Mathematics for Business, 62-194
Winter 2012, Section 91
Instructor: Dr. Abida Mansoora
Office: Lambton Tower 9th Floor, Room 110
Phone Number: (519)-253-3000 ext. 3026
Email: mabida@uwindsor.ca
Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 1:00 – 3:00 pm
The best way to reach me is by e-mail. The address given above is normally
monitored several times a day during weekdays.
Introduction
Mathematics for Business (03-62-194) is one of the most essential courses future
business leaders can take. Let's face it; business revolves around numbers, not
just in accounting, but in marketing and operational aspects as well. Mathematics
is market analysis. Mathematics can verify or disprove market analysis.
Mathematics can predict production or forecast market changes or ripple effects.
In business, mathematics will get you places where an Armani suit will not. As
the world of business becomes increasingly globalized, the language each
competing or co-operating business has in common, is the language of numbers.
They are clearly understood wherever you go.
Objectives
This course is intended for students in the Faculty of Business Administration
and serves as an introduction to concepts and techniques of mathematics useful
in business situations. Topics include: mathematical modeling of qualitative
scenarios, linear simultaneous equations, inequalities, exponential and
logarithmic functions, graphical linear programming, and probability.
The primary goal of the course is to introduce students to the basic mathematical
techniques used in business and economics. The most important skill that
students should take away from the course is the ability to translate certain realworld problems such as, whether or not a venture would be profitable or not and
what are the expenses, into mathematical models. This means that we will be
focusing on solving word problems.
In order to make the course relevant, many of the problems are taken directly
from business or economic situations. The theme for the course is that in the
business world we must consider business rules and operating constraints when
making decisions. In addition to learning to work with constraints, we will also
learn the concept of probability and the use of combinations to solve counting
problems.
On completion of this course, you should be able to:
1. analyze survey results with the help of sets and Venn diagrams,
2. translate real-world business problems into mathematical problems and
solve them,
3. describe profit and loss regions and find the break-even point,
4. perform a market analysis (supply, demand and equilibrium point) ,
5. find the total cost, total revenue and profit functions for multiple products,
6. solve systems of linear equations using different methods
7. explain effects of production factors on profit and ways to maximize profit,
8. organize and interpret data stored in matrices,
9. solve optimization problems with constraints using linear programming
methods,
10. solve exponential and logarithmic equations representing cost, revenue,
demand or supply,
11. compute probability of the occurrence of an event,
12. use combinations and permutations to solve counting problems.
Pre-requisite Courses:
Any Grade 12 Mathematics Course.
Administration
This is a twelve week course with 8 chapters. Each week we will cover a chapter
or a part of a chapter. The textbook and course Web site will be the source of
ALL information for this course. You are expected to check the site daily.
Homework assignments will be posted bi-weekly. They are to be submitted by
the mail. Solutions will be posted on the course website after the due date. Be
sure to check the "Announcements" regularly for updates or new information.
Course Website
This Course Website (CLEW) is the source of ALL administrative information for
this course. Consider any information here to be authoritative and up-to-date.
This is how the site will be used.
Announcements – will be used to broadcast information to all students in
this course at the same time.
Syllabus – will be used to post course outline and course schedule etc.
Email Instructor – will allow you to send an email directly to your instructor
and include attachments with your emails.
Discussions – One of the best ways to learn is by discussion. There are
three separate Discussion areas. Their purposes are explained in the
Discussion area. This is the area where you go to locate the topic and
participate. Also, go here for course help from your classmates and, while you
are there, see if you can help someone else. Be polite to others. The instructor
monitors the Discussion board and may enter comments as required.
Lessons – is the area where you find lessons and any learning resources,
which accompany them.
Assignments – is where you will find links to your assignments. You will also
find deadlines for assignments. Meet your deadlines!
You will submit assignments by mail not electronically. They must be
postmarked by the due date of the assignment. When graded, they will be
returned to you by mail. Keep copies of all assignments!
Feedback – will be used to post your marks in assignments
Course Schedule
A Course Schedule is included on the website. It is a one-page, weekly
breakdown of the course with important reminders included. You may want to
print this document and tape it on a wall near your computer.
You will find the Course Schedule via the “Syllabus” tool.
Resources
1. Textbooks
a) Mansoora, Mathematics for Business: Course Notes for 62-194,
University of Windsor (available as PDF under Lessons on the
course website).
b) Harshbarger, Reynolds, Mathematical Applications: For the
Management, Life, and Social Sciences, Eighth Edition or Custom
Edition, Houghton Mikhlin Company, ISBN 13: 978-0-618-65421-5 or
ISBN 13: 978-0-17-661436-2
This textbook is a reference and is not mandatory for the course. It is
recommended that you use it for practice exercises. A “Textbook vs.
Course Notes look up table” is provided on the course website for
that purpose.
The textbook may be ordered by phone, fax, on-line or in person
from the University of Windsor Bookstore. Bookstore information
may be found at: http://www.uwindsor.ca/bookstore.
2 A University of Windsor email account. Each registered student at the
University of Windsor is given an email account and must be used for
any correspondence in this course. It is secure, allows larger file sizes
and is accessible from anywhere. It does not change and, best of all, it is
free. If you have not already done so, you must activate your account.
This may be done by following the instructions at
http://www.uwindsor.ca/uwinlogin If you have any difficulties, please
contact the ITS HelpDesk helpdesk@uwindsor.ca with a full description of
your difficulty, the course (name, number& professor) and your name and
email address.
3 Special Needs
Students with special needs who require reasonable accommodations are
encouraged to contact the Special Needs Program Office
(specneed@uwindsor.ca) early in each semester to complete the
necessary forms. More information on Special Needs may be obtained
from their website at: http://www.uwindsor.ca/sn .
4 All lessons will be in PDF files and needs PDF reader. You may download
the PDF reader, free of charge, at
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html
Note: To enable correct viewing of mathematical notation in Acrobat
Reader, open your version of Reader after installation, click on the File
pull-down menu, on Preferences in this menu, and on General in the
submenu that opens. In the General Preferences dialogue box that opens,
deselect "Use Greek text below.", so that the box at this point is not
checked. Then click on OK. Mathematical text should now appear
correctly in the reader. It should print correctly in any event.
Evaluation and Grades
In this course, you will be assessed by means of Assignments and a Final Exam.
All assignments will be submitted by regular mail.
Assignments
Assignments are the most vital part of this course. I highly recommend doing all
the homework assignments promptly. It is fine for you to discuss the homework
with other people. However, your submissions should be your own work. Aside
from the ethical issues involved, doing your own homework ensures that I can
provide you with accurate feedback as to what areas you might need to spend
more time studying.
There will be 5 assignments for the course, roughly corresponding to each
major topic that we will cover. Assignments will worth 50% of your final
grade. The assignments will be posted on the course website and accessed by
the “Assignments Drop Box” link in the left-hand column of the website. Each
assignment will have a due date located at the top of the Assignment page. You
must submit assignments through regular mail and they must be postmarked by
the due date given at the top of each assignment page. Late assignments will not
be accepted. I am not responsible for loss of any assignment in the mail, if
you wish you can use registered mail or express post for security. Post
assignments to:
Dr. Abida Mansoora
9110 Lambton Tower
Department of Mathematics and Statistics
University of Windsor
401 Sunset Avenue
Windsor, ON,
N9B 3P4
Keep a copy of each of your submitted assignments and be sure each
assignment submitted includes your name (last/first) and student number.
Your assignments will be returned to you after marking.
I will post solutions to assignments after the due date so it is imperative that you
submit the assignments on time.
Final Exam
The final exam is worth 50% of your course grade. You must pass the final
exam in order to pass the course.
Final exam will be a 3 hour closed book exam, only non-programmable and nongraphic calculators are allowed for the exam.
You will be notified when and where the final exam will be held by the Registrars
Office. If you have not heard anything by the 12th week of the course, contact
Registrars immediately (registrar@uwindsor.ca).
For students living more than 200 miles from the Windsor campus, a location and
time will be determined and a proctor arranged to monitor your exam.
If you pass the final exam then your numerical scores will be converted into letter
grades according to the following scheme:
A+
A
AB+
B
B-
93 – 100
86 - 92.9
80 - 85.9
77 - 79.9
73 - 76.9
70 - 72.9
C+
C
CD+
D
D-
67 - 69.9
63 - 66.9
60 - 62.9
57 - 59.9
53 - 56.9
50 - 52.9
F
F-
35 - 49.9
00 - 34.9
Late Assignments
The usual policy for the Business School is that a missed assignment will be
given a mark of zero (0) unless prior arrangements are made by the student with
the instructor. This zero may be changed for medical, compassionate, or other
valid reasons if approved by the instructor. This policy will be followed in this
course.
Exam Conflicts
Alternative or make-up FINAL exams are allowed for students who have three
(3) exams in one day, or if the date conflicts with religious conviction. Approvals
for this privilege are obtained only by application to the Registrar’s office before
the end of the fourth week of classes of the current term.
Missed Exams: Medical or Compassionate Reasons
Except for the conflicts described above, make up exams are permitted only for
acceptable and verifiable medical or compassionate reasons. These might
include hospital stays, serious illness, family emergencies, or similar
circumstances. Faculty of Science Medical Reporting Form must be completed by
you and your physician if you miss final exam for medical reasons. The form is
posted on the website and also it can be found on the math website at
www.uwindsor.ca/math.
Make-up Exam Procedure
Distance education students have to contact the Registrar’s office for make-up
exam. Contact information is found at: http://www.uwindsor.ca/registrar
Lesson Structure
 At the beginning of the lesson, I will list the lesson objectives.
 A Lesson Plan will list activities for each lesson in the order they should

be completed
At the end of a lesson you may find a To Do section which will outline
practice exercises or similar “homework”. This may include reminders
about upcoming due dates for assignment submission.
I believe if you successfully follow the lesson plan, you should not have any
difficulty keeping up with the class.
Academic Integrity & Code of Conduct
The University of Windsor’s academic integrity code will be enforced.
Some critical points are given below.
Academic honesty is expected of all students and included in the Student Code
of Conduct. Students are expected to behave in a manner that ensures their
work is judged accurately and fairly. Plagiarism or cheating in any form are
serious offences whether in examinations or assignments. All assignments and
exams are to be completed individually.
When there is academic dishonesty of any form, the instructor is unable to
assess the academic merit of the work that is submitted, hence is unable to
assign a mark to the work and the normal default grade is zero (0) on the test or
assignment in question. There will be no supplementary exam or assignments for
individuals who have breached this code of conduct. Occurrences of cheating
are reported to the Associate Dean and disciplinary proceedings may be initiated
pursuant to Senate Bylaw 31.
Each student is responsible for familiarization with University of Windsor by-laws
and regulations. Information may be obtained from the University of Windsor
calendar and from the web page of the academic integrity office:
www.uwindsor.ca/aio). Plagiarism policy will be strictly followed and enforced for
all assignments and exams.
Student Evaluation of Teaching (SET)
Student evaluation of teaching will be done on-line by the registrar’s office during
the last two weeks of classes. Please watch for announcements.
How to Do Well in the Course
You are provided with a weekly course schedule. Stick to the schedule as closely
as possible. Please don't fall behind, especially early in the course, as much of
the later material builds on the tools and techniques that we cover early in the
course.
I will be emphasizing word problems in this course. The golden rule for word
problems is: Make sure that you understand what every word in the question
means (use a dictionary if you have to) and what the question is asking you to
do.
The most effective way to learn mathematics is by doing mathematics. Just
reading the examples rarely provides the insight needed to solve new problems.
It is recommended to do related exercises from the textbook for more practice if
you face problem with solving exercises provided in the course notes. Homework
assignment is the most vital part of this course; I highly recommend doing all the
homework promptly. Because of the large amount of material we will be covering,
each assignment will seem long. It is fine for you to discuss the homework with
other people. However, your submissions must be your own work. Doing your
own homework ensures that I can provide you with accurate feedback as to what
areas you might need to spend more time studying. I will be doing all of the
marking for the course myself so that I can provide you with the best possible
feedback.
Please take advantage of my office hours if you are having difficulties (you can
visit me or call me to ask questions) also don't hesitate to send me email if you
have any questions.
Good luck and I hope that you enjoy the course.