Finite Math and Business Calculus | Index

Finite math and business calculus use algebra, matrices, chance and calculus to answer money questions. How many items must a company sell to break even? What is a loan payment?

The course covers cost and profit models, matrices and linear programming, and the math of loans and savings. It also covers Markov chains, game theory, and the derivatives and integrals used in business.

It’s for college students in business, economics and the social sciences. Many of them take finite math or business calculus in place of the usual calculus courses.

What to know first: Algebra 2, including exponential and logarithmic functions. Unit 4 uses basic probability from Statistics, Unit 4, and the business calculus units use derivatives and integrals from Calculus 1.

Lessons for this course are coming soon. The list below shows every planned lesson in teaching order.

Units in this course

Unit 1: Linear Models in Business

  1. Cost, Revenue and Profit Functions (coming soon) — write linear cost, revenue and profit functions for a business
  2. Break-Even Analysis (coming soon) — find the break-even point where revenue equals cost
  3. Supply and Demand (coming soon) — find the market equilibrium where the supply and demand lines meet

Also see: slope-intercept form and systems of equations (Algebra 1).

Unit 2: Matrices and Linear Programming

  1. Leontief Input-Output Model (coming soon) — find how much each industry must produce to meet demand
  2. Simplex Method (coming soon) — solve standard maximization problems with tableaus and pivots
  3. Simplex Method for Minimization (coming soon) — solve minimization problems with the dual

Also see: matrix operations and inverse matrices in Precalculus, Unit 4, and graphing linear programming problems (Algebra 2).

Unit 3: Mathematics of Finance

  1. Effective Annual Rate (coming soon) — compare loans and savings accounts with the effective rate (APY)
  2. Future Value of an Annuity (coming soon) — find what regular deposits grow to, and the deposit needed to reach a goal (a sinking fund)
  3. Present Value of an Annuity (coming soon) — find what a series of future payments is worth today
  4. Loan Amortization (coming soon) — find loan payments and build an amortization schedule

Also see: simple interest (Pre-Algebra), compound interest (Algebra 1) and the number e (Algebra 2).

Unit 4: Markov Chains and Game Theory

  1. Markov Chains (coming soon) — use a transition matrix to predict future states
  2. Regular Markov Chains (coming soon) — find the long-run steady-state distribution
  3. Absorbing Markov Chains (coming soon) — find the probability of ending in each absorbing state and the expected number of steps before absorption
  4. Strictly Determined Games (coming soon) — find saddle points and optimal pure strategies in a payoff matrix
  5. Mixed Strategy Games (coming soon) — find the best mix of strategies and the value of a game

Also see: probability in Statistics, Unit 4, and matrix multiplication (Precalculus).

Unit 5: Derivatives in Business

  1. Marginal Analysis (coming soon) — use derivatives to find marginal cost, revenue and profit
  2. Price Elasticity of Demand (coming soon) — measure how demand responds to a change in price
  3. Maximizing Profit (coming soon) — find the production level and price that maximize profit
  4. Minimizing Average Cost (coming soon) — find the production level with the lowest cost per item
  5. Economic Order Quantity (coming soon) — choose an order size that minimizes total inventory cost

Also see: derivative rules in Calculus 1, Unit 2 and optimization (Calculus 1).

Unit 6: Integrals and Production Models

  1. Consumer and Producer Surplus (coming soon) — find the extra value buyers and sellers get at the market price
  2. Continuous Income Streams (coming soon) — find the present and future value of a continuous flow of money
  3. Lorenz Curve and Gini Index (coming soon) — measure income inequality with an integral
  4. Cobb-Douglas Production Function (coming soon) — use partial derivatives to find marginal productivity

Also see: definite integrals and area between curves (Calculus 1), and partial derivatives in Calculus 3, Unit 3.

For Teachers: Standards Alignment

Lessons follow typical college courses in finite math and business calculus. There is no AP exam for this course. Linear programming by graphing is taught in Algebra 2, and the basic rules for derivatives and integrals in Calculus 1.

Previous course: Discrete Math Index · Next course: Numerical Methods Index