FIU MAC 1105: College Algebra
MAC 1105 is FIU's college algebra course, covering functions, polynomials, rational expressions, exponentials, and logarithms, and it's one of the university's highest-enrollment gateway courses. FIU runs it through a redesigned lab-based model with software-driven homework and required hours in the Mastery Math Lab.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Florida International University. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
The lab-based format hands you the schedule and the responsibility at the same time: required lab hours, software homework with deadlines, and frequent quizzes, all of which reward steady attendance and bury procrastinators. The math itself fails students less often than the calendar does, and rusty fundamentals like factoring and exponent rules cause most of the actual wrong answers.
What you'll cover
- • Functions and their graphs
- • Linear and quadratic equations
- • Polynomial and rational functions
- • Exponential and logarithmic functions
- • Systems of equations
The MAC 1105 study guide
How to study for FIU MAC 1105, step by step.
- 1
Schedule your lab hours like a class meeting
FIU's mastery model only works if the hours actually happen. Put the same lab blocks on your calendar every week. Commuter schedules eat unplanned study time first.
- 2
Repair the fundamentals immediately
Factoring, fraction arithmetic, and exponent rules cause most MAC 1105 errors. One deliberate week of repair early removes a semester of repeated mistakes.
- 3
Use the software's feedback as a map
Every problem the homework system marks wrong is telling you exactly what to review. Re-do missed problem types the same week instead of letting them pile into exam season.
- 4
Keep an error journal
Write down each mistake and what the correct move was. Rereading it before quizzes is the cheapest grade improvement available in this course.
Today
Today's MAC 1105 plan
What a Fennie Daily Plan looks like for MAC 1105. Yours is built from your own syllabus and adapts every day to your deadlines and progress.
First plan free, no card required. Fennie is independent and unaffiliated with your school.
FAQ
Is MAC 1105 hard at FIU?
The content is high-school algebra; the challenge is the format. Required lab hours and relentless software deadlines sink students who fall behind, especially commuters juggling jobs. Stay current weekly and it's one of the most manageable credits at FIU.
What is the Mastery Math Lab at FIU?
FIU's redesigned algebra model: instead of passive lectures, students work through software-based instruction with required hours in a dedicated lab where help is available on demand. It produces better outcomes than the old lecture format, but only for students who actually show up weekly.
What math comes after MAC 1105 at FIU?
Depending on your major: precalculus (MAC 1140/1147) on the calculus track toward MAC 2311, or STA 2023 for statistics-bound majors. Plenty of FIU degrees need only 1105 itself, so check your major map before assuming.
More FIU courses
MAD 2104: Discrete Mathematics
MAD 2104 is the math department's discrete mathematics course, covering logic, sets, functions, matrices, Boolean algebra, and graph theory, and it's the alternative to COT 3100 in FIU's computing degree plans. It's also taken by IT and other tech-adjacent majors who need the discrete foundation without the full CS theory track.
MAC 2311: Calculus I
MAC 2311 is FIU's first calculus course, covering limits, derivatives, applications of differentiation, and the start of integration, and it's required for engineering, computer science, and the physical sciences. It's a 4-credit, exam-weighted gateway course and a designated checkpoint in FIU's STEM pipeline.
MAC 2312: Calculus II
MAC 2312 is FIU's second calculus course: integration techniques, applications of the integral, sequences and series, and parametric and polar topics. It continues the engineering and science core, and it carries the sequence's heaviest reputation.