How Do You Model a Stock Portfolio Containing Two Stocks?

Suppose we want to construct a stock portfolio containing two stocks. If we have $50,000 to invest and desire a total dividend return of 3%, how much must we invest in each stock?

Although this is a pretty simple portfolio, it gives us insight into how we can model the portfolio with a system of linear equations.

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Help Students (and Even Faculty) Collaborate with Free Google Apps

Today I presented several projects at the AMATYC Conference in New Orleans. I wanted to post some of the details of those projects for the attendees (as well as others) to utilize.

I use the College Costs Project in College Algebra. The version I presented in New Orleans is the first of four projects that I use in the class. This project requires teams of students to model college costs as a function of time using linear functions. Later in the semester, the students model the same data with quadratic, exponential, and logarithm functions.

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Use a Blog to Help Teach Your Math Class (Part 1)

Before I tell you about how you might use a blog in the classroom, let’s look at one of the easiest ways you can put your toe into the warm blog waters. There are several blog platforms available. Some require a web hosting plan, but two of the most popular do not and are free.

My personal favorite is WordPress. It offers a free beginners website that allows you to try out many of its features. If you desire more features, you can purchase a web hosting plan and install WordPress on that host. On most hosting plans, installing WordPress software is free . A WordPress installation on your own hosting service adds flexibility and allows you to use a wide array of tools to customize how your blog looks.

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Sony's "The Interview" Math Problem

In December of 2014, Sony released the movie The Interview online after threats to theaters cancelled the debut in theaters. As originally reported in Wall Street Journal, the sales figures reported in January contained an interesting math problem appropriate for algebra students.

The following January, Sony reported sales of $31 million from the sales and rentals of The Interview. They sold the movies online for $15 and rented through various sites for $6. If there were 4.3 million transactions, how many of the transaction were sales of the movie and how many of the transactions were rentals?

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