LA CARLOTA CITY COLLEGE

La Carlota City
Education Department
Module in GE 10 – College Algebra
1st Semester, AY 2021-2022

Sharon Liquez-Apohen, PhD

Contact #: 09079841717
Email: sharon.apohen@gmail.com
Facebook Account: Sharon Liquez-Apohen

I. COURSE TITLE: GE 10 (College Algebra)

II. COURSE CREDIT/UNIT : 3 Units
III. COURSE DESCRIPTION:

This course provides ample content for a combined concept of Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra. It is
meant to develop the mathematical skills of students beyond memorizing formulas and concepts. It involves a
topics which are supplemental to student’s interest and ability to compute or solve algebraic problems. It further
commences with the introduction of signed numbers, all algebraic terminologies, theories and methods of
elementary or basic algebra, as well as theoretical discussions suited to all normal students. Mathematical laws
and principles are applied and tested in solving problems to help the students understand & interpret many facts
about the real world in terms of Mathematics.

Emphasis is on the four fundamental operations of polynomials, fractions, and rational numbers. It also
introduces the basic principle of factoring & fundamental concepts of exponents and radicals.

IV. COURSE OUTCOMES:

At the end of the semester, the students can:

1. strengthen and deepen the understanding of students in basic mathematics concept.

2. relate mathematics to daily life, social and national concerns.
3. recognize the fundamental principles of mathematics involved in observed phenomena
4. acquire empirical knowledge of the physical world and increase mathematical vocabulary
5. develop critical abilities of students.
6. develop an attitude of inquiry, understanding and beauty of the usefulness of mathematics.
7. Affirm honesty and integrity in the application of mathematics to various human endeavors.

V. COURSE OUTLINE:
A. Midterm Period

A. SETS AND OPERATIONS

1.Notation and Description of Sets
2.Methods of Describing Sets
a. The Roster Notation/Listing Method
b. The Verbal Description Method
c. The Set Builder Notation
3. Equal Sets and Equivalent Sets
4. Universal Sets & Subsets
5. Operations on Sets
a. Union
b. Intersection
 c. Complement
d. set Difference
e. Symmetric Difference
6. Venn Diagram

B. SYSTEM OF REAL NUMBERS

1. Subsets of Real Numbers
2. Properties of Real Numbers

C. ALGEBRAIC EXPRESSIONS
1. Definition & terminologies
2. Fundamental Operations of Algebraic Expression
a. Addition
b. Subtraction
c. Multiplication
d. Division
3. Simplifying Algebraic Expression
*Factoring by Grouping

D. SPECIAL PRODUCTS & FACTORING

1. Special Products
2.Factoring
*Common Monomial Factor
*Difference of Two Squares
*Perfect Square Trinomial
*Simple Quadratic Trinomial
ax2+ bx + c ; a = 1
*General quadratic Trinomial
ax2+ bx + c ; a >1
*Sum & difference of Two Cubes

E. ALGEBRAIC
1. Least Common Multiple and Greatest Common Factor
a. Reduction of Fraction to Lowest Terms
b. Addition and Subtraction of Fraction
c. Multiplication & Division of Fraction
d. Complex Fraction

F.EXPONENTS AND RADICALS

1. Positive Integral Exponent
2. The Zero Exponent
3. Negative Exponent
4. Fractional Exponent
5. Simplifying Radicals
6. Operation of Radicals
*Addition, Subtraction, Multiplication & Division

G. COMPLEX NUMBERS
1. Simple Operations with Complex Numbers
2. Algebraic Operations

H. LINEAR EQUATIONS
1. Linear Equation
2.Equivalent Equation
 3. Algebraic Translations
4. Worded Problems with one Unknown
*Number problems
*Age Problems
*Work Problems
*Digit Problems
*Coin Problems
*Mixture Problems
* Business Problems
* Mensuration/Geometric Problems/Motion/Distance Problems

I. SYSTEMS OF LINEAR EQUATIONS

1. Algebraic solution of a system of Two equations
2. Systems in Three Unknowns
-Matrices & Determinants
3. Worded Problems in 2 and 3 unknowns

VI - CONTENT DISCUSSION:

MODULE 1: SETS AND BASIC OPERATIONS ON SETS

The basic notion of set was first considered by Georg Cantor (1845-1918). We may think of a set as a
collection (or aggregate) of objects of any sort having characteristics properly described. We may consider a set
as a well-defined collection, a population of objects.

A set is a collection of objects or things. The objects or things in the set are called the elements or
members of the set. There are many words that indicate such collections: Examples are: a school of fish, a herd
of cattle; a flock of birds; an army of ants. The main characteristic of a set in mathematics is that it is well
defined. That is, if we are given particular object, we know whether that particular object is an element or not
of the set. For example, if we consider the set of odd integers, we know that 7 is an element of this set, and 10
and 1/3 are not. On the other hand, the set of honest people is not well defined because different people may
include different people in the set.

Examples:
The set of large numbers. This set is not well-defined. Some people will have different opinions on which
numbers are large.
The set of all multiples of 3. This set is well-defined. Numbers that are multiples of 3 can easily be
differentiated from the others.

DESCRIBING A SET
Traditionally, we use capital letters, such as A,B, C, D and E to denote sets and lower case letters such as a,
b, c, d and e to denote the elements of a set. It is also common practice to list the elements of a set in braces { }
and separate these elements by commas. Thus A = {5,10,15,20} means “A is a set consisting of the elements
5,10,15 and 20.” To indicate that 5 is an element of set A, we write “5∈ A” and is read “5 is an element of set
A or 5 is in A”. To indicate that 7 is not an element of set A, we write “7 ∉ A” and is read “ 7 is not an element
of set A or 7 is not in A.” A set with no element is an empty or null set. The symbol for an empty is ∅∨{}.
 There are many ways of denoting or describing sets:

1. The Roster Notation or Listing Method which indicates a set by listing the elements and enclosing
them in braces. In listing the elements of the set, each distinct element is listed only once, and the order of the
elements does not matter.
Examples: a. A={1,2,3,4}
b. B={p , h , i , l ,n , e , s}
c. C= {5,10,15,…}

(2) The Verbal Description Method

We can describe the sets name in no.1
Examples:
a. Set A is the set of counting numbers less than 5.
b. Set B is the set of the letters in the word “Philippines”.
c. Set C is the set of positive multiples of 5.

(3) The Rule Method or Set Builder Notation

It is a method that lists the rules that determine whether an object is an element of the set rather than the
actual elements. We can describe the preceding sets in set builders notation as follows:
Examples:
a. A= {x/x is a counting number less than 5} read as “the set of all x such that x is a counting number
less than 5.” The vertical bar after the first x is translated as “such that”.
b. B= {x/x is a letter in the word “Philippines”
c. C= {x/x is a positive multiple of 5}

(4) The Venn diagram where the sets is described pictorially.

Venn Diagram /ˈven ˌdīəˌɡram/ - a diagram representing mathematical or logical sets pictorially as circles
or closed curves within an enclosing rectangle (the universal set), common elements of the sets being
represented by the areas of overlap among the circles.

John Venn – (4 August 1834 – 4 April 1923) was an English logician and philosopher noted for introducing
the Venn diagram, used in the fields of set theory, probability, logic, statistics, and computer science.
- developed diagrams, which we now refer to as Venn diagrams, that can be used to illustrate sets and
relationships between sets.
In a Venn diagram, the universal set is represented by a rectangular region and subsets of the universal set
are generally represented by oval or circular regions drawn inside the rectangle.

Georg Cantor (1845-1918) was a German mathematician who developed many new concepts regarding the
theory of sets. Cantor studied under the famous mathematicians Karl Weierstrass and Leopold Kronecker at the
University of Berlin. Although Cantor demonstrated a talent for mathematicians, his professors were unaware
that Cantor would produce extraordinary results that would cause a major stir in the mathematical community.
Cantor never achieved his lifelong goal of a professorship at the University of Berlin. Instead he spent his
active career at the undistinguished University of Halle. It was during this period, when Cantor was between the
ages of 29 and 39, that he produced his best work. Much of this work was of a controversial nature. One of the
simplest of the controversial concepts concerned points on a line segment. For instance, consider the line
segment AB and the line segment CD in the figure at the left. Which of these two line segments do you think
contains the most points? Cantor was able to prove that they both contain the same number of points. In fact, he
was able to prove that any line segment, no matter how short, contains the same number of points as a line, or a
plane, or all of three-dimensional space.
 ● If it is possible to write down a complete list of elements of the set, it is said to be finite, otherwise it
is infinite. A set with no elements is an empty set while a set with a single element is a unit set.

Sets are related to each other in kinds and sizes. The following definitions show these relationships:

Two sets A and B are said to be equal if they have the same elements.
Ex. A = {c, a, r, e} B={r, a, c, e} A=B
C = {t,e,a,r,s} D= {s,t,a,r,e} C=D
E = {o, n} F= {n, o} E=F

A one-to-one correspondence exists between two sets A and B if it is possible to associate the elements of
A with the elements of B in such a way that each element of each set is associated with exactly one element of
the other.
Ex. A one-to-one correspondence exists between two sets A and B:
A= {a, b, c, d, e} B= {2, 4, 6, 8, 10}
Two sets A and B said to be equivalent (or of the same size) iff there exists a one-to-one
correspondence between their elements. If two sets are equal, then they must be equivalent, but the
converse of this statement is not true.
Example 1) A= {1,2,3,4,5} B= {h,e,a,r,t}
n(A)= 5 n(B) = 5
A and B are equivalent sets
2) M = {Ricky, Rico, Rey, Roy} N = {Joy, Jessa, Jane, Jenny}
n(M) = 4 n(N) = 4
M and N are equivalent sets
3) F= {sun, moon, stars} Q= {a,b,c}
n(F) = 3 n(Q) = 3
F and Q are equivalent sets
Subsets
The set A is said to be a subset of set U if every element of A is an element of U. Furthermore, if there are
elements in U that are not in A, then A is a proper subset of U. If however, all elements of the universal set
is contained in the subset, then this set is exhaustive.

o Set A is a subset of set B, written A⊆ B, iff every element of A is an element of B. In symbols, A⊆

B ↔ x ∈ A → x ∈ B.

o Set A is a proper subset of set B, written A⊂ B, iff A is a subset of B and A is not equal to B, or
there is at least one element in B which is not in A, i.e., A⊂ B ↔ A ⊆ B and A ≠ B

Examples: 1. Let A = {a, b, c} and B= {a, b, c, d}, then A ⊂ B.

2. Let A = {a, b, c} and B = {c, b, a}, then A ⊆ B.
Notes: 1. A ⊆ A or any set is a subset of itself.
2. ∅ ⊆ A or an empty set is a subset of any set.

Definition 5. Two sets are said to be joint if they have an elements in common.
Definition 6. Two sets are said to be disjoint if they have no elements in common

SET OPERATIONS
Definition 6. The union of two sets A and B is defined to be the set of elements that belong to A and B.
Ex. A= {1,2,3} B= {2, 3, 4, 5}, A U B = {1,2,3,4,5}
X = {h,e,r} Y = {e,a,t} , XUY = {h,e,a,r,t}
 Definition 7. The intersection of two sets A and B is defined to be the set of all elements that belong to both
A and B.
Ex. A= { 1, 2, 3} B= {2, 3, 4,5} , A ∩ B = {2, 3}
P= {m,a,t,h} Q= {t,h,e,m}, P ∩ Q = {h,m,t}

Definition 8. Set difference of two sets A and B are all elements found in A not in B.
Let A and B be sets. The difference of A to B, denoted by A-B, is the set of elements which belong to A
but which do not belong to B; that is A-B= {x/x ∈ A, x is not an element of B}
Ex. A= {1,2,3} B= {2,3,4,5}, A-B = {1}, B-A = {4,5}

Definition 9. The symmetric difference of the sets A and B, denoted by A⨁B, consists of those elements
which belong to A or B but not to both A and B. that is, A⨁B = (AUB) – (A∩B) or A⨁B= (A-B) U (B-
A)
Ex. A={1,2,3} B= {2,3,4,5}, A⨁B= {1,4,5}

Definition 10. The complement of a set A, denoted by A’, is the set of elements which belong to U but
which do not belong to A; that is A’= {x/x ∈ U, x ∉ A}
Ex. Let U= {1,2,3,4,5}, A= {1,3,5}, A’= {2,4}

● The cardinal number n(A) of a finite set refers to the numbers of elements in a set.
Let A={2,4,6,8,10} n(A)= 5
● A geometric representation of relationships among sets with respect to the universal set is called a Venn
Diagram, named after the English logician James Venn (1834-1883).

We described a set by a closed curve, such as circles; and the universal set U is usually represented as a
rectangular area.
Ex. 1) Let U = the set of counting numbers less than 20
U = {1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19}
A= {x/x is an even counting number less than 12} A = {2,4,6,8,10}
B= {3, 6, 9, 12, 15}
C= {5, 10, 15}

U={1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19}
A B

1 2 4 6 3 12

7 11 8 9 13
14 10 15 16

5 17 18
19
C

Find: 1) AUB = {2,3,4,6,8,9,10,12,15}

2) A ∩ B = {6}
3) A∩B∩C={}
4) (AUC) = {2,4,5,6,8,10,15}
5) A-B = {2,4,8,10}
6) B-A = {3,9,12,15}
7) A⨁ B = {2,3,4,8,9,10,12,15}
 8) B’ – (AUC) ={1,2,4,5,7,8,10,11,13,14,16,17,18,19} – {2,4,5,6,8,10,15}
= {1,7,11,13,14,16,17,18,19}
9) (AUB)’ = {2,3,4,6,8,9,10,12,15}’ = {1,5,7,11,13,14,16,17,18,19}
10) (A∩ C) – B = {10} – {3,6,9,12,15}= {10}

2) Let U = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
A= {1,3,5,7,9}
B= {1,4,9}
C= (2,4,5,7,9}
Find:
1) A ∩ B ∩ C= {9} 6) (AUB)’ = {1,3,4,5,7,9}’ = {0,2,5,6,8,10}
2) AUC = {1,3,4,5,7,9} 7) (A∩ C) – B = {5,7,9} – {1,4,9} = {5,7}
3) (A-B) ’= {3,5,7} 8) A’ – (BUC)={1,3,5,7,9}’ – {1,2,4,5,7,9}
= {0,2,4,6,8,10} – {1,2,4,5,7,9}
= {0,6,8,10}
4) B’ – (AUC) 9) AUBUC = {1,2,3,4,5,7,9}
={1,4,9}’ – {1,2,3,4,5,7,9}
={0,2,3,5,6,7,8,10} - {1,2,3,4,5,7,9}
={0,6,8,10}
5. A⨁ C = {1,2,3,4} 10) (A⨁ B)’ ∩ C= {3,4,5,7}’ ∩ {2,4,5,7,9}
= {4,5,7}

CHECK YOUR PROGRESS:

1. Let U = {0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10}
A = {2,3,5,7}
B = {2,4,6,8,10}
C = (0,1,2,34,6}

Find the following:

1. AUBUC 6. A∩ B ∩ C
2. (A∩ C)’ – B 7. (C – B) ⨁ A
3. A⨁ C 8. A U C
4. A – C 9. A’ - B’
5. B’ - (A⨁C) 10. (AUC) – B’

2. State whether each of the following pairs of sets are equal or equivalent.
a. {a,e,i,o,u}, {3,7,11,15,19}
b. {4,-2,7}, {3,4,7,9}
c. {∞}, { }
d. {Jane, John}, {James, Joy, Jerry}
e. {b,r,i,t,e}, {t,r,i,b,e}

3. Determine whether each statement is true or false.

a. 4 ϵ {2,3,4,7}
b. -5 ϵ N
c. ½ ϵ of Real Numbers
d. The set of nice cars is a well-defined set