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Finite Mathematics with Applications in the Management, Natural, and Social Sciences, 12th edition

Published by Pearson (January 2, 2018) © 2019

  • Margaret L. Lial American River College
  • Tom Hungerford Saint Louis University
  • John P. Holcomb Cleveland State University
  • Bernadette Mullins Birmingham Southern College

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For 2nd-semester or 2nd- and 3rd-quarter courses covering finite mathematics for students in management or the natural and social sciences.

A strong foundation with relevant applications

Finite Mathematics with Applications in the Management, Natural, and Social Sciences builds a strong foundation with 4 chapters of algebra coverage before tackling finite mathematics, a natural progression from foundational to more advanced topics and from concrete examples to general rules and formulas. It motivates students through its grounded presentation and real-world applications. The 12th Edition revises and adds new content, applications, pedagogical devices and exercise sets.

Hallmark features of this title

  • Prerequisite Skills Test for Chapters 1-4 identify any skills gaps. Solutions to the test exercises enable students to remediate.
  • Symbolic, numerical, graphical and verbal representations of a topic result in a balanced approach to new material.
  • Variety of exercise types includes Writing Exercises, Connection Exercises, Graphing Calculator Exercises and Spreadsheet Exercises along with skill-based practice, conceptual and application-based exercises.
  • Checkpoint exercises ask students to stop, check their understanding of a concept and move forward.
  • Technology Tips highlight various features of students' graphing calculator, spreadsheet or other computer programs.
  • Chapter case studies show real-world applications of some of the mathematics presented.

New and updated features of this title

  • New real-data examples, exercises and applications throughout are noted with a green header that highlights the subject of the problem.
  • In Chapter 5, the notation for financial formulas was changed to match the notation used in the TVM Solver from the TI-84 calculator.
  • Reorganized Chapter 10 (Introduction to Statistics):
    • Covering weighted averages was added to Section 10.2 so that students can understand applications such as calculating their own final grade when different components of a course count for different percentages
    • Discussion about boxplots was moved from Section 10.4 to Section 10.3. Material on using the normal distribution to approximate the binomial distribution in Section 10.5 in the previous edition was consolidated and moved to Section 10.4.
  • More specific application labels engage students and enable them to find applications that relate to their major and areas of interest. For example, an application formerly labeled “Business” is labeled “Google Profits” in this edition.

Features of MyLab Math for the 12th Edition

  • Additional and updated assignable exercises: Instructors now have more exercises than ever to choose from in assigning homework. Most new questions are application-oriented. There are approximately 5,200 assignable exercises total in MyLab Math.
  • New Setup & Solve exercises ask students to show how they set up a problem as well as the solution, better mirroring what is required on tests.
  • Additional Conceptual Questions provide support for assessing concepts and vocabulary. Many of these questions are application oriented.
  • A new full suite of Interactive Figures illustrates key concepts and allow manipulation. They have been designed to be used in lecture as well as by students independently.
  • New full-lecture Instructional Videos for each text section are a great resource for students who need extra help. Each is segmented by Introduction, Example or Summary for easier navigation and make this MyLab course ideal for online, hybrid and flipped classes. MathTalk and StatTalk videos were also added to highlight applications of the content of the course to business.
  • An Integrated Review version of the MyLab Math course is available with pre-made, assignable quizzes to assess the prerequisite skills needed for each chapter, plus personalized remediation for any identified skills gaps.
  • Preface
  • To the Student
  • Prerequisite Skills Test

1. Algebra and Equations

  • 1.1 The Real Numbers
  • 1.2 Polynomials
  • 1.3 Factoring
  • 1.4 Rational Expressions
  • 1.5 Exponents and Radicals
  • 1.6 First-Degree Equations
  • 1.7 Quadratic Equations
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 1. Energy Efficiency and Long-Term Cost Savings

2. Graphs, Lines, and Inequalities

  • 2.1 Graphs
  • 2.2 Equations of Lines
  • 2.3 Linear Models
  • 2.4 Linear Inequalities
  • 2.5 Polynomial and Rational Inequalities
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 2. Using Extrapolation and Interpolation for Prediction

3. Functions and Graphs

  • 3.1 Functions
  • 3.2 Graphs of Functions
  • 3.3 Applications of Linear Functions
  • 3.4 Quadratic Functions and Applications
  • 3.5 Polynomial Functions
  • 3.6 Rational Functions
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 3. Maximizing Profit

4. Exponential and Logarithmic Functions

  • 4.1 Exponential Functions
  • 4.2 Applications of Exponential Functions
  • 4.3 Logarithmic Functions
  • 4.4 Logarithmic and Exponential Equations
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 4. Gapminder.org

5. Mathematics of Finance

  • 5.1 Simple Interest and Discount
  • 5.2 Compound Interest
  • 5.3 Annuities, Future Value, and Sinking Funds
  • 5.4 Annuities, Present Value, and Amortization
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 5. Investing in Stocks and Using the Rule of 72

6. Systems of Linear Equations and Matrices

  • 6.1 Systems of Two Linear Equations in Two Variables
  • 6.2 Larger Systems of Linear Equations
  • 6.3 Applications of Systems of Linear Equations
  • 6.4 Basic Matrix Operations
  • 6.5 Matrix Products and Inverses
  • 6.6 Applications of Matrices
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 6. Airline Route Maps

7. Linear Programming

  • 7.1 Graphing Linear Inequalities in Two Variables
  • 7.2 Linear Programming: The Graphical Method
  • 7.3 Applications of Linear Programming
  • 7.4 The Simplex Method: Maximization
  • 7.5 Maximization Applications
  • 7.6 The Simplex Method: Duality and Minimization
  • 7.7 The Simplex Method: Nonstandard Problems
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 7. Cooking with Linear Programming

8. Sets and Probability

  • 8.1 Sets
  • 8.2 Applications of Venn Diagrams and Contingency Tables
  • 8.3 Introduction to Probability
  • 8.4 Basic Concepts of Probability
  • 8.5 Conditional Probability and Independent Events
  • 8.6 Bayes' Formula
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 8. Medical Diagnosis

9. Counting, Probability Distributions, and Further Topics in Probability

  • 9.1 Probability Distributions and Expected Value
  • 9.2 The Multiplication Principle, Permutations, and Combinations
  • 9.3 Applications of Counting
  • 9.4 Binomial Probability
  • 9.5 Markov Chains
  • 9.6 Decision Making
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 9. Quick Draw® from the New York State Lottery

10. Introduction to Statistics

  • 10.1 Frequency Distributions
  • 10.2 Measures of Center
  • 10.3 Measures of Variation and Boxplots
  • 10.4 Normal Distributions
  • Summary and Review
  • CASE STUDY 10. Standard Deviation as a Measure of Risk

APPENDICES

  • A. Areas under the Normal Curve
  • B. Solutions to Prerequisite Skills Test

Answers to Selected Exercises

Index of Companies, Products, and Agencies

Index of Applications

Subject Index

Photo Credits

Reference Endpapers:

  • Algebra Review
  • Geometric Formulas
  • Finite Math Review

About our authors

The late Marge Lial  was always interested in math; it was her favorite subject in the first grade! Marge's intense desire to educate both her students and herself has inspired the writing of numerous best-selling textbooks. Marge, who received Bachelor's and Master's degrees from California State University at Sacramento, was affiliated with American River College. An avid reader and traveler, her travel experiences often found their way into her books as applications, exercise sets, and feature sets. Her interest in archeology led to trips to various digs and ruin sites, producing some fascinating problems for her textbooks involving such topics as the building of Mayan pyramids and the acoustics of ancient ball courts in the Yucatan. 

The late Thomas W. Hungerford received his Bachelor's degree from Holy Cross and his PhD from the University of Chicago. He taught for many years at the University of Washington (Seattle) before moving to Cleveland State University in 1980 and then to St. Louis University to in 2003. He wrote a number of research articles in algebra and several in mathematics education. Dr. Hungerford is the author or coauthor of more than a dozen mathematics textbooks, ranging from high school to graduate level, several of which are published by Pearson. He passionately promoted the effective use of technology in mathematics instruction. Dr. Hungerford was also a referee and reviewer for various mathematical journals and served on National Science Foundation panels for selecting grant recipients.

John P. Holcomb, Jr. received his Bachelor's degree from St. Bonaventure University and his PhD from the University at Albany, State University of New York. He is professor and chair and frequently publishes with researchers in a variety of disciplines where he provides statistical analysis. Dr. Holcomb has also authored several papers in statistical education and is very active in the American Statistical Association and the Mathematical Association of America. He was named a Carnegie Scholar in 2000 by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and Learning and in 2003 received the Waller Award from the American Statistical Association for outstanding teaching of introductory statistics. 

Bernadette Mullins received her Bachelor's degree from Western Illinois University and her PhD from the University of Iowa. She is currently professor of mathematics at Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) in Birmingham, Alabama, where she arrived in 2000. She has published numerous articles in the fields of commutative ring theory and mathematics education. She has served as co-investigator for several National Science Foundation grants related to improving mathematics education. Dr. Mullins has won 4 awards for her excellence in teaching, including the Bob Whetstone award at BSC. Throughout her career she has been active in Project NExT (New Experiences in Teaching) and the Mathematical Association of America, and was elected Alabama State Director of the MAA in 2013.

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