Week 4 — Readings & Resources · Linear Functions & Their Graphs

Course: College Algebra (MATH 120) · Silver Oak University (fictional sample) · Prof. Calloway
Objective covered: Objective 4 — Analyze and graph linear functions using slope, intercepts, and the slope-intercept, point-slope, and standard forms; identify parallel and perpendicular lines.

How to use this page

Everything here is a link to an external resource — open it in your browser, the same way you'd open a YouTube link. Nothing needs to be downloaded.

This week's load is deliberately light: ~2 readings + ~2 videos, grouped by the week's big ideas. Read or watch one item per group and you're ready for the quiz; do all of them and you'll be very comfortable. Total time is roughly 35–50 minutes if you do everything, far less if you pick one per group.

Reading order that matches the lecture: ① slope and graphing lines → ② writing equations of lines and modeling.

A habit to keep: the AI tutorial this week ends by having you catch a chatbot's perpendicular-slope mistake. Keep that posture as you read — the tool drafts, you check.

① Slope, Graphing Lines & Forms

Maps to Lecture Segments 2–5. Slope names the steepness of a line; slope-intercept and point-slope forms turn a slope and a point into an equation.

Reading — "Linear Functions" (OpenStax, College Algebra 2e, §4.1)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/college-algebra-2e/pages/4-1-linear-functions
Why it's assigned: covers slope, slope-intercept form y = mx + b, point-slope form, x- and y-intercepts, horizontal and vertical lines, and the slope formulas — the same concepts in the same order as our lecture. The worked examples mirror the ones from class.
⏱ ~12 min

Reading — "Lines" (Paul's Online Math Notes — Algebra, §3.2)
🔗 https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/Classes/Alg/Lines.aspx
Why it's assigned: a tight, example-driven page that walks through slope, slope-intercept, point-slope, and the parallel/perpendicular rules — great as a second pass if the OpenStax reading felt too long, or if you want extra worked examples with different numbers.
⏱ ~10 min

② Modeling with Linear Functions & Parallel/Perpendicular Lines

Maps to Lecture Segments 6–7. Parallel lines share a slope; perpendicular lines have slopes that multiply to −1. Real-world linear models use slope as a rate of change.

Reading — "Modeling with Linear Functions" (OpenStax, College Algebra 2e, §4.2)
🔗 https://openstax.org/books/college-algebra-2e/pages/4-2-modeling-with-linear-functions
Why it's assigned: extends the graphing skills to real-world interpretation — writing equations from data, identifying slope as a rate, and predicting values. Includes the parallel/perpendicular analysis. This is what Discussion 4 and Assignment 4 Problem 4 call on you to do.
⏱ ~10 min

Video — "Graphing Lines and Equations of Parallel and Perpendicular Lines" (Professor Leonard)
🔗 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZ2TvAUR1x8
Why it earns the click: an unhurried, full-length board walkthrough of graphing lines, writing equations from points and slopes, and identifying parallel and perpendicular lines — ideal if you want to see every step worked out before you try the quiz or assignment.
⏱ longer lecture (skim to the parts you need; the parallel/perpendicular section starts roughly halfway through)

Optional one-stop reference (free online)

If you'd like one optional reference to return to all term, Paul's Online Math Notes — Algebra keeps a full, free set of notes online, and Professor Leonard's College Algebra playlist has full-length lectures for every topic in this course.
🔗 Paul's Algebra notes: https://tutorial.math.lamar.edu/classes/alg/alg.aspx
🔗 Professor Leonard — College Algebra / Trigonometry playlist: https://m.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDesaqWTN6ESsmwELdrzhcGiRhk5DjwLP
Why they're here: reputable, currently-available references you can come back to in later weeks — entirely optional this week.

Pick-one quick path (≈20 min total)

In a hurry? Do exactly these and you'll be ready for the quiz:
1. Read OpenStax §4.1 — covers slope, both forms of the line equation, and intercepts.
2. Skim OpenStax §4.2 — especially the parallel/perpendicular section and one modeling example.

Heads-up (links rot): these point to outside sites that occasionally move or rename pages. If a link ever fails, tell Prof. Calloway and use the Paul's Online Math Notes reference above in the meantime.