Module 4 Overview:

Do you like music? Does music have anything to do with mathematics?

A note of music travels from its source to our ears by vibrations, and the number of vibrations per second determines the frequency of the note. The musical note A-440 (the "A" note above middle C on the piano) has a frequency of 440 vibrations per second. This is an image of the power spectrum showing all of the frequencies generated when a singer produces one note!

The frequency, f, of any note can be found using the equation , where n is the number of black and white keys the note is above or below A-440. Have you ever seen an exponent like ?

In this Module, you will extend your knowledge of squares and square roots and learn about new powers (exponents) and roots that are not whole numbers. These expressions have many applications in the world around us. We will begin with a review of our fundamental exponent laws.