Both Learning Modules include real numbers, equations and inequalities, exponents and polynomials, lines and systems, functions and graphs, rational and radical expressions, and geometry, which are all covered in placement assessments. Your placement assessments will evaluate your knowledge of logarithms, exponentials, and trigonometry even if you've been working in the Prep for Precalculus Learning Module, which doesn't include those topics.

Choosing your Learning Module

After you've completed your first placement assessment, ALEKS will recommend the Learning Module it believes is best matched to your current abilities, as determined by your assessment. 

If you've already successfully completed a precalculus course, or other coursework covering trigonometry, logarithms, and exponential functions, you'll probably benefit most from the Prep for Calculus Module. If your assessment score is low, your learning path will start with a thorough review of the basics before moving on to more advanced material.

If ALEKS recommends the Prep for Calculus Module based on your assessment score, you should probably select that Module even if you haven't taken precalculus or trigonometry yet. ALEKS won't ask you to work on material you're not ready for—you'll have ample opportunity to polish your advanced algebra skills, and you can have a leisurely, stress-free introduction to new concepts.

If you haven't yet taken a precalculus or trigonometry course and ALEKS recommends the Prep for Precalculus Learning Module, you'll probably be best off with that Module. 

You can't switch your Learning Module once you've started work in it, so choose wisely! 

Navigating your Learning Module

The next few pages will explain some of the key features of your Learning Module. Complete information about your Module can be found in the ALEKS PPL Learning Module User Manual. Some of the capabilities and controls of your Module aren't obvious, and the manual is short, so it's worth reading!