Mathematics II—Semester B

Math II—now with more quadratics.

  • Credit Recovery Enabled
  • Course Length: 18 weeks
  • Course Type: Basic
  • Category:
    • Math
    • High School

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Shmoop's Mathematics II course has been granted a-g certification, which means it has met the rigorous iNACOL Standards for Quality Online Courses and will now be honored as part of the requirements for admission into the University of California system.


As you've hopped, skipped, and jumped along the Integrated Math pathway, you might have felt that something was missing. It was like an itch you couldn't scratch (except less likely to give you a rash), or a hole in your heart that you just couldn't fill (but without the trip to the hospital).

Well, don't worry—we found the quadratics. Somebody dropped them behind the couch. (Sorry.)

In Semester B of Mathematics II, you'll meet a lot of long-lost friends you didn't know you were missing. With our readings, problem sets, activities, and more, you'll get to know them inside and out. Just like your real friends.

Uh, maybe not.

  • Are these numbers real, or are they just fantasy? The opening unit on real and imaginary numbers will help you tell the difference—and hopefully avoid all that thunderbolt and lightning (very very frightening).
  • Poly want a polynomial? Or how about a quadratic? It's Poly's lucky day, because we'll be covering equations with both of them.
  • And not just equations—we've got the low-down on quadratic functions, too. Good thing we learned about imaginary numbers first, or else we'd be having an awkward conversation somewhere down the road.
  • Hope you haven't had enough functions yet, since we've got a whole unit devoted to them (and their fraternal twins, inverse functions).
  • We'll probably round out the semester by talking about probability. We'd put the chances of that at around 100%.

Bee-Tee-Dubs: Mathematics II is a two-semester course, and you're looking Semester B in the eye. You can back down and go check out Semester A here.


Looking for something to do on a Saturday night? Get your after dark learn on with Shmoop videos, like this one:

Technology Requirements

A computer with internet access is your gateway to this online course; if you can read this sign, we think you're covered. A scientific or graphing calculator would be handy, but it's not essential.


Unit Breakdown

8 Mathematics II—Semester B - Real and Imaginary Numbers

It turns out we've been leading a pretty happy, complacent existence by only working with real numbers. There's a whole other world to explore out there—one filled with so called "imaginary numbers." Fortunately, these guys behave a lot like real numbers...they've just got an added dimension.

9 Mathematics II—Semester B - Polynomials and Quadratics

Polynomials are one of the most important objects in math, and that's why we've got a whole unit chock full of 'em. We'll focus most on quadratics, though, going over the various ways to trick them into revealing their roots. They're pretty beguiling creatures.

10 Mathematics II—Semester B - Quadratic Functions

Wait, wasn't the last unit about quadratics? It was, but here we'll be dealing with them as functions, which means we can graph them. Graphing provides us with another tool to analyze these guys, and everything we learned in the last unit will help us construct even more accurate graphs. See? We're just attacking things from a slightly different angle.

11 Mathematics II—Semester B - Functions and Inverses

We've been working with functions for a while now, but here we'll see them like never before. After introducing some new function types, we'll throw them all together to create some mutant Franken-functions. There's even time for comparing functions, and discussing how to represent them in multiple ways.

12 Mathematics II—Semester B - Probability

Here's where we wrap the course up by taking a bit of a detour into probability. There's no shortage of math to learn here, as we run you through the gauntlet of rules everyone needs to know to calculate accurate probabilities. What's the probability that you'll love this unit? Strictly speaking, somewhere between 0 and 1, but we'll assume it's closer to 1.


Recommended prerequisites:

  • Mathematics I—Semester A
  • Mathematics I—Semester B
  • Mathematics II—Semester A