For All Practical Purposes: Introduction to Contemporary Mathematics

by Consortium for Mathematics and its Applications and Comap

Book Overview

Offers study tips and tools to help students gain a better understanding of course material. New edition will also include study flashcards for further practice.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0716728419
• ISBN13: 9780716728412
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: W.H. Freeman & Company
• Length: 884 Pages
• Weight: 0.50 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.4" x 7.7" x 9.4"

Customer Reviews

book

book was exactly as it was described and was sent promptly. would buy from this seller again. Thank You.

Great value, but used very little (if at all) in class

I got this product at a great value. Most people paid about 60-70 dollars, maybe even more at the University bookstore. I think I recall that I paid less than ten dollars. However, I have yet to actually use this book in class. The only time the teacher has cracked it open was to show there were errors in it. We have homework assignments out of the book, but they aren't for a grade; they are just for practice. This is hardly necessary with at least the stuff we have been learning the first few weeks of class. To at least those in the WMU math class, I only suggest buying this if you are very unsure of your math skills or feel like you need to practice anyway.

An excellent textbook for courses in mathematical literacy at the high school or college level

Mathematical literacy is an important characteristic in the modern technological world, powerful calculators and computers cannot replace the fundamental knowledge of how mathematics is used. People are bombarded with data, statistical and mathematical arguments and they must manage a large part of their world by applying mathematics. There is no greater argument to support this than the current home mortgage crisis in the United States. Many of the people who are facing foreclosure did not completely understand their mortgages and the consequences if their mortgage rates were to rise. The mathematics of finance are simple to understand, yet were so often ignored. The topics covered in this book are: *) Management science - the basics of graph theory and how it is used to plan routes; optimize the use of resources and plan the sequencing of the tasks needed to build a large object. *) Statistics - how data is collected, processed and interpreted to turn it into information. *) Probability - the basic rules of probability and how it can be used in statistics. *) Voting and social choice - the basic concepts of voting, how it can be made fair and how certain conditions can prevent a fair election from being held. *) Fairness and game theory - coverage of some of the basic principles of game theory and how apparently irrational choices can be shown to be thoroughly rational. *) Information science - some of the basics of encryption and data compression *) The geometry of growth, patterns and tilings *) The mathematics of finance - the growth of money earning interest, and the economics of resource allocation and consumption The breadth of coverage is certainly what the modern citizen needs to understand; recent elections in the United States demonstrate that citizens need to know more about how elections are actually held. As we observed in the presidential election of 2000, despite the fundamental resilience of the voting process, the American electoral system does not work well when there is in essence a tie. The exposition is readable; there are a large number of worked examples that cover all of the material. Key points are highlighted and a large number of exercises are given at the end of the chapters. Solutions to the odd-numbered problems appear in an appendix. The level of presentation is such that advanced high school or early college students can understand it. If done in high school, a full year course would be more appropriate than trying to punch through it all in one semester.

For All Practical Purposes Student's Study Guide

The product was rated as being in new condition and it arrived quickly and looking new.

a very good survey

This book provides a very good survey of a variety of mathematical topics and their application. Depth of treatment is lacking sometimes, but the flavor is conveyed.