Using and Understanding Mathematics: A Quantitative Reasoning Approach

by Bennett, Jeffrey O.; Briggs, William L.

• ISBN13: 9780201717112
• ISBN10: 0201717115
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2002-01-01
• Publisher: Addison Wesley

Summary

Most students taking this course do so to fulfill a requirement, but the true benefit of the course is learning how to use and understand mathematics in daily life. This quantitative reasoning text is written expressly for those students, providing them with the mathematical reasoning and quantitative literacy skills they' ll need to make good decisions throughout their lives. Common-sense applications of mathematics engage students while underscoring the practical, essential uses of math.

Table of Contents

Preface Prologue: Literacy for the Modern Worl

Logic and Problem Solving

Thinking Critically

Recognizing Fallacies

Propositions and Truth Values

Sets and Venn Diagrams

Analyzing Arguments 1E Critical Thinking in Everyday Life

Approaches to Problem Solving

The Problem-Solving Power of Units

Standardized Units: More Problem-Solving Power

Problem-Solving Guidelines and Hint

Quantitative Information in Everyday Life

Numbers in the Real World

Uses and Abuses of Percentages

Putting Numbers in Perspective

Dealing with Uncertainty

Index Numbers: The CPI and Beyond

How Numbers Deceive: Polygraphs, Mammograms, and More

Managing Your Money

Taking Control of Your Finances

The Power of Compounding

Savings Plans and Investments

Loan Payments, Credit Cards, and Mortgages

Income Taxes

Understanding the Federal Budge

Probability and Statistics

Statistical Reasoning

Fundamentals of Statistics

Should You Believe a Statistical Study

Statistical Tables and Graphs

Graphics in the Media

Correlation and Causality

Putting Statistics to Work

Characterizing a Data Distribution

Measures of Variation

The Normal Distribution

Statistical Inference

Probability: Living with the Odds

Fundamentals of Probability

Combining Probabilities

The Law of Large Numbers

Assessing Risk

Counting and Probabilit

Modeling

Exponential Astonishment

Growth: Linear versus Exponential

Doubling Time and Half-Life

Real Population Growth

Logarithmic Scales: Earthquakes, Sounds, and Acids

Modeling Our World

Functions: The Building Blocks of Mathematical Models

Linear Modeling

Exponential Modeling

Modeling with Geometry

Fundamentals of Geometry

Problem Solving with Geometry

Fractal Geometr

Further Applications

Mathematics and the Arts

Mathematics and Music

Perspective and Symmetry

Proportion and the Golden Ratio

Mathematics and Politics

Voting: Does the Majority Always Rule

Theory of Voting

Apportionment: The House of Representatives and Beyond

Dividing the Political Pie

Mathematics and Business

Network Analysis

The Traveling Salesman Problem

Scheduling Problem

Credits Answers

Index

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