be provided there.
6. If youd like to view the solutions on the web or solutions to an individual problem you
can go to the problem set web page, select the problem you want the solution for. At this
point I do not provide pdf versions of individual solutions, but for a particular problem
you can select Printable View from the Solution Pane Options to get a printable
version.
Note that some sections will have more problems than others and some will have more or less of
a variety of problems. Most sections should have a range of difficulty levels in the problems
although this will vary from section to section.
Here is a list of topics in this chapter that have practice problems written for them.
Integer Exponents
Rational Exponents
Real Exponents
Radicals
Polynomials
Factoring Polynomials
Rational Expressions
Complex Numbers
Integer Exponents
For problems 1 4 evaluate the given expression and write the answer as a single number with no
exponents.
1. 62 + 4 32
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College Algebra
2.
( 2 )
(3
3.
+ 22 )
40 22
31 42
4. 21 + 41
For problems 5 9 simplify the given expression and write the answer with only positive
exponents.
5. 2w4 v 5
6.
2x 4 y 1
x 6 y 3
7.
m 2 n 10
m 7 n 3
(2 p )
8.
2 3
( 6q )
q4
p 7
z 2 y 1 x 3
9. 8 6 4
x z y
Rational Exponents
For problems 1 6 evaluate the given expression and write the answer as a single number with no
exponents.
1
1. 36 2
1
2. ( 125 ) 3
3
3. 16 2
4. 27
5
3
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College Algebra
9 2
5.
4
8
6.
343
2
3
For problems 7 10 simplify the given expression and write the answer with only positive
exponents.
2
1
3
7. a 3 b 4
1
4
8. x x
1
5
3 12
q p
9.
1
q 3p
12 13
m n
10. 2
7
n 3 m 4
1
6
Real Exponents
For problems 1 3 simplify the given expression and write the answer with only positive
exponents.
) (y )
1. x 0.1 y 0.3
2. x 0.15
2.4
4 1.8
p 3.2 q 0.7
3. 6.4 1.9
q p
1.5
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College Algebra
Radicals
For problems 1 3 write the expression in exponential form.
1.
2.
x2
3.
ab
w2 v 3
4.
81
6.
512
7.
1000
For problems 8 12 simplify each of the following. Assume that x, y and z are all positive.
8.
x8
9.
8y 3
10.
x 7 y 20 z11
11.
54x 6 y 7 z 2
12.
4 x3 y
8x2 y3 z5
x 43 x
13.
)(
14. 2 x + 1 3 4 x
15.
x +2
x2
)( 4 x )
3
For problems 16 19 rationalize the denominator. Assume that x and y are both positive.
2007 Paul Dawkins
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College Algebra
6
x
16.
17.
4
x +2 y
18.
19.
9
2x
10
35 x
Polynomials
For problems 1 10 perform the indicated operation and identify the degree of the result.
1. Add 4 x 3 2 x 2 + 1 to 7 x 2 + 12 x
2. Subtract 4 z 6 3 z 2 + 2 z from 10 z 6 + 7 z 2 8
3. Subtract 3 x 2 + 7 x + 8 from x 4 + 7 x 3 12 x 1
4. 12 y 3 y 4 7 y 2 + 1
5. ( 3 x + 1) 2 9 x 2
)(
6. w2 + 2 3w2 + w
)(
7. 4 x 6 3 x 4 x 6 + 3 x
8. 3 10 4 y 3
)(
9. x 2 + x 2 3 x 2 8 x 7
10. Subtract 3 x 2 + 1
from 6 x 3 9 x 2 13 x 4
Factoring Polynomials
For problems 1 4 factor out the greatest common factor from each polynomial.
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College Algebra
1. 6 x 7 + 3 x 4 9 x 3
2. a 3b8 7 a10b 4 + 2a 5b 2
3. 2 x x 2 + 1 16 x 2 + 1
2
4. x ( 2 6 x ) + 4 x ( 4 12 x )
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College Algebra
Rational Expressions
For problems 1 3 reduce each of the following to lowest terms.
1.
x2 6x 7
x 2 10 x + 21
2.
x2 + 6 x + 9
x2 9
3.
2 x 2 x 28
20 x x 2
For problems 4 7 perform the indicated operation and reduce the answer to lowest terms.
4.
x 2 + 5 x 24 x 2 + 4 x + 4
2
x2 + 6x + 8
x 3x
5.
x 2 49
x 2 x 42
2 x 2 3x 5 x 2 + 7 x + 6
6.
x2 2x 8
x 2 9 x + 20
2 x 2 8 x 24 x 2 11x + 30
3
x +1
7.
x+4
x 2 + 11x + 10
For problems 8 12 perform the indicated operations.
8.
3
x
+
x 4 2x + 7
9.
2
1
2
4+
2
3x 9 x
x+4
10.
x
x 8
x + 12 x + 36 x + 6
11.
1
x +1
x2
+
x 2 13 x + 42 x 6 x 7
12
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College Algebra
12.
x + 10
( 3x + 8)
( 3x + 8)
Complex Numbers
Perform the indicated operation and write your answer in standard form.
1. ( 4 5i )(12 + 11i )
2. ( 3 i ) ( 6 7i )
3. (1 + 4i ) ( 16 + 9i )
4. 8i (10 + 2i )
5. ( 3 9i )(1 + 10i )
6. ( 2 + 7i )( 8 + 3i )
7.
7i
2 + 10i
8.
1 + 5i
3i
9.
6 + 7i
8i
13
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College Algebra
7. If youd like a pdf document containing the solutions go to the note page for the section
youd like solutions for and select the download solutions link from there. Or,
8. Go to the download page for the site http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/download.aspx and
select the section youd like solutions for and a link will be provided there.
9. If youd like to view the solutions on the web or solutions to an individual problem you
can go to the problem set web page, select the problem you want the solution for. At this
point I do not provide pdf versions of individual solutions, but for a particular problem
you can select Printable View from the Solution Pane Options to get a printable
version.
Note that some sections will have more problems than others and some will have more or less of
a variety of problems. Most sections should have a range of difficulty levels in the problems
although this will vary from section to section.
Here is a list of topics in this chapter that have practice problems written for them.
Solutions and Solution Sets
Linear Equations
Applications of Linear Equations
Equations With More Than One Variable
Quadratic Equations, Part I
Quadratic Equations, Part II
Quadratic Equations : A Summary
Applications of Quadratic Equations
Equations Reducible to Quadratic Form
Equations with Radicals
Linear Inequalities
Polynomial Inequalities
Rational Inequalities
Absolute Value Equations
Absolute Value Inequalities
w2 + 8w + 12
4. Is w = 2 a solution to
= 0?
w+2
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College Algebra
5. Is z = 4 a solution to 6 z z 2 z 2 + 3 ?
6. Is y = 0 a solution to 2 ( y + 7 ) 1 < 4 ( y + 1) + 3 ( 4 y + 10 ) ?
7. Is x = 1 a solution to ( x + 1) > 3 x + 1 ?
2
Linear Equations
Solve each of the following equations and check your answer.
1. 4 x 7 ( 2 x ) = 3 x + 2
2. 2 ( w + 3) 10= 6 ( 32 3w )
3.
4 2 z 3 5z
=
3
4 6
4.
4t
1
=
t 25 5 t
5.
3y + 4
7
= 2+
y 1
y 1
6.
5x
6
5
+
=
3x 3 x + 2 3
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College Algebra
5. A pump can empty a pool in 7 hours and a different pump can empty the same pool in 12
hours. How long does it take for both pumps working together to empty the pool?
6. John can paint a house in 28 hours. John and Dave can paint the house in 17 hours working
together. How long would it take Dave to paint the house by himself?
7. How much of a 20% acid solution should we add to 20 gallons of a 42% acid solution to get a
35% acid solution?
8. We need 100 liters of a 25% saline solution and we only have a 14% solution and a 60%
solution. How much of each should we mix together to get the 100 liters of the 25% solution?
9. We want to fence in a field whose length is twice the width and we have 80 feet of fencing
material. If we use all the fencing material what would the dimensions of the field be?
1. Solve
=
E 3v 4
2
for r.
r
2. Solve Q =
6h
+ 4 (1 h ) for s.
7s
3. Solve Q =
6h
+ 4 (1 h ) for h.
7s
4. Solve A
1 2t 4 + 3t
= for t.
4p
5p
5. Solve y =
10
for x.
3 7x
6. Solve y =
3+ x
for x.
12 9 x
16
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College Algebra
3. =
y 2 11 y 28
4. 19 x= 7 6 x 2
5. 6 w2 w =
5
6. z 2 16 z + 61 = 2 z 20
7. 12 x 2 = 25 x
For problems 8 & 9 use factoring to solve the equation.
8. x 4 2 x 3 3 x 2 =
0
9. t 5 = 9t 3
For problems 10 12 use factoring to solve the equation.
w2 10
10.
+ w4 = w3
w+2
11.
4z 5 6z + 5
+ =
z +1 z z2 + z
12. x=
+1
2 x 7 5x + 8
x+5
x+5
For problems 13 16 use the Square Root Property to solve the equation.
13. 9u 2 16 =
0
14. x 2 + 15 =
0
15. ( z 2 ) 36 =
0
2
16. ( 6t + 1) + 3 =
0
2
17
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College Algebra
2. u 2 11u
3. 2 z 2 12 z
For problems 4 8 solve the quadratic equation by completing the square.
4. t 2 10t + 34 =
0
5. v 2 + 8v 9 =
0
6. x 2 + 9 x + 16 =
0
7. 4u 2 8u + 5 =
0
8. 2 x 2 + 5 x + 3 =
0
For problems 9 13 use the quadratic formula to solve the quadratic equation.
9. x 2 6 x + 4 =
0
10. 9 w2 6 w =
101
11. 8u 2 + 5u + 70 =5 7u
12. 169 20t + 4t 2 =
0
13. 2 z 2 + z 72 = z 2 2 z + 58
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College Algebra
1. The width of a rectangle is 1 m less than twice the length. If the area of the rectangle is 100 m2
what are the dimensions of the rectangle?
2. Two cars start out at the same spot. One car starts to drive north at 40 mph and 3 hours later
the second car starts driving to the east at 60 mph. How long after the first car starts driving does
it take for the two cars to be 500 miles apart?
3. Two people can paint a house in 14 hours. Working individually one of the people takes 2
hours more than it takes the other person to paint the house. How long would it take each person
working individually to paint the house?
3. 4 x 3 + 21x 3 + 27 =
0
4. x8 6 x 4 + 7 =
0
5.
2 17
+ + 21 =
0
x2 x
6.
1 11
+ 18 =
0
x
x
x+3
33 2 x =x + 1
3. 7 =
39 + 3x x
4. x =
1+ 2x 2
5. 1 + 1 x=
2x + 4
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College Algebra
Linear Inequalities
For problems 1 6 solve each of the following inequalities. Give the solution in both inequality
and interval notations.
1. 4 ( z + 2 ) 1 > 5 7 ( 4 z )
2.
1
1 1
1
( 3 + 4t ) 6 t ( 2 + 10t )
2
3 2 4
3. 1 < 4 x + 2 < 10
4. 8 3 5 z < 12
5. 0 10 w 15 23
6. 2 <
1 1
x4
6 2
Polynomial Inequalities
Solve each of the following inequalities.
1. u 2 + 4u 21
2. x 2 + 8 x + 12 < 0
3. 4t 2 15 17t
4. z 2 + 34 > 12 z
5. y 2 2 y + 1 0
6. t 4 + t 3 12t 2 < 0
Rational Inequalities
Solve each of the following inequalities.
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College Algebra
1.
4 x
>0
x+3
2.
2z 5
0
z 7
3.
w2 + 5w 6
0
w3
4.
3x + 8
< 2
x 1
5. u
4
u 3
t 3 6t 2
6.
>0
t 2
3
1. 4 p 7 =
1
2. 2 4 x =
3. 6u= 1 + 3u
4. 2 x 3 = 4 x
5.
1
z + 4 = 4z 6
2
For problems 6 & 7 find all the real valued solutions to the equation.
6. x 2 + 2 x =
15
7. x 2 + 4 =
1
21
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College Algebra
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College Algebra
Here is a list of topics in this chapter that have practice problems written for them.
Graphing
Lines
Circles
The Definition of a Function
Graphing Functions
Combining functions
Inverse Functions
.
Graphing
For problems 1 3 construct a table of at least 4 ordered pairs of points on the graph of the
equation and use the ordered pairs from the table to sketch the graph of the equation.
1. =
y 3x + 4
2. y = 1 x 2
3. y= 2 + x
For problems 4 9 determine the x-intercepts and y-intercepts for the equation. Do not sketch the
graph.
4. 3 x 7 y =
10
5. y= 6 x 2
6. y = x 2 + 6 x 7
7. =
y x 2 + 10
8. y = x 2 + 6 x + 58
9. y =( x + 3) 8
2
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College Algebra
Lines
For problems 1 & 2 determine the slope of the line containing the two points and sketch the graph
of the line.
1. ( 2, 4 ) , (1,10 )
2. ( 8, 2 ) , (14, 7 )
For problems 3 5 write down the equation of the line that passes through the two points. Give
your answer in point-slope form and slope-intercept form.
3. ( 2, 4 ) , (1,10 )
4. ( 8, 2 ) , (14, 7 )
5. ( 4,8 ) , ( 1, 20 )
For problems 6 & 7 determine the slope of the line and sketch the graph of the line.
6. 4 y + x =
8
7. 5 x 2 y =
6
For problems 8 & 9 determine if the two given lines are parallel, perpendicular or neither.
8. =
y
3
x + 1 and 3 y + 7 x =
10
7
Circles
1. Write the equation of the circle with radius 3 and center ( 6, 0 ) .
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College Algebra
7 and center ( 1, 9 ) .
For problems 3 5 determine the radius and center of the circle and sketch the graph of the circle.
3. ( x 9 ) + ( y + 4 ) =
25
2
4. x 2 + ( y 5 ) =
4
2
5. ( x + 1) + ( y + 3) =
6
2
For problems 6 8 determine the radius and center of the circle. If the equation is not the
equation of a circle clearly explain why not.
6. x 2 + y 2 + 14 x 8 y + 56 =
0
7. 9 x 2 + 9 y 2 6 x 36 y 107 =
0
8. x 2 + y 2 + 8 x + 20 =
0
{( 2, 4 ) , ( 3, 7 ) , ( 6,10 )}
2.
{( 1,8) , ( 4, 7 ) , ( 1, 6 ) , ( 0, 0 )}
3.
1
x
3
3x 2 + 1
6. y 4 x 2 =
16
2
7. Given f ( x )= 3 2 x determine each of the following.
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College Algebra
(a) f ( 0 )
(b) f ( 2 )
(c) f ( 4 )
(d) f ( 3t )
(e) f ( x + 2 )
4
determine each of the following.
w +1
(b) g ( 2 ) (c) g ( 0 ) (d) g ( t 1) (e) g ( 4 w + 3)
8. Given g ( w ) =
(a) g ( 6 )
9. Given h ( t =
) t 2 + 6 determine each of the following.
(a) h ( 0 )
(b) h ( 2 )
3 z
2
1 + z
10. Given h ( z ) =
(a) h ( 0 )
(b) h ( 2 )
(c) h ( 2 )
if z < 2
if z 2
(d) h
( x)
(e) h ( 3 t )
(c) h ( 7 )
if x 9
6
(b) f ( 2 )
(a) f ( 4 )
(c) f ( 6 )
(d) f ( 9 )
(e) f (12 )
For problems 12 & 13 compute the difference quotient for the given function. The difference
quotient for the function f ( x ) is defined to be,
f ( x + h) f ( x)
h
12. f ( x )= 4 9 x
x ) 2x2 x
13. f (=
For problems 14 18 determine the domain of the function.
14. A ( x=
) 6 x + 14
15. f ( x ) =
1
x 25
2
16. g ( t ) =
8t 24
t 7t 18
w)
17. g (=
9w + 7
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College Algebra
18. f ( x ) =
1
x 8 x + 15
2
Graphing Functions
For problems 1 5 construct a table of at least 4 ordered pairs of points on the graph of the
function and use the ordered pairs from the table to sketch the graph of the function.
1. f ( x=
) x2 2
2. f ( x=
)
x +1
3. f ( x ) = 9
10 2 x if x < 2
2
x + 2 if x 2
4. f ( x ) =
5 + x
=
5. f ( x ) 2
1 x 2
if x 1
if 2 x < 1
if x < 2
Combining Functions
1. Given f ( x=
) 6 x + 2 and g ( x=) 10 7 x compute each of the following.
(a)
( f g )( 2 )
(b) ( g f
)( 2 )
f
( x)
g
(d)
(c) f g
2
2
2. Given P ( t ) = 4t + 3t 1 and A ( t )= 2 t compute each of the following.
(a) ( P + A )( t )
(b) A P
(c) ( PA )( t )
P
( 2 )
A
(d)
3. Given h ( z=
) 7 z + 6 and f ( z )= 4 z compute each of the following.
(a)
( f h )( z )
(b)
( f h )( z )
(c) ( h f
)( z )
(d) ( h h )( z )
2
2
4. Given f ( x ) = 6 x and g ( x ) = x + 3 x 1 compute each of the following.
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College Algebra
(a) ( g f
)( x )
(b)
5. Given R ( t=
)
( f g )( x )
t 2 and A ( t )=
(a) ( R A )( t )
(c) ( g f
(t + 2)
)( x )
(d)
( f f )( x )
(b) ( A R )( t )
Inverse Functions
1
1. Given h ( x )= 5 9 x find h ( x ) .
1
x + 7 find g 1 ( x ) .
2
2. Given g ( =
x)
3. Given f ( x ) =( x 2 ) + 1 find f 1 ( x ) .
3
2 x + 11 find A1 ( x ) .
4. Given A =
( x)
5. Given f ( x ) =
4x
find f 1 ( x ) .
5 x
6. Given h ( x ) =
1+ 2x
1
find h ( x ) .
7+ x
Common Graphs
Introduction
Here are a set of practice problems for the Common Graphs chapter of my Algebra notes. If you
are viewing the pdf version of this document (as opposed to viewing it on the web) this document
contains only the problems themselves and no solutions are included in this document. Solutions
can be found in a number of places on the site.
13. If youd like a pdf document containing the solutions go to the note page for the section
youd like solutions for and select the download solutions link from there. Or,
14. Go to the download page for the site http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/download.aspx and
select the section youd like solutions for and a link will be provided there.
15. If youd like to view the solutions on the web or solutions to an individual problem you
can go to the problem set web page, select the problem you want the solution for. At this
2007 Paul Dawkins
28
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College Algebra
point I do not provide pdf versions of individual solutions, but for a particular problem
you can select Printable View from the Solution Pane Options to get a printable
version.
Note that some sections will have more problems than others and some will have more or less of
a variety of problems. Most sections should have a range of difficulty levels in the problems
although this will vary from section to section.
Here is a list of topics in this chapter that have practice problems written for them.
Lines, Circles and Piecewise Functions
Parabolas
Ellipses
Hyperbolas
Miscellaneous Functions
Transformations
Symmetry
Rational Functions
Parabolas
For problems 1 7 sketch the graph of the following parabolas. The graph should contain the
vertex, the y-intercept, x-intercepts (if any) and at least one point on either side of the vertex.
1. f ( x ) =( x + 4 ) 3
2
2. f ( x ) = 5 ( x 1) 20
2
x ) 3x 2 + 7
3. f (=
2
4. f ( x ) =x + 12 x + 11
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5. f ( x ) = 2 x 2 12 x + 26
2
6. f ( x ) = 4 x 4 x + 1
3 x 2 + 6 x + 3
7. f ( x ) =
For problems 8 10 convert the following equations into the form y = a ( x h ) + k .
2
2
8. f ( x ) =x 24 x + 157
2
9. f ( x ) = 6 x + 12 x + 3
x 2 8 x 18
10. f ( x ) =
Ellipses
For problems 1 3 sketch the ellipse.
1.
( x + 3)
2. x
( y 5)
+
9
2
( y 1)
+
4
3. 4 ( x + 2 )
=
1
=
1
( y + 4)
+
4
=
1
For problems 4 & 5 complete the square on the x and y portions of the equation and write the
equation into the standard form of the equation of the ellipse.
4. x 2 + 8 x + 3 y 2 6 y + 7 =
0
5. 9 x 2 + 126 x + 4 y 2 32 y + 469 =
0
Hyperbolas
For problems 1 3 sketch the hyperbola.
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y2 ( x 2)
1.
=
1
16
9
2
2.
( x + 3)
( y 1)
3. 3 ( x 1)
=
1
( y + 1)
=
1
For problems 4 & 5 complete the square on the x and y portions of the equation and write the
equation into the standard form of the equation of the hyperbola.
4. 4 x 2 32 x y 2 4 y + 24 =
0
5. 25 y 2 + 250 y 16 x 2 32 x + 209 =
0
Miscellaneous Functions
The sole purpose of this section was to get you familiar with the basic shape of some
miscellaneous functions for the next section. As such there are no problems for this section. You
will see quite a few problems utilizing these functions in the Transformations section.
Transformations
Use transformations to sketch the graph of the following functions.
1. f ( =
x)
x +4
2. f ( x=
) x3 2
3. f ( x )=
x+2
4. f ( x=
)
( x 5)
3
5. f ( x ) = x
6. f ( x ) =
x + 4 3
7. f ( x ) = x 7 + 2
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Symmetry
Determine the symmetry of each of the following equations.
1.=
x 4 y6 y2
2.
y2
x2
= 1+
4
9
3. x 2 = 7 y x 3 + 2
4. y = 4 x 2 + x 6 x8
5. =
y 7 x + 4 x5
Rational Functions
Sketch the graph of each of the following functions. Clearly identify all intercepts and
asymptotes.
1. f ( x ) =
4
x2
2. f ( x ) =
6 2x
1 x
3. f ( x ) =
8
x + x6
4. f ( x ) =
4 x 2 36
x2 2 x 8
Polynomial Functions
Introduction
Here are a set of practice problems for the Polynomial Functions chapter of my Algebra notes. If
you are viewing the pdf version of this document (as opposed to viewing it on the web) this
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College Algebra
document contains only the problems themselves and no solutions are included in this document.
Solutions can be found in a number of places on the site.
16. If youd like a pdf document containing the solutions go to the note page for the section
youd like solutions for and select the download solutions link from there. Or,
17. Go to the download page for the site http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/download.aspx and
select the section youd like solutions for and a link will be provided there.
18. If youd like to view the solutions on the web or solutions to an individual problem you
can go to the problem set web page, select the problem you want the solution for. At this
point I do not provide pdf versions of individual solutions, but for a particular problem
you can select Printable View from the Solution Pane Options to get a printable
version.
Note that some sections will have more problems than others and some will have more or less of
a variety of problems. Most sections should have a range of difficulty levels in the problems
although this will vary from section to section.
Here is a list of topics in this chapter that have practice problems written for them.
Dividing Polynomials
Zeroes/Roots of Polynomials
Graphing Polynomials
Finding Zeroes of Polynomials
Partial Fractions
Dividing Polynomials
For problems 1 3 use long division to perform the indicated division.
1. Divide 3 x 4 5 x 2 + 3 by x + 2
2. Divide x 3 + 2 x 2 3 x + 4 by x 7
3. Divide 2 x 5 + x 4 6 x + 9 by x 2 3 x + 1
For problems 4 6 use synthetic division to perform the indicated division.
4. Divide x 3 + x 2 + x + 1 by x + 9
5. Divide 7 x 3 1 by x + 2
6. Divide 5 x 4 + x 2 8 x + 2 by x 4
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Zeroes/Roots of Polynomials
For problems 1 3 list all of the zeros of the polynomial and give their multiplicities.
1. f ( x ) = 2 x 2 + 13 x 7
2. g ( x ) = x 6 3 x 5 6 x 4 + 10 x 3 + 21x 2 + 9 x = x ( x 3)
3.
( x + 1)
For problems 4 6 x = r is a root of the given polynomial. Find the other two roots and write
the polynomial in fully factored form.
3
2
4. P ( x ) =x 6 x 16 x ; r = 2
3
2
5. P ( x ) = x 7 x 6 x + 72 ; r = 4
3
2
6. P ( x ) = 3 x + 16 x 33 x + 14 ; r = 7
Graphing Polynomials
Sketch the graph of each of the following polynomials.
3
2
1. f ( x ) =x 2 x 24 x
2. g ( x ) = x 3 + 3 x 2 = ( x 1)
( x + 2)
3. h ( x ) = x 4 + x 3 12 x 2 + 4 x + 16 = ( x 2 )
4. P ( x ) =
x 5 12 x 3 16 x 2 =
x2 ( x + 2)
( x + 1)( x + 4 )
( x 4)
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2. P ( x ) = x 4 3 x 3 5 x 2 + 3 x + 4
4
3
2
3. A ( x ) = 2 x 7 x 2 x + 28 x 24
5
4
3
2
4. g ( x ) = 8 x + 36 x + 46 x + 7 x 12 x 4
Partial Fractions
Determine the partial fraction decomposition of each of the following expressions.
1.
17 x 53
x 2 x 15
2.
34 12 x
3 x 2 10 x 8
3.
125 + 4 x 9 x 2
( x 1)( x + 3)( x + 4 )
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10 x + 35
( x + 4)
6x + 5
( 2 x 1)
7 x 2 17 x + 38
( x + 6 )( x 1)
4 x 2 22 x + 7
( 2 x + 3)( x 2 )
3 x 2 + 7 x + 28
x ( x2 + x + 7 )
4 x3 + 16 x + 7
(x
+ 4)
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College Algebra
Exponential Functions
x
1. Given the function f ( x ) = 4 evaluate each of the following.
(a) f ( 2 )
(b) f ( 12 )
(c) f ( 0 )
(d) f (1)
(e) f
( 32 )
(a) f ( 3)
(b) f ( 1)
(c) f ( 0 )
(d) f ( 2 )
(e) f ( 3)
x +1
(c) g ( x ) = 6
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College Algebra
x
4. Sketch the graph of f ( x ) = e .
x ) e x 3 + 6 .
5. Sketch the graph of f (=
Logarithm Functions
For problems 1 3 write the expression in logarithmic form.
1. 75 = 16807
3
2. 16 4 = 8
2
1
3. = 9
3
For problems 4 6 write the expression in exponential form.
4. log 2 32 = 5
5. log 1
1
625
6. log 9
1
81
=4
= 2
For problems 7 - 12 determine the exact value of each of the following without using a calculator.
7. log 3 81
8. log 5 125
9. log 2
1
8
10. log 1 16
4
11. ln e 4
12. log
1
100
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College Algebra
13. log 3x 4 y 7
14. ln x y 2 + z 2
x4
2 5
y z
15. log 4
For problems 16 18 combine each of the following into a single logarithm with a coefficient of
one.
16. 2 log 4 x + 5log 4 y
1
log 4 z
2
17. 3ln ( t + 5 ) 4 ln t 2 ln ( s 1)
18.
1
log a 6 log b + 2
3
For problems 19 & 20 use the change of base formula and a calculator to find the value of each of
the following.
19. log12 35
20. log 2 53
3
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3. 8 x = 83 x +10
4. 7 4 x = 7 4 x
5. 23 x = 10
6. 71 x = 43 x +1
7. 9 = 104+ 6 x
8. e7 + 2 x 3 =
0
9. e 47 x + 11 =
20
1. log 4 x 2 2=
x log 4 ( 5 x 12 )
log ( 3)
2. log ( 6 x ) log ( 4 x ) =
3. ln ( x ) + ln ( x + 3=
) ln ( 20 5 x )
4. log 3 25 x 2 =
2
3
5. log 2 ( x + 1) log 2 ( 2 x ) =
2
6. log 4 ( x ) + log 4 ( 6 x ) =
2 log ( x 21)
7. log ( x ) =
8. ln ( x 1) =1 + ln ( 3 x + 2 )
0
9. 2 log ( x ) log ( 7 x 1) =
Applications
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1. We have $10,000 to invest for 44 months. How much money will we have if we put the
money into an account that has an annual interest rate of 5.5% and interest is compounded
(a) quarterly
(b) monthly
(c) continuously
2. We are starting with $5000 and were going to put it into an account that earns an annual
interest rate of 12%. How long should we leave the money in the account in order to double our
money if interest is compounded
(a) quarterly
(b) monthly
(c) continuously
3. A population of bacteria initially has 250 present and in 5 days there will be 1600 bacteria
present.
(a) Determine the exponential growth equation for this population.
(b) How long will it take for the population to grow from its initial population of 250 to
a population of 2000?
4. We initially have 100 grams of a radioactive element and in 1250 years there will be 80 grams
left.
(a) Determine the exponential decay equation for this element.
(b) How long will it take for half of the element to decay?
(c) How long will it take until there is only 1 gram of the element left?
Systems of Equations
Introduction
Here are a set of practice problems for the Systems of Equations chapter of my Algebra notes. If
you are viewing the pdf version of this document (as opposed to viewing it on the web) this
document contains only the problems themselves and no solutions are included in this document.
Solutions can be found in a number of places on the site.
22. If youd like a pdf document containing the solutions go to the note page for the section
youd like solutions for and select the download solutions link from there. Or,
23. Go to the download page for the site http://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/download.aspx and
select the section youd like solutions for and a link will be provided there.
24. If youd like to view the solutions on the web or solutions to an individual problem you
can go to the problem set web page, select the problem you want the solution for. At this
point I do not provide pdf versions of individual solutions, but for a particular problem
you can select Printable View from the Solution Pane Options to get a printable
version.
40
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College Algebra
Note that some sections will have more problems than others and some will have more or less of
a variety of problems. Most sections should have a range of difficulty levels in the problems
although this will vary from section to section.
Here is a list of topics in this chapter that have practice problems written for them.
Linear Systems with Two Variables
Linear Systems with Three Variables
Augmented Matrices
More on the Augmented Matrix
Nonlinear Systems
18
5x + 2 y =
2.
7x 8y =
12
4 x + 2 y =
3
3.
3x + 9 y =
6
8
4 x 12 y =
For problems 4 6 use the Method of Elimination to find the solution to the given system or to determine
if the system is inconsistent or dependent.
4.
6x 5 y =
8
12 x + 2 y =
0
5. 2 x + 10 y =
2
5 x 25 y =
3
6. 2 x + 3 y =
20
7x + 2 y =
53
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College Algebra
3x 2 y + 4 z =
17
6 x + y 7 z =12
2.
3x 9 z =
33
7 x 4 y z =15
4 x + 6 y + 5z =
6
Augmented Matrices
1. For the following augmented matrix perform the indicated elementary row operations.
4 1 3 5
0 2 5 9
6 1 3 10
(a) 8R1
(b) R 2 R 3
(c) R 2 + 3R1 R 2
2. For the following augmented matrix perform the indicated elementary row operations.
1 6 2 0
2 8 10 4
3 4 1 2
(a)
1
R2
2
(b) R1 R 3
(c) R1 6 R 3 R1
3. For the following augmented matrix perform the indicated elementary row operations.
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10 1 5 1
4 0 7 1
0 7 2 3
(a) 9R 3
(b) R1 R 2
(c) R 3 R1 R 3
Note : Problems using augmented matrices to solve systems of equations are in the next section.
5x + 2 y =
18
2.
12
7x 8y =
4 x + 2 y =
3
3.
6
3x + 9 y =
4 x 12 y =
8
4.
6x 5 y =
8
0
12 x + 2 y =
5.
5 x 25 y =
3
2
2 x + 10 y =
6. 2 x + 3 y =
20
7x + 2 y =
53
7. 2 x + 5 y + 2 z =
38
3x 2 y + 4 z =
17
6 x + y 7 z =12
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3x 9 z =
33
8.
7 x 4 y z =15
4 x + 6 y + 5z =
6
Non-Linear Systems
Find the solution to each of the following system of equations.
1. y = x 2 + 6 x 8
=
y 4x + 7
2. y = 1 3 x
x2
+ y2 =
1
4
xy = 4
3.
2
x
y2
+
=
1
4 25
4. y = 1 2 x 2
x2
y2
=
1
9
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