Precalculus: the Mathematics of Numbers, Functions and Equations (FutureLearn)

You’ll get familiar with the basic precalculus required for college or undergraduate-level studies, notably: factoring and division; sets and set operations; reasoning and proofs; functions and graphs; and equations and inequalities.

Through this course you’ll gain the foundation to support further mathematical studies, or improve your use of mathematics in everyday life.

What topics will you cover?

- Numbers: integers, rationals, real numbers, absolute value, induction.

- Functions: graphs, integer powers, roots and radicals, rational powers.

- Algebra: polynomials and their roots, quadratic polynomials, polynomial division, finding roots, binomial coefficients.

- Equations: types of equations, equivalence, polynomial equations, equations involving a radical, equations with several radicals/with absolute values, equations in several variables.

- Inequalities: linear and polynomial inequalities, inequalities involving radicals and absolute values.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you'll be able to...

- The basic arithmetic of numbers, including absolute value and radicals

- The standard notation for sets and set operations

- Elements of mathematical reasoning and proofs

- Types of functions and their graphs

- Polynomials: roots, factoring, and division

- Equations and inequalites

Who is the course for?

This course is for anyone who wants to brush up on their basic mathematical skills, particularly students in the last year of high school, or at the beginning of undergraduate studies, who intend to take a first course in calculus.