We will start class by taking a short quiz that covers the topics in the second half of the unit - mainly systems of equations and inequalities. This is a formative assessment over solving systems with matrices, linear programming, and partial fraction decomposition so you can see how students do with these topics. If there are certain areas where they still need a little fine tuning- I will address it tomorrow during the review day. I provide a little bit more information about the quiz in the video below.
After students finish the quiz, I give them this review for the upcoming unit exam. Like the exam, I tried to make a mix of skill based problems (solving a system using matrices) and more conceptual problems (writing a system of inequalities for a linear programming problem).
Question #5 is truly a culmination of all of the work we have done in this unit. Students are presented with four systems and are asked to solve each using any method they wish. Some systems will be best suited to matrices. Others will be much easier to graph and find intersection points. For one it may be easiest just to use substitution and solve algebraically. I really like a question like this because it tells me if students can use tools strategically (MP5) and choose the best method for solving. A student who has a deep understanding of the mathematics is usually very proficient in choosing an appropriate tool.