Review Topics for Success

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this section, you will be able to:

  • Identify multiples and use divisibility rules.
  • Find all the factors of a number and determine whether it is prime or composite.
  • Find the prime factorization of a number.
  • Find and approximate square roots, and identify if a given root is real or not.
  • Simplify expressions containing square roots.
  • Evaluate and Simplify Algebraic Expressions
  • Identify whether a polynomial is a monomial, binomial, or trinomial.
  • Determine the degree of a polynomial.
  • Add or subtract polynomials.
  • Evaluate polynomials.
  • Simplify expressions containing exponents
  • Multiply a polynomial by a monomial using the distributive property.
  • Multiply polynomials methods using the distributive property, FOIL, and vertical methods.

Studying fractals such as the Mandelbrot set that are generated by complex numbers requires several specific algebraic skills that may at first appear unrelated: finding multiples and factors of numbers, using square roots, exponents, and performing operations on polynomials. These processes all come together when doing operations on complex numbers. You’ve seen most of these skills previously in review sections that introduced the language of algebraic expressions and operations on fractions. The study of fractals now provides an excellent opportunity to explore all these skills in detail. In this review module, you’ll learn fundamental skills for using multiples and factors to represent real numbers in useful ways while doing necessary operations on expressions containing one or more variable terms. Obtaining the skills using real numbers first will help make operations on complex numbers less challenging.

Recall for success

Look for red boxes like this one throughout the text. They’ll show up just in time to give helpful reminders of the math you’ll need, right where you’ll need it.