Tools & Resources
Curated extras for Topic 1: interactive tools, supplemental videos, and references. Pick what helps. Skip what doesn't.
Bookmarks for the pages you'll come back to across the topic.
Topic 1 Cheat Sheet
Every T1 formula in one place — slope, y-intercept, y = mx + b, rounding rules. Bookmark for the DQ posts and the review pages.
Topic 1 Glossary
Every named term you'll meet in Topic 1 (function, domain, slope, intercept, linear model) with a one-sentence definition and where it first shows up.
Getting Started with ALEKS
The setup guide for the ALEKS homework tool. Read this before your first knowledge check — rushing it puts more topics on your plate for the rest of the term.
Hands-on widgets for poking at the math. Drag a slider, watch the line move.
Interactive Line Graph Explorer
Slide m and b, flip between slope-intercept / standard / point-slope, and sharpen with four skill-check games.
Excel Fundamentals
A hands-on primer on cell references, absolute vs. relative addressing, and the basic formulas every MAT-144 workbook leans on.
Why is 'x' the unknown?
A short, fun history of why mathematicians use x for the input. Doesn't teach functions, but it's a great backstory for the notation.
What is a function?
Sal Khan's intro: same idea as this lesson, different examples and a whiteboard. Useful if you want to hear it explained one more time.
Difference between inductive and deductive reasoning
Short and on-target: a plain distinction between the two moves with a math frame, no philosophical detour. A quick reset before working through the lesson's function-rule examples.
Inductive and Deductive Reasoning — Simple Examples Explained
A second teaching voice with more breathing room than the Khan clip. Concrete classroom-friendly examples that reinforce the difference without drifting into abstraction.
Rounding to the nearest tenth and hundredth
Clean, focused, exactly about decimal rounding to place value. Stays on the standard rounding rule you'll need for ALEKS — no drift into significant figures or scientific notation.
How to Round Decimals
Beginner-friendly in the best way: direct explanation, repeated worked examples, and a reassuring pace for students who haven't touched rounding in years. Pairs well with the Khan clip.
Slope and rate of change
Explicitly connects slope to rate of change rather than treating it as only a graph skill. Long enough to develop the idea, compact enough to work as a supplement to the lesson.
Slope in the Real World
The real-world interpretation companion: slope as "how much y changes per unit of x." Matches this lesson's dollars-per-hour and miles-per-gallon framing better than a procedural slope-formula video.
See it live: slide m in the Line Graph Explorer
Move the slope slider to see the line tilt in real time. Positive m goes up-right; negative m goes down-right; zero is flat. Same rate-of-change concept, but geometric.
Linear Functions
A wider take on the linear case: slope, y-intercept, graphing, and applying linear equations to predict. Pairs well with this lesson's modeling examples — watch if you want one more pass at the move before Major Assignment 1's Income Analysis.
See it live: build a linear model with m and b
Slide m to change the rate; slide b to change the starting value. Watch the same line render in slope-intercept, standard, and point-slope forms simultaneously — the three views are just different ways to name the same model.
Excel Formulas and Functions Tutorial
A strong true-beginner tour: formula bar, typing formulas, common functions. The right on-ramp for students who have barely used Excel before this course.
Excel Cell Reference: Absolute, Relative, or Mixed?
Cell references are where most students get stuck. This explains relative vs. absolute (the $ sign) clearly and visually — pairs with the broader beginner tutorial above.