Functions, Data, and Models: An Applied Approach to College Algebra

This is a college algebra-level textbook written to provide the kind of mathematical knowledge and experiences that students will need for courses in other fields, such as biology, chemistry, business, finance, economics, and other areas that are heavily dependent on data either from laboratory experiments or from other studies. The focus is on the fundamental mathematical concepts and the realistic problem-solving via mathematical modeling rather than the development of algebraic skills that might be needed in calculus.Functions, Data, and Models presents college algebra in a way that differs from almost all college algebra books available today. Rather than going over material covered in high school courses the Gordons teach something new. Students are given an introduction to data analysis and mathematical modeling presented at a level that students with limited algebraic skills can understand. The book contains a rich set of exercises, many of which use real data.

Sheldon Gordon was born in New York City. He received his undergraduate training at Polytechnic Institute of New York and his graduate training at McGill University in Montreal, where he earned an MSc and a Ph.D. in mathematics. He is Johnson Professor of Mathematics at Farmingdale State College, a SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor and the recipient of the Metropolitan New York Section's Distinguished Teaching Award, among other honors. He is the author of almost 200 articles on mathematics and mathematics education.

Florence Gordon was born in Montreal, Canada and received her undergraduate and graduate training at McGill University, where she majored in mathematical statistics and earned a BSc, MSc, and Ph.D. She is a Professor Emeritus at New York Institute of Technology. She is the author of over 75 articles on statistics, mathematics education and statistical education.