Introductory College Mathematics - 300 Practice Problems with Solutions: In Arithmetic, Algebra, Sets, Logic, Functions, Probability, Statistics, ... etc. (math workbooks for competitive exams)

Product Description

Maybe you left mathematics behind years ago and it never quite left you alone. A mortgage disclosure that reads like a wall of numbers. A poll with a margin of error you nod past. None of that requires advanced mathematics. It requires having done the arithmetic once, carefully, with your own hand. This book is built for exactly that.The material is the standard college mathematics or quantitative reasoning sequence, the set of tools adults turn out to need: enough arithmetic to be reliable, enough algebra to model a situation, enough probability to avoid being fooled, enough statistics to read a report, and enough financial mathematics to sign a contract knowing what it costs. Fifteen chapters cover Arithmetic, Algebra, Sets, Logic, Functions, Probability, Statistics, Geometry, Financial Mathematics, Counting, Matrices, Linear Programming, Graph Theory, Consumer Mathematics, and a closing chapter of Mixed Applications. Twenty fully worked problems in each.The problems come from ordinary life. Splitting shared costs among roommates. Computing the real annual rate on a payday loan. Working out how long a credit card takes to clear at the minimum payment, and how much a fixed payment saves instead. Figuring the true cost per mile of owning a car, or whether an extended warranty is worth its price. Chapter 14, Consumer Mathematics, is almost entirely questions of this kind, organized around the SMART purchase check.Chapter 9, Financial Mathematics, is the one that will most directly affect your bank balance. It walks through simple versus compound interest, effective annual yield, present value, mortgage payments, amortization, retirement savings, and tax brackets, using the VALUE method to keep every comparison honest. (The rates and brackets are illustrative, and the book says so plainly. The technique is what transfers; you substitute current figures.)Each chapter opens with a concrete situation, then lays out the core concepts with callout boxes flagging the traps, a formula toolkit, a named framework, and a short case study. The case studies are fictional people in real American settings: a bakery in Buffalo pricing croissants below cost, two nurses in Charlotte whose retirement accounts diverge after nine years of delay. Then the twenty problems, a summary, an action plan, and a five question quiz with answers.The preface is direct about how to use the book: attempt every problem with a pencil before reading the solution, and keep going when stuck. Start at Chapter 1 and go in order. It takes a few weeks. The FAQ, glossary, and resources section at the back are there when you need a definition or a next step. Read more