Using and Understanding Mathematics: A Quantitative Reasoning Approach by Jeffrey O. Bennett, William L. Briggs

Product Details

Synopsis

Aimed at students majoring in nonmathematical fields—particularly those who feel some anxiety about math—this textbook focuses on the practical applications of mathematics in college, career, and life. Although not remedial in nature, the text is suitable for students with a wide range of mathematical backgrounds. The use of critical thinking skills is emphasized throughout. Topics include, for example, income taxes, statistical reasoning, mathematics and music, voting theory, and exponential population growth. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Booknews

This textbook's practical focus and arsenal of interesting problems should put an end to the piteous question, "but, whyyyyy do we have to learn this stuff?," once and for all. Topics include statistical reasoning, exponential growth and decay, financial management, probability, mathematics in business, problem solving techniques, numbers in the real world, and the principles of reasoning. Background in algebra is assumed. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.

Biography

Jeffrey Bennett specializes in mathematics and science education. He has taught at every level from pre-school through graduate school, including more than 50 college courses in mathematics, physics, astronomy, and education. His work on Using and Understanding Mathematics began in 1987, when he helped create a new mathematics course for the University of Colorado’s core curriculum. Variations on this course, with its quantitative reasoning approach, are now taught at hundreds of colleges nationwide. In addition to his work in mathematics, Dr. Bennett (whose PhD is in astrophysics) has written leading college-level textbooks in astronomy, statistics, and the new science of astrobiology, as well as books for the general public. He also proposed and developed both the Colorado Scale Model Solar System on the University of Colorado at Boulder campus and the Voyage Scale Model Solar System, a permanent, outdoor exhibit on the National Mall in Washington, DC. He has recently begun writing science books for children, including the award-winning Max Goes to the Moon and Max Goes to Mars. When not working, he enjoys swimming as well as hiking the trails of Boulder, Colorado with his family.

William L. Briggs has been on the mathematics faculty at the University of Colorado at Denver for 22 years. He teaches numerous courses within the undergraduate and graduate curriculum, and has special interest in teaching calculus, differential equations, and mathematical modeling. He developed the quantitative reasoning course for liberal arts students at University of Colorado at Denver supported by his textbook Using and Understanding Mathematics. He has written two othertutorial monographs, The Multigrid Tutorial and The DFT: An Owner's Manual for the Discrete Fourier Transform, as well as Ants, Bikes, Clocks, a mathematical problem solving text for undergraduates. He is a University of Colorado President's Teaching Scholar, an Outstanding Teacher awardee of the Rocky Mountain Section of the MAA, and the recipient of a Fulbright Fellowship to Ireland. Bill lives with his wife, Julie, and their Gordon setter, Seamus, in Boulder, Colorado. He loves to bake bread, run trails, and rock climb in the mountains near his home.