Topics in Finite and Discrete Mathematics

A text for engineering students with many examples not normally found in finite mathematics courses.

Sheldon M. Ross (Author)

9780521772594, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 31 July 2000

278 pages, 53 b/w illus. 15 tables 230 exercises
23.6 x 15.7 x 2.1 cm, 0.515 kg

Written for a broad audience of students in mathematics, computer science, operations research, statistics, and engineering, this textbook presents a short, lively survey of several fascinating non-calculus topics in modern applied mathematics. Coverage includes probability, mathematical finance, graphs, linear programming, statistics, computer science algorithms, and groups. A key feature is the abundance of interesting examples not normally found in standard finite mathematics courses, such as options pricing and arbitrage, tournaments, and counting formulas. The author assumes a level of mathematical sophistication at the beginning calculus level, that is, students should have had at least a course in pre-calculus, and the added sophistication attained from studying calculus would be useful.

1. Preliminaries
2. Combinatorial analysis
3. Probability
4. Mathematics of finance
5. Graphs and trees
6. Direct graphs
7. Linear programming
8. Sorting and searching
9. Statistics
10. Groups and permutations.

Subject Areas: Mathematical theory of computation [UYA], Probability & statistics [PBT]