Math 152 Exam Notes

Office Hours:

I will be in my office (359/201) for extra help on the following days:

Mon Apr 6 to Wed Apr 8 9:30-3:00
Thu Apr 9 1:00-3:00
Tue Apr 14 to Thu Apr 16 9:30-3:00

Exam Outline:

The exam will consist of approximately 12 questions, one question per page, some with multiple parts. You will be given the standard formula sheet, and you may use a basic scientific (non-graphing/non-prgrammable) calculator. You can expect

1. one page on basic function theory including inverse functions and the basic properties of exponential and logarithmic functions. You should be able to
   • compute function compositions and determine the domain.
   • find a formula and sketch the graph of f^-1(x) given f(x).
   • simplify expressions using the laws of exponents and logarithms.
   • compute logarithms using the change of base formula.
2. one page of exponential and logarithmic equations.
3. one page of applications of exponential and logarithmic functions. Applications include
   • Population growth,
   • Exponential decay (radioactive decay and radio-carbon dating), and
   • Newton's law of cooling and heating.
4. one or two pages of circle trigonometry problems
5. one page on sketching a transformed trigonometric function.
6. one page of trigonometric equations.
7. one page of solving triangles, including problems requiring the law of sines or cosines.
8. one page of trigonometry applications (word problems).
9. one page of matrix algebra, including matrix inverses.
10. one page on solving systems of equations by matrix reduction.
11. one page on the theory of arithmetic and geometric sequences and series.
12. one page of applications (word problems) involving arithmetic and geometric series, possibly including a compound interest problem.

Extra Practice:

Here are some exams from past years. The format is somewhat different from that described above, but the problems are all good practice:

1. Practice Final Exam (solutions). Note that this Practice Final has 12 questions; your exam will have only 10.
2. Spring 2008 Final Exam (solutions). Omit 4(c), and note that the solutions use a method of matrix reduction which differs slightly from the one we covered.
3. Spring 2007 Final Exam (solutions). Omit 1(a), (b), (c), (d), 2 and 7(a). Note that the solutions use a method of matrix reduction which differs slightly from the one we covered.
4. Spring 2006 Final Exam (solutions). Note that the solutions use a method of matrix reduction which differs slightly from the one we covered.
5. Some harder practice problems (solutions: shorter problems | longer problems) Omit question of the Shorter Problems, 16(b) and 17(b) of the Longer Problems.