This text is intended for a one semester calculus course for business students with the equivalent of a college algebra prerequisite. Rather than being a three-semester engineering calculus course that has been watered down to fit into one semester it is designed for the business students.<\/p>\n
We will start this chapter with a review of linear functions<\/a>. In business there are quite a few examples of linear equations. Examples include supply and demand functions. There are some standard concepts related to lines that we will review, including the slope.<\/p>\n Following the conventions of microeconomics<\/a>, we will often use the variables p and q, for price and quantity, rather than x and y. We will also follow the conventions of economics in treating quantity as the independent variable. (The q-axis will be the horizontal axis. A fast web search for supply demand equilibrium will convince you this standard usage.)<\/p>\n From prior courses, such as college algebra, you will remember that lines can be written in several different forms. If we are given the slope and the -intercept, the slope intercept<\/a> form will be the equation of choice. If we are given a point and a slope, it might be faster if we use the point-slope form of a line.<\/p>\n Not all functions we encounter in a business setting are linear. There are several other families of functions we should (re-) familiarize ourselves with. These models include:<\/p>\n Quadratic functions should be very familiar from previous mathematics courses. They are of the form These are our standard parabolas.<\/p>\nEquations of a line<\/h3>\n
Functions in the Business Setting<\/h3>\n
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Quadratic Functions.<\/h3>\n
Introduction to Excel Spreadsheets<\/h3>\n