AS/MATH 1581 3.0 FW

Business Mathematics I

      This course is an introduction to interest rates (simple, compound), annuities (ordinary, due, deferred), amortization (mortgages, other debts), sinking funds, bonds (face value, bond rate, price, yield rate), and depreciation (straight line, constant percentage).
      A different title for this course might be "The Mathematics of Money". As money moves through time, the force of interest must be taken into account. Doing so requires mathematical calculations, and this course introduces some of those calculations. While the background required is only (the equivalent of) Ontario Grade 12 mathematics, the course will be a university-level mathematics course that requires problem-solving skills.
      This course is new for 1999-2000. It will be offered in both the Fall term and the Winter term, one section per term. It should be particularly attractive to students in the Business and Society Programmme, and also to students in economics and business-related areas. The course emphasizes problem solving rather than theory. Computers (spreadsheets) will not be used; students will need a hand-held calculator which can at least calculate exponents.
      The text will be P. Zima and R.L. Brown, Mathematics of Finance (4th Ed.), McGraw-Hill Ryerson Limited, 1993, but only about half the text (and not exactly the first half) will be covered. A Solutions Manual for the text will also be available for purchase.
      Tentatively, the final grade will be based on two one-hour class tests (25% each), and a final exam (50%).
      This course contains approximately half the material that is covered in MATH 2580 6.0 (but not exactly the first half of that course). Students who might major in Mathematics for Commerce should take MATH 2580 6.0 (where spreadsheets are covered) rather than MATH 1581 3.0. Either MATH 1581 3.0 or MATH 2580 6.0 will serve to satisfy part of the Core requirements of the Business and Society Programme.
      Another new course, MATH 2581 3.0, entitled "Business Mathematics II", is scheduled to begin in 2000-2001. It will contain the other half of MATH 2580 6.0, so that MATH 1581 3.0 plus MATH 2581 3.0 will be equivalent to MATH 2580 6.0. MATH 2580 6.0 might then be phased out.