FSU MAC 1105: College Algebra
MAC 1105 is FSU's college algebra course (functions, polynomials, rationals, exponentials, and logarithms), satisfying quantitative core credit and feeding the precalculus and statistics pathways. It's one of the highest-enrollment courses on campus, taken mostly by first-year students.
Fennie is independent and not affiliated with Florida State University. This is an unofficial study guide.
What makes it hard
The content is high-school algebra. The danger is the structure: steady homework and quiz deadlines that punish drift, in a first college semester when no one is checking on you. The actual math errors trace overwhelmingly to rusty fundamentals: fractions, exponent rules, and factoring slips that compound through multi-step problems.
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 FSU MAC 1105, step by step.
- 1
Patch the fundamentals in week one
Fractions, exponent rules, and factoring cause most MAC 1105 errors, not the new material. A deliberate week of repair removes a semester of compounding slips.
- 2
Work on the course several short sessions a week
Algebra skill decays between cram sessions. Three or four short sessions hold the material in a way one long Sunday cannot.
- 3
Log every mistake by type
The same slip repeats until it's named and hunted. Keep an error list and reread it before each quiz. It's the cheapest grade improvement available.
- 4
Treat every quiz as a diagnostic
Misses tell you precisely what hasn't landed. Rework them the same week, because the final exam draws from the whole semester.
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 FSU?
The math itself is high-school level; the course defeats people through pacing, not concepts. First-semester students who fall behind the deadline stream struggle to recover. Stay current weekly and it's among the most manageable quantitative credits at FSU.
What comes after MAC 1105 at FSU?
Depends on your track: MAC 1140 and MAC 1114 toward calculus for STEM-bound students, or a statistics route for most other majors. Check your degree's mapping. For many FSU programs, 1105 itself completes the algebra requirement.
How do I pass MAC 1105?
Repair your fundamentals in week one, work the course in several short sessions weekly, and keep an error log. Failing grades in this course trace to missed deadlines and unexamined repeated mistakes far more than to any hard topic.
More FSU courses
MAC 2311: Calculus with Analytic Geometry I
MAC 2311 is FSU's Calculus I (limits, derivatives and their applications, and the start of integration), required for mathematics, the sciences, and students headed to the joint FAMU-FSU College of Engineering. It's a high-stakes course where exam performance decides nearly everything.
MAC 2312: Calculus with Analytic Geometry II
MAC 2312 continues FSU's calculus sequence: integration techniques, applications, and the sequences-and-series block that closes the course. It's required for math, physics, and engineering-bound students, and it carries the sequence's heaviest reputation.