Elementary Mathematical Modeling: Functions and Graphs - Tapa dura

An entry-level college math course at the college algebra level for non-calculus bound students. This textbook presents an introduction to mathematical modeling based on the use of elementary functions to describe and explore real-world data and phenomena. Built on interesting applications of elementary mathematics, students are taught how to construct useful mathematical models, to analyze them critically, and to communicate quantitative concepts effectively. The author's approach makes maximum use of graphing calculator technology to engage students in the concrete modeling of mathematical applications.

MARY ELLEN DAVIS Georgia Perimeter College, received her Master of Arts degree in mathematics from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1976. She has taught mathematics at the secondary level and at Georgia State University and the University of Birmingham (England). She joined the mathematics department at Georgia Perimeter College (then DeKalb College) in 1991 and has taught a wide range of courses from college algebra to calculus and statistics. She was instrumental in the piloting and implementing of the college's Introduction to Mathematical Modeling course in 1998. She was selected as a Georgia Governor's Teaching Fellow in 1996, and in 1999 received a GPC Distance Education Fellowship to develop web-based materials for applied calculus. C. HENRY EDWARDS (Ph.D. University of Tennessee) Emeritus professor of mathematics at the University of Georgia, Edwards recently retired after 40 years of undergraduate classroom teaching at the universities of Tennessee, Wisconsin, and Georgia. Although respected for his diverse research interests, Edwards' first love has always remained teaching. Throughout his teaching career he has received numerous college- and university-wide teaching awards, including the University of Georgia's honoratus medal in 1983 and its Josiah Meigs award in 1991. In 1997, Edwards was the first university-level faculty recipient of the Georgia Board of Regents newly-instituted state-wide award for teaching excellence. A prolific author, Edwards is co-author of well-known calculus and differential equations textbooks and has written a book on the history of mathematics, in addition to several instructional computer manuals. During the 1990s, Edwards has worked on three NSF-supported projects that fostered a better integration of technology into the mathematics curriculum. The last three years of his long teaching career were devoted principally to the development of a new technology-intensive entry-level mathematics course on which this new textbook is based. Additional information is provided on his web page www.math.uga.edu/~hedwards.