Did you read my tips on how to study and learn Math 1500?  If not, here is a link to those important suggestions:

These are tips for the first assignment in the Math 1520 course. Although, this assignment is only mandatory for the students in the developmental section, I strongly recommend that you all do this assignment as homework even if you are in the other section of the course.  These assignments are very good (and challenging) practice.  The first assignment is a great way to build and review key skills that will be helpful for this course.

Here is a link to the actual assignment, in case you don't have it:

Note that you need to study Lesson 1 (Skills Review), Lesson 2 (Cost & Revenue, Demand & Supply) and Lesson 3 (Logs and Exponentials) from my Calculus for Management book to prepare for this assignment.

Don't have my book? You can download a sample containing those two lessons here:

The assignment also delves pretty deep into some high school algebra that I have not discussed in my book, so I will endeavour to give you some more pointers when relevant.

Many students have trouble understanding my steps for making a sign diagram in Lesson 1.  Here is an easier method to remember (although it is slower for most students, it is perfectly adequate for this stage of the course).  Once you have found the Top and Bottom Zeros and marked them on the number line, pick a number from each region and substitute it into the entire function.  The sign of your answer will be the sign of that region.  For example, if you have marked the numbers 1 and 4 on the number line, choose a number less than 1 (such as 0) to sub into the function to find the sign of that region, choose a number between 1 and 4 (such as 2) to sub into the function to find the sign of that region, and choose a number greater than 4 (such as 5) to sub into the function to find the sign of that region.  Make sure you sub the number in place of every x in the function to establish the sign of the function in that region.

This is similar to what I show in question 1 of Lesson 2 to get equations of lines.  The key here is that you can use the two points to get the slope (although there will be a k in your answer), but you will also be able to get the slope by the fact it is perpendicular to the given line.  Set those two answers for the slope equal to each other to get an equation to solve for k.

Very similar to my question 5 in Lesson 2, with a bit of question 2 thrown in.

Be very careful to set this question up properly! You are asked to set up Celsius as a function of Fahrenheit.  As I discuss in my question 3 of Lesson 2, that is telling you which is the y and which is the x in this problem.  Otherwise, this is a straightforward linear equation problem like my questions 1 to 4 in Lesson 2.

I show you how to find domain in Lesson 1 of my book.  You may want to use my "Easier Way to Make Sign Diagrams" I discuss above.

This is actually a pre-cursor to the Definition of Derivative.  You may want to take a look at Lesson 6 in my book for examples of working with a formula like this.  Especially take a look at my discussion on Triple Deckers and the simplification I do in question 2 in that lesson.  Obviously, you will not be doing any limit in your problem, but the algebra is all the same.

Quite similar to my question 1 in Lesson 3.  Make sure you use your log laws properly.  Part (d) is very challenging.  You cannot get rid of the coefficient in front of the exponentials because there is one on each side.  So ln both sides and use log laws.  Note that ln[k a^x] is lnk + lna^x = lnk + xlna.  Then you will need to gather the terms with x to one side and factor x out of those terms as a common factor in order to isolate x.

A good run-through of the continuous compounding and compound interest formulas as illustrated in my questions 2 to 5 in Lesson 3.  Be careful, in part (b), you are told the person takes the money they have made in part (a) and then invests it in this new investment.  Thus, your answer for part (a) becomes the new principal, P, for part (b), and note that time is not 7 years in (b).  You have already invested for 3 years in part (a).

Another standard compound interest question like my questions in Lesson 3.