Frequently Asked Questions

If my student completes one of your books, can I say that my student has finished a full year of Algebra or Geometry, or do I need other supplemental materials?
Should my student complete a Pre-Algebra course before starting your Algebra I book?
Should my student complete your Geometry book before or after your Algebra II book?
Can I skip problems or sections in your books?
Do you have any suggestions about scheduling?
When should we start using a calculator?

Yes. Generally, each section contains enough problems that will allow the student to get enough practice if he or she completes just the even-numbered problems or just the odd-numbered problems. Also, you may want to skip sections or problems in the individual books as outlined below.

Algebra I
Much of material in the first eight chapters of our Algebra I book is discussed in many Pre-Algebra books. If your student successfully completed a Pre-Algebra course (and particularly if your student did well in it), you may want to look over the material in each of these chapters. If you think that your student can do well on the test on that chapter without doing the practice problems, you are welcome to give the student the test for that chapter first and have the student work the practice problems only if he or she does not do well on the test. The only exception to this statement is the sixth section of Chapter 2. If they do not practice the problems in this section (and understand any errors they made), most students will miss the corresponding problems on the test.

Geometry:
Many parents, teachers, and books skip problems that involve asking students to prove statements. Since these problems are hard to do, and since students will not see problems like this on the SAT or ACT, this is understandable. However, we believe that proofs are an important part of Geometry. They teach students how to think, and, when we ask students, "Why did you do that?", we seldom want them to answer, "That's what the book told me to do." We would prefer that the students understand what they are doing and why they are doing it. If you choose to have your student do the problems that involve proving statements, we strongly suggest that you indicate this on the student's transcript. On the other hand, if you try the proofs and decide that your student will never understand them, you may skip the problems that ask the student to prove a statement. If you know that you will choose this option when you start the book, you may also skim through Chapter 1.

Algebra II:
Chapter 1: The following practice problems may be skipped: #61, #62, #67, #69, #70, #72, #74; #11 on the test for this chapter and #150 in Chapter 2 may also be skipped.
Chapter 2: Word problems involving ratios, averages, percent increase, and percent decrease are not discussed in many Algebra books and classes. However, these types of problems are common on the SAT and the ACT, and so we do not recommend skipping them.
Chapter 3: Any problems that involve variables in the exponents may be skipped.
Chapter 5: Part II may be skipped.
Chapter 10: Part III may be skipped.
Chapter 11: Part IV may be skipped.
Chapter 13: Part II may be skipped.
Chapter 14: Many Algebra II textbooks targeted to homeschoolers do not discuss matrices. However, most textbooks used in the public schools do discuss them, and most students Algebra II classes in public and private schools learn about them.
Chapter 16: The following practice problems may be skipped: #42, #43, #54, #55
Chapters 17 and 18: Many Algebra II textbooks targeted to homeschoolers do not discuss the concepts in these chapters. However, most textbooks used in the public schools do discuss them, and most students in the public schools learn about them.
Chapter 19: The entire chapter may be skipped.
Chapter 20: Generally, teachers run out of time before they can discuss the concepts in this chapter. However, many of the concepts in this chapter (and particularly those in the first section) are used in problems that are on the SAT and the ACT, and so we do not recommend skipping this chapter.
Chapter 21: With the exception of Part III, the entire chapter may be skipped.
Chapter 22: The entire chapter may be skipped. However, there are some questions from this chapter on the ACT. If your student will be taking the ACT, we recommend that you work at least the problems in the first section.