SUMMER ASSIGNMENT FOR 2012-2013 ALGEBRA 2 STUDENTS

This year, the summer math assignments are available online on the district homepage. To access the summer

assignments, please go to the high school’s page on the district website. The address for this page is http://www.nhsd.org/hs/summer%20assign.html

On this page, you will see a tab for summer assignments. Please click on that tab, and then go to the line for the

Algebra Two Summer Assignment. At this page, you will be able to print out a copy of your summer assignment.

The completion of the summer assignment is highly encouraged but not required. The assignment will not be collected

in September. However, the problem sets in this assignment were selected specifically to reinforce the foundational

skills and understandings you will need for successful completion of your next math course. Your math teacher

will be building upon these skills in September. Completion of the practice exercises in this assignment will therefore

help ensure that you will be ready.

You are encouraged to work your way through all the exercises in the assignment. If you are unsure how to proceed

with a given topic, feel free to sign out a textbook from school, ask an older sibling or parent for assistance, or seek

help from a friend who is confident with the material. If you find that you understand the content and know how to do

all the problems in a given section, feel free to move onto the next section. You will likely need to do most of the

problems on a separate sheet of paper, or graph paper, in order to effectively show your work. We encourage you to

write each problem on a separate piece of paper, show your work in pencils, and highlight your answer.

Your teacher will begin in September with a brief review of the content and skills covered by this assignment. This

review will be followed by either a major test or a series of smaller quizzes to sample your mastery of this material.

These assessments will be counted as part of your first marking period grade. Completion of the assignment will help

prepare you for these assessments. This is an excellent opportunity to begin your year with a high test or quiz score.

You have seen all this material before and have the entire summer to complete the assignment. Try to enjoy it! Best

wishes for a fun, restful, and productive summer.

Sincerely,

The Math Department

Expected list of mastered skills for all students entering Algebra 2 or Honors Algebra 2:

Students must be able to solve multi-step linear equations and inequalities as well as absolute value equations.

o Glencoe Algebra One, Chapter 3 Sections 3 and 5, Chapter 7 Section 3

o Glencoe Algebra Two, Chapter 1 Sections 4, 5, and 6

Students must be able to plot points and graph lines on the Cartesian coordinate system and be able to calculate

and apply the slope of a line, including working with parallel and perpendicular slopes.

o Glencoe Algebra One, Chapter 6 Sections 1, 2, 4, 5, 6

o Glencoe Algebra Two, Chapter 2 Sections 1 – 4

Students must be able to perform all operations on monomials, must be able to add, subtract, and multiply

polynomials, and especially, must be able to factor polynomials.

o Glencoe Algebra One, Chapter 9 Sections 1, 2, 4 – 8

o Glencoe Algebra One, Chapter 10 Sections 1 – 5

o Glencoe Algebra Two, Chapter 5 Sections 1, 2, 4

Students must possess a TI-83 or 84 graphing calculator for this class.

Note from Mr. Rutledge on the algebra two summer packet, and the Academic Algebra Two program:

Algebra Two is considered to be a college track mathematics course. Complete mastery of the concepts of algebra 1B,

which are highlighted in this summer review packet, are vital to your ability to be successful in the algebra two

program. As much as I would love to be able to review all of the pertinent skills from your algebra one studies, the

time allotted in algebra two will simply not permit me to do so. For this reason, it is imperative that you enter class in

September fully prepared to apply the skills that are reviewed in this packet. Again, you do not have to complete the

packet, but you do have to know how to do all of the problems contained here.

My plan in Academic Algebra Two to start off the school is to provide an extremely brief review of the four significant

topics of this packet, and then give a brief quiz on each of those topics. If a student finds that they are lost during this

review, and that they are performing well below the expected standard, then it might be beneficial to consider enrolling

in the algebra 1B extension course, as opposed to the algebra two course. Students without a very solid background in

the prerequisite skills for the algebra two program that are embedded in the algebra 1B program have historically not

faired well in algebra two.

This is the outline of the topics of the four quizzes that kids can expect in Academic Algebra Two at the start of the

school year:

*Honors Algebra Two students – please note that in lieu of four quizzes, you will sit for one comprehensive test on

these four concept lists*

Quiz 1 – Equations and Inequalities

solve a linear equation

solve a linear inequality

graph the solution to a linear inequality

solve an absolute value equation

set up and solve a simple problem solving activity that leads to a linear equation

Quiz #2 – Graphs of Linear Equations

find the slope of a line

write equations in slope-intercept form

apply parallel and perpendicular slopes

graph a line that appears in either standard form, or slope intercept form

Quiz #3 – Polynomials

combine like terms

multiply monomials, and polynomials

raise monomials and polynomials to powers

rewrite expressions with negative exponents

Quiz #4 – Factoring

factor out a GCF

factor a trinomial in the form of x2 + Bx + C

factor a trinomial in the form of Ax2 + Bx + C

factor a difference of perfect squares

I wish you the best for a relaxing and enjoyable summer vacation, and I hope that you arrive to school prepared to

succeed in September.

Brian Rutledge