DWG NO. 02 — Unit 2 of 10
6 online lessons · 1 in-person Review & Practice Day
Polynomials are the functions you already half-know from algebra, pushed further: not just parabolas and lines, but any curve built from whole-number powers of x. This unit is about reading a polynomial's shape — its end behavior, its zeros, how it turns — straight from its equation, and about dividing one polynomial into another the way you'd divide numbers.
The second half of the unit puts polynomials in the denominator. Rational functions inherit everything you know about polynomials, plus a new feature polynomials never have: places the graph isn't allowed to go.
Power Functions and Polynomial End Behavior
How degree and leading coefficient determine what a graph does as x moves toward ±∞.
→Graphing Polynomial Functions
Zeros, multiplicity, and turning points — the features that let you sketch a polynomial by hand.
→Polynomial Division and the Remainder/Factor Theorems
Long division and synthetic division, and what a remainder of zero actually tells you.
→Finding Real Zeros
The Rational Root Theorem narrows down candidates; synthetic division confirms and factors them out.
→Rational Functions and Asymptotes
Vertical, horizontal, and slant asymptotes — and the difference between an asymptote and a hole.
→Graphing Rational Functions
Putting intercepts, asymptotes, and sign analysis together into a full graph.
→Review & Practice Day 2 — bring your questions from lessons 2.1–2.6. You'll work practice problems, get feedback, and take the Unit 2 test.