available january 2012 quantitative literacy: uantitative ... and noell have found the answer: ......

A relevant, refreshing new textbook for the Liberal Arts Math course

Quantitative Literacy:The ability to understand and deal effectively with quantitative issues that people face in their everyday lives.

How do you engage students with the study of math? Crauder, Evans, Johnson, and Noell have found the answer: Help them become intelligent consumers of the quantitative data to which they are exposed every day—in the news, on TV, and on the Internet. In an age of credit card debt, opinion polls, and questionable statistics, too few students have mastered the basic mathematical concepts required to think about and evaluate data. Quantitative Literacy: Thinking Between the Lines develops mathematical ideas such as rate of change as key concepts in helping students make good personal, financial, and political decisions. The goal of Quantitative Literacy is a more informed generation of college students who think critically about the data provided to them, the images shown to them, and the offers made to them. Quantitative Literacy shows students the mathematics that matters to them: their bank account, their medical tests, their daily news feed. It also develops their mathematical thinking, helping them to understand the difference between truthful and misleading mathematical reporting.

Text Features • News Articles – pulled from contemporary sources – are used to introduce topics and provide relevant exercises. • Quick Reviews provide concise instruction and review of basic mathematical operations required to think critically and solve problems. • Key Concepts call attention to important concepts and provide a built-in review of each section and chapter. • OptionalAlgebraic Spotlights provide explanations of the mathematical reasoning underlying core mathematical formulas. • Single-stepWorked Examples in each section focus on key concepts, providing a foundation for multi-step Worked Examples.

It’s All in the ExamplesAfter taking your course and working with Quantitative Literacy, students will be equipped to think about and answer all of the following questions: • WilltheAtkinsDietreallyhelpmeloseweight? • HowdoIuselogictogetthebestresultsfromaGooglesearch? • Howdoesthelocalcarpetstoretrytofoolmeintothinkingtheir prices are lower because they quote price by the square foot instead of the square yard? • HowfarcanIgoonthistankofgas? • HowdoIinterprettheresultsofmymedicaltests? • Howcanbusinesspeopleandpoliticiansusegraphsandcharts to mislead me? • WillinflationaffectmysavingsandtheageatwhichIcanretire? • HowdoIavoidgettingtrickedbyaPonzischeme? • Iwanttobuyanewcarintwoyears.HowmuchdoIneedtosave each month to achieve my goal? How much car can I really afford? • Whyaregamesofchancesofinanciallyrisky? • Doesthegoldenrectangleexplainthebeautyofsomepaintings and architecture?

Available January 2012

Quantitative Literacy

Thinking Between the Lines

Bruce Crauder •OklahomaStateUniversity

Benny Evans •OklahomaStateUniversity

Jerry Johnson •UniversityofNevada,Reno

Alan Noell •OklahomaStateUniversity

See www.whfreeman.com/crauderpreview

for more information

Contact Steven Rigolosi at srigolosi@whfreeman.com

if you are interesting in previewing these materials or piloting them

in your classroom

Table of Contents

1. Critical Thinking1.1PublicpolicyandSimpson’sparadox:Is“average”alwaysaverage?1.2Logicandinformalfallacies:Doesthatargumentholdwater?1.3Formallogicandtruthtables:Docomputersthink?1.4SetsandVenndiagrams:Pictoriallogic1.5Numbersense:Whatdothesefiguresmean?

2. Analysis of Growth2.1 Measurements of growth: How fast is it changing?2.2Graphs:Picturinggrowth2.3Misleadinggraphs:ShouldIbelievemyeyes?

3. Linear and Exponential Change: Comparing Growth Rates3.1Linesandlineargrowth:Whatdoesaconstantratemean?3.2 Exponential growth and decay: Constant percentage rates3.3 Logarithmic phenomena: Compressed scales

4. Personal Finance4.1Savingmoney:Thepowerofcompounding4.2 Borrowing: How much car can you afford?4.3Savingforthelongterm:Buildthatnestegg4.4Creditcards:Payingoffconsumerdebt4.5Inflation,taxes,andstocks:Managingyourmoney

5. Introduction to Probability5.1 Calculating probabilities: How likely is it?5.2 Medical testing and conditional probability: Ill or not?5.3 Counting and theoretical probabilities: How many?5.4Morewaysofcounting:Permutingandcombining5.5Expectedvalueandthelawoflargenumbers:Don’tbetonit

6. Statistics6.1Datasummaryandpresentation:Boilingdownthenumbers6.2Thenormaldistribution:Whythebellcurve?6.3 The statistics of polling: Can we believe the polls?6.4Statisticalinferenceandclinicaltrials:Effectivedrugs?

7. Graph Theory7.1 Modeling with graphs and Euler circuits7.2 Hamilton circuits and traveling salesmen: Efficient routes7.3Trees:Whyarespellcheckerssofast?

8. Voting and Social Choice8.1Measuringvotingpower:Doesmyvotecount?8.2 Voting systems: How do we choose a winner?8.3 Fair division8.4 Apportionment: Am I represented?

9. Geometry9.1Perimeter,area,andvolume9.2Geometricproportionalityandsimilarity9.3Symmetriesandtilings

Brief Answers to Odd-Numbered Exercises

Chapters 1-5 are now available for adoption as a preliminary edition.Formoreinformation,contactStevenRigolosiatsrigolosi@whfreeman.com.

Quantitative Literacy: Thinking Between the Lines Bruce Crauder • Benny Evans • Jerry Johnson • Alan Noell