About This Book

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Welcome to Math 110! Math 110 is a class designed specifically for Western Oregon University (WOU) students. In this class, you will gain mathematical confidence and skills that you can use for the rest of your life. Unlike a traditional mathematics course, Math 110 blends topics and techniques from a variety of mathematical subjects to answer a single question: how can mathematics be used to make decisions in common, real-word situations that you'll encounter in your life and career?

Each chapter has several sections. In each section, you will find learning objectives for that section, an exposition of that section's topic, and several worked-out examples. At the end of each section, there are homework exercises. In addition to this book, there are also videos to assist with student learning. Your instructor will provide specific instructions and guidance about how to work through these materials in a way unique to the timing and delivery of your class section.

Even if you're not confident in your ability to do mathematics, if you take the time to study these notes and related materials, you will begin to see the power and utility of mathematics in your life. I invite you to keep an open mind, work hard, and see what mathematical thinking can do for you!

The first version of this book was written in Spring 2020 and was supported by an Open Educational Resources (OER) grant from Western Oregon University. This is why the book is free for you. The author wishes to acknowledge the WOU OER stipend program, and in particular librarian Sue Kunda, for her support through the process of writing an editing this book. To read more about the process of writing an OER, see this blog post.

Since then, the book has undergone numerous content and formatting changes. Many of these were suggested by the following scholars:

Dr. Sarah Hagen, Mathematics Teacher, Davidson Academy
Dr. Charles R.B. Wright, Professor Emeritus, University of Oregon
Kendall Rosales, Mathematics Instructor and Math Center Director, Western Oregon University

Additionally, many improvements have been suggested by students in Math 110 at Western Oregon University. The author also wishes to thank her parents for being the primary editors of the first edition of the book.

Do you have a suggestion for how to improve this book? Feel free to email your ideas to Dr. Leanne Merrill at merrill@wou.edu.