Math

The PWSH math department endeavors to prepare students to meet the mathematical needs of today’s society. Our classes stress analytical and critical thinking skills through the use of real-world applications, encourage appropriate use of relevant technologies, and develop skills to be successful in future mathematical endeavors. Make sure you visit mypisd.net to view calendars, syllabi, and other information concerning each course.

Parents have the ability to review instructional plans for their child’s classes. Visit https://www.pisd.edu/students-families-a6/instructionalplans to view the instructional plans and learn more about your child’s learning experience.

Meet the Staff

Staff Member	Courses	Title
Meerna Ayoubi	AB Calculus and AP Pre-Calculus
Sean Fairchild	Math Models, Track, and Cross Country	Track and Cross Country Coach
Sam Fung	Statistics and Advanced Quantitative Reasoning
Puja Garg	Algebra 2 and Statistics
Grady Giffin	Math Models, On Ramps Algebra, and AP Statistics	Math Models Team Leader
Jasmine Johnson	Algebra 2 and AP Pre-Calculus	Algebra 2 Team Leader
Nicole Mayer	Statistics, Dual Credit Statistics, and Dual Credit Pre-Calculus	Statistics Team Leader
Leanne Mendez	AP Statistics and Texas College Bridge for Math	AP Statistics Team Leader
David Nachman	Geometry and Math Models
Lynn Pettit	Algebra 2, Pre-Calculus, and Texas College Bridge for Math
Jesse Pfeifer	AB Calculus and AP Statistics
Josie Phillips	Honors Algebra 2
Phil Pitts	BC Calculus and Texas College Bridge for Math	AB and BC Calculus Team Leader
Sameera Rashid	Algebra 2 and Pre-Calculus
Mahpara Soomro	AP Pre-Calculus and Algebra 2	AP Pre-Calculus Team Leader
Morgen Walker	Algebra 2 and Tennis	Tennis Coach
Olivia Weinberg	AB Calculus and Pre-Calculus	Math Department Chair and Pre-Calculus Team Leader

Math Courses

Algebra 2/Algebra 2 Honors

Prerequisites: Algebra 1 and Geometry

Algebra 2 expands on the exploration of the basic linear and quadratic functions from Algebra 1 but also adds the study of polynomial functions, rational functions, exponential functions, and logarithmic functions. Algebra 2 Honors explores and extends the same subjects as on-level but at a higher cognitive level. The honors course provides an opportunity to experience Algebra 2 topics in more depth. Students that intend to take AP Pre-Calculus should be enrolled in Honors Algebra 2 to prepare for the rigor and pace that AP Pre-Calculus will present.

Note: the honors Algebra 2 course might be more challenging than other honors courses students have taken in the past as students likely took Geometry the year prior. This means it has been over a year since they had Algebra 1.

OnRamps Algebra 2

Prerequisites: Algebra 1 and Geometry

Students taking this course are dual enrolled in the course as a high school student (through Plano West) and as a college student (through the University of Texas at Austin). Students will receive instruction from a Plano West teacher with additional material from a UT professor. Some assignments will count only towards their college credit or high school credit while others will count towards both. Students are able to decide at the end of the school year whether or not they want the grade they made for the college credit to go on their college transcript. The course is inquiry based, so students should expect to do work to discover the mathematics they are using rather than having traditional lectures. This course expands on the exploration of the basic linear and quadratic functions from Algebra 1 but also adds the study of polynomial functions, rational functions, exponential functions, and logarithmic functions.

PreCalculus

Precalculus

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2

Pre-Calculus expands on the functions explored in Algebra 2. Pre-Calculus adds the study of trigonometric functions, polar functions, parametric functions, limits, and sequences/series. As the name suggests, Pre-Calculus is designed to prepare students for a future course in Calculus, but it does not contain any Calculus topics. This course may be the capstone secondary mathematics course; therefore it is not exclusively focused on preparation for future secondary math courses.

Note: all Pre-Calculus students should expect to be required to find the majority of their solutions without the use of a graphing calculator or Desmos. All math classes after Algebra 2 are considered challenging upper-level math courses. Students should enter the course expecting to be challenged. Pre-Calculus does not have an impact on UIL eligibility. We recommend that students who did not take AP Pre-Calculus do not take BC Calculus but instead take AB Calculus as they will likely be unprepared for BC Calculus, having missed the extra rigor and concepts covered in AP Pre-Calculus.

AP Precalculus

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2

AP Pre-Calculus expands on the functions explored in Algebra 2. AP Pre-Calculus adds the study of trigonometric functions, polar functions, parametric functions, limits, and sequences/series. As the name suggests, AP Pre-Calculus is designed to prepare students for a future course in Calculus, but it does not contain any Calculus topics. In AP Pre-Calculus, students build deep mastery of modeling and functions, and they examine scenarios through multiple representations. They will learn how to observe, explore, and build mathematical meaning from dynamic systems, an important practice for thriving in an ever-changing world. Topics include the study of functions as it relates to modeling data, exploring multiple representations, and mastering symbolic representations. AP Pre-Calculus prepares students for other college-level mathematics and science courses. This course may be the capstone secondary mathematics course; therefore it is not exclusively focused on preparation for future secondary math courses. AP Pre-Calculus students should expect to be required to provide written explanations for their solutions using accurate mathematical language as well as finding the solutions.

PreCalculus - Dual Credit

Precalculus - DUAL CREDIT

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2

Students taking a dual credit course are enrolled in that course as Collin College students. Students should be aware that they will take College Algebra during the first semester before moving onto Pre-Calculus.

Note: We recommend that students planning to take AB or BC Calculus do not take Dual Credit Pre-Calculus.

AP Calculus

AP Calculus AB
AP Calculus BC

AP Calculus AB

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus

AB Calculus is the study of limits, rates of change (derivatives), and accumulating rates of change (integrals) involving: polynomial, rational, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions. Students successful on the AB AP test may earn one semester of college calculus credit (Calculus 1).

Note: We recommend that students planning to take AB or BC Calculus do not take Dual Credit Pre-Calculus.

AP Calculus BC

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, Algebra 2, and Pre-Calculus

BC calculus explores all AB topics ( limits, rates of change (derivatives), and accumulating rates of change (integrals) involving: polynomial, rational, trigonometric, exponential, and logarithmic functions), with some in greater detail, and adds the study of series and convergence (including Taylor Polynomials) and derivatives and integrals of additional types of functions - logistic, polar, parametric, and vector-valued functions. Students successful on the BC AP test may earn two semesters of college calculus credit (Calculus 1 and 2). Since BC explores additional topics, it goes at a much faster pace than AB.

Note: We recommend that students who did not take AP Pre-Calculus do not take BC Calculus but instead take AB Calculus as they will likely be unprepared for BC Calculus, having missed the extra rigor and concepts covered in AP Pre-Calculus. We recommend that students planning to take AB or BC Calculus do not take Dual Credit Pre-Calculus.

Additional Math

Additional Math

Math Models

Prerequisites: Algebra I

Math Models explores using mathematics to model real world situations. Math Models acts as a bridge course between Algebra 1 and Algebra 2 with some topics from both courses, but it also includes some basic probability and consumer/finance based mathematics.

Note: Students that have already completed Algebra 2 or Pre-Calculus should not take this course.

Statistics

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2

This Statistics course provides the experience of statistics without the AP level of rigor. This course serves as an alternative to Pre-Calculus for students with an interest in or future plans involving statistics or data analysis. While not computation intensive, the course offers a reasonable level of rigor and emphasizes vocabulary. It is a concept intensive course. Students should expect to be interpreting word problems and write paragraphs frequently.

Note: All math classes after Algebra 2 are considered challenging upper-level math courses. Students should enter the course expecting to be challenged. This course does not rely on prior math knowledge.

AP Statistics

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2

As an AP class, students should expect a higher level of rigor in AP Statistics. This course focuses more on concepts and critical thinking as opposed to calculations. A strong work ethic and time spent doing work outside of class are expected of students. AP Statistics contains a substantial writing component on most assessments. If a student elects to take the AP test, they may earn college credit for college-level Statistics.

Advanced Quantitative Reasoning

Prerequisites: Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2

AQR is a real-world problem-solving math course involving functions learned in Algebra 2 and some basic statistics. In AQR, students should expect to work more individually and in groups on a presentation or project as opposed to taking notes from a teacher’s lecture. This course covers a wide variety of topics in mathematics that also appear in Pre-Calculus, Statistics, and Financial Mathematics. Since it covers so many topics, it does not go into as great of depth within each topic.

Note: All math classes after Algebra 2 are considered challenging upper-level math courses. Students should enter the course expecting to be challenged.

Math

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Courses

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