Course title
MAT415/416Pre-requisite
Algebra II or Algebra IC/DCourse description
This course is designed to help students with decision-making skills they will apply and use to become wise and knowledgeable: consumers; savers; investors; users of credit; money managers; citizens; and members of a global workforce and society. Students will be exposed to: budgets; insurance plans; retirement plans; savings and investing plans; various forms of income; income withholdings; use of credit; finance charges; interest; late fees; calculations of loan repayments; stocks; bonds; real estate and pyramid schemes. This class is designed to cover the state standards and meet the 4th year math requirement. A scientific calculator is recommended.
Course rationale: This course is an alternative 4th math credit. It is designed for those students who are not prepared for College Ready Math; Honors Precalculus or AP Statistics and for those students who want to be financially literate. The course covers the CWR standards involving finance that were adopted by the state in 2008. The course will be “hands-on” involving techniques such as problem solving; reasoning; simulation and direct application of the concepts.
List of Standards:
All standards are College Work Readiness (CWR)
Strand 3: Patterns; Algebra; and Functions
Concept 4: Analysis of Change
PO 1. Analyze and describe how a change in an independent variable leads to a change in a dependent variable.
PO 2. Identify patterns in a function’s rate of change; including intervals of increase; decrease; and constancy; if possible; relate them to the function’s verbal description or its graph.
PO 3. Analyze change in various contexts by modeling and solving word problems using functions and equations.
PO 5. Solve problems involving compound interest. This includes using logarithmic functions to find the time it takes for an investment to double; triple etc and what rate it would take.
PO 6. Demonstrate the relationship between
• simple interest and linear growth
• compound interest and exponential growth.
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PO 7. Determine the total cost of purchasing consumer durables over time given different down payments; financing options; and fees.
PO 8. Apply a variety of strategies to use tax tables and determine; calculate; and complete yearly federal income tax.
PO 9. Develop a personal budget including debit; checking; and savings accounts by interpreting multiple personal budget examples.
PO 10. Determine an effective retirement savings plan to meet personal financial goals including IRAs; ROTH accounts; and annuities.
PO 11. Compare and contrast the role of insurance as a device to mitigate risk and calculate expenses of various options.
Strand 5: Structure and Logic (Taught throughout all courses)
Concept 1: Algorithms and Algorithmic Thinking
PO 1. Use a variety of approaches (inductive and deductive reasoning; estimations; generalizations; formal and informal methods of proof) to analyze algorithms.
Strand 5: Structure and Logic
Concept 2: Logic; Reasoning; Problem Solving; and Proof
PO 1. Analyze a problem situation; determine the question(s) to be answered; organize given information; determine how to represent the problem; and identify implicit and explicit assumptions that have been made.
PO 2. Solve problems by using theorems; formulating one or more strategies; applying the strategies; verifying the solution(s); and communicating the reasoning used to obtain the solution(s).
PO 3. Evaluate a solution for reasonableness and interpret the meaning of the solution in the context of the original problem.
PO 4. Generalize a solution strategy for a single problem to a class of related problems and explain the role of generalizations in inductive and deductive reasoning.
PO 5. Summarize and communicate mathematical ideas using formal and informal reasoning.
PO 6. Synthesize mathematical information from multiple sources to draw a conclusion; make inferences based on mathematical information; evaluate the conclusions of others; analyze a mathematical argument; and recognize flaws or gaps in reasoning.
PO 7. Analyze and explain the general properties and behavior of functions or relations using algebraic and graphing techniques.
PO 8. Use inductive and deductive reasoning to make; analyze; and validate or refute conjectures and/or proofs.
PO 9. Use mathematical models to represent and analyze personal and professional situations.
PO 10. Differentiate; interpret; apply; and develop concepts in the context of personal and professional situations.