Laramie County School District#1
Course Syllabus
Course Title: Algebra Concepts 1 - HATH
Course Number: 2509600-2509700
Prerequisites: Successful completion of Pre-Algebra or equivalent course.
Course Description: Algebra Concepts 1 is the first year course of a two-year sequence of
courses in the study of Algebra 1. It is intended to cover fewer concepts more in-depth for those
students who need more reinforcement. Students who successfully complete this course will need
to take Algebra Concepts 2 to complete the entire Algebra 1 course. Students will study and
demonstrate knowledge of writing and solving linear equations and inequalities, functions, and
formulas; understand and evaluate random processes underlying statistical experiments; make
inferences and justify conclusions; and understand independent and conditional probability.
Throughout this course, students will develop learning strategies, critical thinking skills, and
problem solving techniques to prepare for future math courses.
Common Core State Standards Addressed: (Standards below may be completely
covered, or partially covered and finished in a later course.)
NUMBER AND QUANTITY
QUANTITIES – Reason quantitatively and use units to solve problems.
N-Q.A.1
Use units as a way to understand problems and to guide the solution of multi-step problems;
choose and interpret units consistently in formulas; choose and interpret the scale and the
origin in graphs and data displays.
N-Q.A.2
Define appropriate quantities for the purpose of descriptive modeling.
ALGEBRA
CREATING EQUATIONS – Create equations that describe numbers or relationships
A-CED.A.1 Create equations and inequalities in one variable and use them to solve problems.
Include equations arising from linear and quadratic functions, and simple rational
and exponential functions.
A-CED.A.2 Create equations in two or more variables to represent relationships between
quantities; graph equations on coordinate axes with labels and scales.
A-CED.A.4 Rearrange formulas to highlight a quantity of interest, using the same reasoning as in
solving equations. For example, rearrange Ohm’s law V = IR to highlight resistance
R.
ALGEBRA
REASONING WITH EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES – Understand solving
equations as a process of reasoning and explain the reasoning
A-REI.A.1 Explain each step in solving a simple equation as following from the equality of
numbers asserted at the previous step, starting from the assumption that the original
equation has a solution. Construct a viable argument to justify a solution method.
REASONING WITH EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES – Solve equations and
inequalities in one variable.
A-REI.B.3
Solve linear equations and inequalities in one variable, including equations with
coefficients represented by letters.
REASONING WITH EQUATIONS AND INEQUALITIES – Represent and solve
equations and inequalities graphically.
A-REI.D.10 Understand that the graph of an equation in two variables is the set of all its solutions
plotted in the coordinate plane, often forming a curve (which could be a line).
Revised 10/22/2013
Laramie County School District#1
Course Syllabus
FUNCTIONS
INTERPRETING FUNCTIONS – Understand the concept of a function and use function
notation.
F-IF.A.1 Understand that a function from one set (called the domain) to another set (called the
range) assigns to each element of the domain exactly one element of the range. If f is a
function and x is an element of its domain, then f(x) denotes the output of f
corresponding to the input x. The graph of f is the graph of the equation y = f(x).
F-IF.A.2 Use function notation, evaluate functions for inputs in their domains, and interpret
statements that use function notation in terms of a context.
F-IF.A.3 Recognize that sequences are functions, sometimes defined recursively, whose domain
is a subset of the integers. For example, the Fibonacci sequence is defined recursively
by f(0) = f(1) = 1, f(n+1) = f(n) + f(n-1) for n ≥ 1.
INTERPRETING FUNCTIONS – Interpret functions that arise in applications in terms
of the context.
F-IF.B.4
For a function that models a relationship between two quantities, interpret key features
of graphs and tables in terms of the quantities, and sketch graphs showing key features
given a verbal description of the relationship. Key features include: intercepts; intervals
where the function is increasing, decreasing, positive, or negative; relative maximums
and minimums; symmetries; end behavior; and periodicity.★
F-IF.B.5
Relate the domain of a function to its graph and, where applicable, to the quantitative
relationship it describes. For example, if the function h(n) gives the number of personhours it takes to assemble n engines in a factory, then the positive integers would be an
appropriate domain for the function.*
F-IF.B.6
Calculate and interpret the average rate of change of a function (presented symbolically
or as a table) over a specified interval. Estimate the rate of change from a graph.*
INTERPRETING FUNCTIONS – Analyze functions using different representations.
F-IF.C.7
Graph functions expressed symbolically and show key features of the graph, by hand in
simple cases and using technology for more complicated cases.★
BUILDING FUNCTIONS – Build a function that models a relationship between two
quantities
F-BF.A.1 Write a function that describes a relationship between two quantities.*
b. Combine standard function types using arithmetic operations. For example,
build a function that models the temperature of a cooling body by adding a
constant function to a decaying exponential, and relate these functions to the
model.
F-BF.A.2 Write arithmetic and geometric sequences both recursively and with an explicit
formula, use them to model situations, and translate between the two forms.★
GEOMETRY
EXPRESSING GEOMETRIC PROPERTIES WITH EQUATIONS – Use coordinates to
prove simple geometric theorems algebraically.
G-GPE.B.5 Prove the slope criteria for parallel and perpendicular lines and use them to solve
geometric problems (e.g., find the equation of a line parallel or perpendicular to a
given line that passes through a given point).
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Laramie County School District#1
Course Syllabus
STATISTICS AND PROBABILITY
INTERPRETING CATEGORICAL AND QUANTITATIVE DATA – Summarize,
represent, and interpret data on a single count or measurement variable.
S-ID.A.1 Represent data with plots on the real number line (dot plots, histograms, and box plots).
INTERPRETING CATEGORICAL AND QUANTITATIVE DATA – Summarize,
represent, and interpret data on two categorical and quantitative variables.
S-ID.B.6 Represent data on two quantitative variables on a scatter plot, and describe how the
variables are related.
a. Fit a function to the data; use functions fitted to data to solve problems in the
context of the data. Use given functions or choose a function suggested by the
context. Emphasize linear, quadratic, and exponential models.
b. Informally assess the fit of a function by plotting and analyzing residuals.
CONDITIONAL PROBABILITY AND THE RULES OF PROBABILITY – Use the rules of
probability to compute probabilities of compound events.
S-CP.B.9 (+) Use permutations and combinations to compute probabilities of compound events
and solve problems.
USING PROBABILITY TO MAKE DECISIONS – Use probability to evaluate outcomes of
decisions
S-MD.B.7 (+) Analyze decisions and strategies using probability concepts (e.g., product testing,
medical testing, pulling a hockey goalie at the end of a game).
MODELING – All starred* standards are modeling standards and are embedded throughout the
course.
District Assessments:
Standards are assessed by common quarterly district exams given to Algebra Concepts 1 students.
These assessments will be 30% of the student’s course grade.
Graduation Requirements:
Beginning with the class of 2015, students must complete 4 credits of math in order to graduate
from high school. Students must also be proficient in 5 content areas in order to graduate from high
school, one of which could be math. Proficiency in a course will be earned if a student earns a 70%
or better for both semesters of the course. Proficiency for Algebra 1 will only be earned if the
student passes both semesters of Algebra Concepts 1 and Algebra Concepts 2.
Hathaway Scholarship: This course is half of one of the three math courses that
must be completed for the success curriculum in the Hathaway Scholarship. Algebra
Concepts 2 must be completed for the second half of Algebra 1. Four years of math are
required in the Honors, Performance, and Opportunity levels of the scholarship.
Those four years consist of Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and a fourth course.
Revised 10/22/2013
Laramie County School District#1
Course Syllabus
Course Organization:
First Semester
Second Semester
Probability
Equations
Inequalities
Functions
Linear Functions
Adopted Instructional Materials:
Holt McDougal Algebra 1; Burger, Chard, Kennedy, Leinwand, Renfro, Roby, Waits; 2012:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Revised 10/22/2013