A Beginner's Guide to Finite Mathematics: For Business, Management, and the Social Sciences

Review by Tom Schulte

This second edition of Wallis’ concisely written textbook on finite mathematics can be a valuable resource for
freshmen and sophomores. An economy of language lends elegance and clarity to this text which is unusual among
comparable texts that I work with. However, the sequence presented convinces me it would be awkward in the
classroom. Additional lecture would be required as well as probably rerouting the students through the sections. Such
situations, I find, often confuse and unsettle a student already on the margins of his or her confidence and works against
encouraging students to read ahead and do independent study. This can be an aid for parents or students seeking a
resource to accompany a required textbook during the first couple of years of pre-calculus college algebra

As usual with comparable works, set basics leads off. I very much appreciate that Wallis immediately connects this to
solution sets, instead of waiting until half-way into the text. However, a tangent is taken into summation notation and
principles before returning to cover such set basics as union, intersection, and Venn diagrams. This also underscores
that arithmetic and geometric sequences are never explored in detail, or even introduced. Wallis also introduces
probability sooner than most comparable textbooks. In his approach, standard deviation comes before the combinatorial
basis of probability. Similarly, after a quick exhibition of probability measures, including the unnamed inclusion-
exclusion principle, the text is into Bernoulli trials before counting basics. As a result, the student is confronted with
determining the probability that a netted butterfly is striped or female sections prior to meeting the ideal urn and its
monochrome marbles.

Wallis adds in material that I believe is crucial to introduce to the target audience. For many of the business or liberal
arts majors, this text can easily cover most if not all of the end of their mathematical education before they enter the
workforce with an Associate’s Degree. Unlike many textbooks that may be chosen for them, Wallis includes a very
good, not merely cursory, introduction to Bayes. There is also an entire chapter on Graph Theory going as far as
Hamiltonian cycles and colorings. (This is perhaps further than is necessary for these students.) There is also an entire
chapter on Game Theory. Wallis also ties together nicely the general form of the linear equation with the dot product
by way of introducing matrix multiplication. I feel there was a missed opportunity to underscore the applicability to
sales figures matrix examples previously presented, but I appreciate the rarely seen vector topics for students at this
level.

Finally, there is the subject of graphical solutions to equations and systems. Wallis calls this The Geometric Method
and largely relegates this to a later, dedicated chapter and rarely broaches the topic elsewhere. I feel this is a disservice
to the student at this level when so often the crucial a-ha moment can be sparked with a Cartesian presentation. As a
result, Wallis concludes the text with a chapter on exponential growth without comment or display of the unique curve,
let alone having it come at the tail of an enlightening parade of fully explored basic graph forms.

Tom Schulte teaches finite mathematics and more at Oakland Community College in Michigan.