A Beginner’s Guide to Finite Mathematics For Business, Management, and the Social Sciences

This concise text takes a distinctly applied approach to finite mathematics at the freshman and sophomore level. Topics are presented sequentially: the book opens with a brief review of sets and numbers, followed by an introduction to data sets, histograms, means and medians. Counting techniques and the Binomial Theorem are covered, which provides the foundation for elementary probability theory; this, in turn, leads to basic statistics. Graph theory is defined, with particular emphasis on its use in mathematical modeling. Matrices and vectors are discussed, along with several elementary commercial applications. The book concludes with an introduction to linear programming, including the simplex method and duality. Ample examples and illustrations are provided throughout; each section contains two sets of problems, with solutions provided for the first set. Requiring little mathematical background beyond high school algebra, the text will be especially useful for business and liberal arts majors. Its straightforward treatment of the essential concepts in finite mathematics will appeal to a wide audience of students and teachers.