DSST Fundamentals of College Algebra study guide
DSST Fundamentals of College Algebra · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
Fundamentals of College Algebra is a DSST exam administered through Prometric test centers and recognized by many colleges and universities for credit-by-examination. The official exam page lists it as a Math exam at Level 3 Baccalaureate worth 3 semester hours, with a minimum passing score of 400. It is intended for students who already command the algebra taught in a first college course and want to demonstrate that knowledge rather than sit through the class, including undergraduates, adult learners returning to school, and service members. The exam covers complex numbers, algebraic operations, equations and inequalities, and properties of functions and their graphs; the publisher's topic summary specifically names solving quadratic inequalities, operations on functions, rational functions, and exponential and logarithmic functions. The DSST Fundamentals of College Algebra study guide has 4 sections and about 1,710 words.
01Complex Numbers
The complex-numbers domain tests arithmetic in the form a + bi, where a is the real part and b is the imaginary part, with the defining relation i² = −1. Questions typically ask you to simplify powers of i, add and subtract complex numbers, multiply, divide using the conjugate, compute a modulus, and solve quadratic equations whose discriminant is negative.
414 words, about 2 min02Algebraic Operations
This domain covers polynomial arithmetic, factoring, exponent rules, rational expressions, radicals, and expression simplification. The exam checks whether you can rewrite expressions correctly, combine fractions, and state the restrictions that keep an expression defined.
409 words, about 2 min03Equations and Inequalities
This domain tests solving linear, quadratic, rational, radical, absolute-value, and systems of equations, along with linear and quadratic inequalities and interval notation. The exam emphasizes valid solution sets: a correct algebraic step can still produce an extraneous solution or an incorrectly stated interval.
435 words, about 2 min04Properties of Functions and Their Graphs
This domain tests domain and range, function notation, composition, inverses, symmetry, transformations, intercepts, asymptotes, and piecewise functions. Questions often require reasoning from an equation or stated properties rather than from a visible graph.
452 words, about 2 min