PRECALCULUS MAPLETS

 

return to Brooklyn College Department of Mathematics

 

Here are a number of interactive tools which may be of use to you in studying precalculus.  You will need an up-to-date version of java for these to run.  It can be downloaded for free from

http://java.sun.com/products/archive/j2se/1.4.2_03/index.html,

where you should click on the JRE download, supplying you with a java runtime environment.  You will be able to either download the entire JRE with installer, or download the installer which will access the requisite files remotely.  If you have difficulties with any of these maplets, please contact

jvelling@brooklyn.cuny.edu.

 

Clicking on the green buttons will connect you to a server running Maple.  This will work anywhere with net access, but will tend to run rather slowly.

Clicking on the yellow buttons will run the maplets directly on your machine.  But you need to be at a computer running Maple.

 

 

MathML Viewer

This maplet allows you to enter strings of symbols and see how they appear to Maple.  Thus, for example, “2x” and “2*x” are treated differently.  The first sees “2x” as a single entity – much like we think of the word “it”.  This is a single entity represented by a symbol having two letters.  The other, “2*x” sees that 2 multiplies the expression “x”.  If you are uncertain as to how to enter something, it can always be tested here.

 

Primes up to a given size

This maplet allows you to enter an integer >1 and returns all the positive prime integers no larger than the input.

 

First bunch of primes

This maplet allows you to enter a positve integer n and returns the list of the first n positive prime integers. (For example, you can ask for the first 20 prime numbers and they will be displayed.)

 

 

Integer Factorization

This will allow you to enter an integer and will return its prime factorization.

 

Interval Plotter

Here you can view intervals presented as inequalities.

 

Midpoint Determination

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter two points, and supplies you with the midpoint of the segment between the two, or
  2. gives you two points and guides you through the determination of the midpoint of the segment between the two.

 

Distance between two points

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter two points, and supplies you with the distance between them, or
  2. gives you two points and allows you to determine the distance between them.

 

Line from point and slope

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter a point and a slope and determines an equation for a line through the given point with given slope, or
  2. gives you a point and a slope and allows you to determine an equation for the line through the given point with given slope.

 

Line from two points

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter two points and determines an equation for a line through the two, or
  2. gives you two points allows you to determine an equation for the line through the two.

 

Perpendicular Bisector

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter two points, and supplies you with the segment between the two, its midpoint, and its perpendicular bisector, or
  2. gives you two points and guides you through the determination of perpendicular bisector of the segment between the two points.

 

Intersection of two lines

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter equations for two lines, and supplies you with the point of intersection of the two, or
  2. gives you equations of two lines and guides you through the determination of their point of intersection.

 

Circle through three points

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter three points, and supplies you with the an equation for the circle through the three or informs you that they are actually collinear, or
  2. gives you three non-collinear points and guides you through the determination of the circle through the three.

 

Completion of squares

This maplet either

  1. allows you to enter a quadratic expression and returns it in completed square form, or
  2. gives you a quadratic expression and guides you through the determination of its completed square form.

 

 

Polynomial factorization

This maplet takes a polynomial in one variable, something like “x^2 –5*x +4” and returns its factorization.

 

 

Solve polynomial equations

This maplet solves polynomial equations.  Thus it will solve “x^2 –5*x +4 =0” and return “4” and “1”.

 

 

Graphs of Functions

This maplet accepts functions as input and plots their graphs, including a color chart showing where the function is positive and negative.