1st Blog

Questions:

-       What is your full name?  Dahlia Mary Mansour

-       Do you have a nickname that you prefer to go by? My friends call me D

-       What is your height in inches? 5’6

-       What time do you generally wake up on any given day? 8am

-       What is your favorite candy? Twix/Sneakers

-       What is your favorite snack food?  Fruit and Protein bars

-       Who is your favorite musical artist/band? Andrea Bocelli, Frank Sinatra, Il Divo,

-       Do you have any hobbies/things you like to do for fun? Hiking, discovering new places and I like shopping.

-       What is your mathematical background? (Not limited to the list below…list other topics if needed)

Basic math        algebra1           algebra2           statistics           probability        trigonometry 

Precalculus       calculus

-       What is your comfort level with any of the following calculus concepts? (E) for not familiar with the topic more than extremely uncomfortable

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)

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

Difference quotient (C)

Limits (U)

Continuity (U)

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

Product and quotient rules for dervatives (U)

Finding local and global maximums and minimums (U)

Determining inflection points (E)

Area under a curve (E)

Anti-derivatives (E)

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

Integration by parts (E)

Integration by substitution (E)

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 (C)

Domain and range (C)

Inverse functions (C)

Transformations (shifting, scaling, stretching, etc)

Quadratic functions (C)

Completing the square (C)

Exponential functions (C)

Logarithmic functions (C)

Base e (E)

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

Trigonometric concepts (C)

-       Have you taken American university’s math 160 (applied precalculus) class? If yes, was your grade a “b” or better? No

-       If you have not taken American university’s math 160 (applied precalculus) class, have you taken a college level (not a college equivalent high school class) equivalent?  If yes, was your grade a “b” or better? No

-       Which social media formats are you familiar with? Facebook but deactivated it 3 years ago and deleted my Twitter account. I use texting only!

Texting      facebook          pinterest           flickr     wordpress         blogspot           tumblr   twitter

google plus      Instagram

-       Which social media formats do you use most frequently? Just texting

Texting      facebook          pinterest           flickr     wordpress         blogspot           tumblr   twitter  

google plus      Instagram

-       What is your major? Computer Science

-       Why are you taking this math class? Requirement for my major

-       Will you take other math classes in the future at American University or will this be your only math class? If yes, which classes will you take? Yes, Either Calculus II or Discrete Math (if it will be offered - it depends on the CS department)

-       What do you hope to learn in this class? I don’t know much about the advance classes of math here in US; so, anything new I will learn in this class will be an educational point for me :-)

-       Is there anything else you would like me to know about you? I’m in my senior year and I’m excited for this class. Also, this is my first time ever doing/posting a blog =)

Thank you!!

Dahlia