Business Math Using Excel
Julia Kozub
This course applies mathematics to solve common business problems using Microsoft Excel. Topics include basic mathematical concepts and applications, such as percentages, decimals, and basic arithmetic operations; markup, markdown, & discounts; financial computations, including simple and compound interest, amortization, depreciation methods, liquidity ratios, and present value; accounting computations, such as payroll and tax calculations, and the management of complex business problems. Emphasis is placed on the use of Microsoft Excel as a computational and problem-solving tool.
MATH 1112 a novel course, and most students will not have had a course like it before. We do expect that most students will have experience with the major mathematical topics in the course (for example, unit conversions, linear and exponential growth models, and probability). The course provides an opportunity to learn Excel and to apply math in real problems. If students are very good with Excel (at a minimum, fluent with writing draggable formulas) and have strong math skills, an exemption exam is available as an alternative way to satisfy the Leeds math requirement. Details on what to bring, what to expect, how to prepare, and how to sign up are on this Leeds Math Requirement Exemption Exam page.
I developed this site to share sample course materials with the outside world, including prospective students, other people interested in mathematics education for business students, and students studying for the exemption exam.
If you like math, then we hope you will love this class. You will learn some really useful tools and get a chance to exercise your mathematical problem-solving muscles outside the bounds of a textbook. The math in this class won't be more advanced in the sense of the typical academic sequences, but it will be challenging.
If you don't like math, we ALSO hope you will love this class. We hope you will reconsider the "not a math person" label. Perhaps once you see what kinds of problems you can solve, you will feel motivated to master the topics and tools. Because this class isn't just the next step in the typical academic sequence, it can serve as a fresh start for you. Maybe you will surprise yourself.
Use of these materials is allowed under a CC Attribution Non-Commerical Share-Alike license from Creative Commons.Please give this attribution: "Copyright 2018 Laura Kornish and Delphy Shaulis, available at -faculty.colorado.edu/kornish/business-math-class/.
Networked Business Math, by Brian Felkel and Robert Richardson, is a textbook on CD which addresses Business Calculus topics in a way that is relative to business majors. Business issues are examined from a business standpoint with a focus on modeling data. Because Excel and/or computer algebra systems are utilized, more attention can be focused on interpreting data and working more realistic problems rather than focusing on rote symbol manipulation.
BUSN 135 - Business Mathematics5 Credits Teaches practical mathematical applications in business; emphasis on percentages, cash and trade discounts, markup and markdowns, depreciation, interest, present values, annuities and consumer credit. Learn how to make business math calculations by hand on paper and by using the spreadsheet program Excel. Deals with the theory and application to case situations. Extensive practice with the problem analysis, problem setup, making necessary calculations and making conclusions based on the calculations.
Fees
Quarters Typically Offered
Summer Day, Online
Fall Day, Online
Winter Day, Online
Spring Day, Online
Designed to Serve General business students and students in other professional technical programs.
Active Date 2013-09-30
Grading Basis Decimal Grade
Class Limit 28
Contact Hours: Lecture 55 Lab 0 Field Studies 0 Clinical 0 Independent Studies 0
Total Contact Hours 55
Degree Distributions:
ProfTech Course Yes
Restricted Elective Yes
ProfTech Related Instruction
- Computation
Course Outline
I. FractionsII. DecimalsIII. Percentage A. Finding the percentage B. Finding the rate C. Finding the baseIV. Trade Discounts A. Terminology B. Trade discount problem-solving rules C. Discount series D. Net Decimal Equivalent E. Single Decimal EquivalentV. Cash Discounts A. Invoice terms B. Partial paymentsVI. Merchandising A. Merchandising problem-solving rules B. Markdown and loss C. Calculating the percentage of markup D. Taxes and shipping costVII. Depreciation A. Straight-line method B. Units-of-production method C. Sum-of-the-years-digits method D. Declining-balance method E. Partial-year depreciationVIII. Simple interest and discounting A. Simple add-on interest B. Calculating interest C. Calculating the principle D. Rate and time E. Discounting a note F. Discount rate versus interest rateIX. Compound interest (Future values) A. Nominal interest rate versus effective interest rate B. Finding the amounts of compound interest C. Rule of 72X. Present value A. Conversion periods and interest rate B. Interchanging compound interest and present values C. Finding the present value of interest-bearing notesXI. Annuities A. Future values of annuities B. Present values of annuities C. Sinking funds
Student Learning Outcomes
Analyze business problems and make conclusions based on the calculations performed. Explain conclusions in words
Perform arithmetic with the math operations: add, subtract, multiply, divide, exponents, parenthesis and the order of operations.
Use Excel to perform business math calculations with an emphasis on data type, Number Formatting and formulas.
Develop abilities to use fractions, decimals, and percentages to help make business decisions by hand on paper and by using the spreadsheet program Excel.
Calculate various types of Cash Discounts and Trade Discounts by hand on paper and by using the spreadsheet program Excel.
Calculate various types of Depreciation by hand on paper and by using the spreadsheet program Excel.
Make simple interest, compound interest, futures value and present value calculations by hand on paper and by using the spreadsheet program Excel.
Use calculations and concepts to make business and personal decisions
Maths in Business is a free program available to all students at the University of Sydney Business School. The program includes workshops in intermediate-level maths and Excel; both fundamental skills for any aspiring business student.
The Maths in Business program helps you to gain high achievement throughout your business degree. Most foundational units of study require a firm understanding of maths, and this is essential to senior units in accounting, business analytics and finance.
This means that you will only need to attend one workshop under each topic area. (e.g. If you attend the Excel Fundamentals in week 2 there is no need to attend this workshop again in weeks 3 - 6 as these would be a repeats of the same workshop.)
This major focus of this intermediate-level workshop is the application of algebraic, exponential and logarithmic functions to various business contexts, which students will encounter throughout the course of their Business degree. This workshop will introduce exponential and logarithmic rules as well as sigma notation while further developing student abilities to use simultaneous equations and inequalities to solve business problems.
This is an intermediate level differentiation workshop and is intended for students who already have a grasp of basic differential calculus. Harder concepts such as the product, quotient and chain rules, as well as finding the minimum and maximum values of polynomial functions will be explored. Students will also learn about more challenging applications of calculus in business.
Matrix algebra is a useful mathematical concept for students undertaking more advanced units of study in the disciplines of Finance, Business Analytics, Economics and Econometrics, especially units that require programming skills. This beginner-intermediate level workshop will introduce students to a variety of concepts in matrix algebra, including the use of fundamental operations and different types of matrices. This workshop will familiarise students with the use of matrices in solving simple algebraic problems in a business context.
This beginner-intermediate level workshop will introduce you to permutations and combinations. They are useful mathematical concepts to know if you are undertaking various quantitative majors such as Business Analytics. You will learn the different formulas used for permutations with and without replacement and combination and have the opportunity to apply these formulas to various business problems.
This is an intermediate level workshop intended for students who already have a grasp of basic probability concepts. You will learn how mathematical probability concepts are used in a business context, such as the calculation of expected returns, as well as special techniques such as probability trees and joint probability tables, to solve business problems. This workshop will also introduce you to Bayes' Theorem in the context of conditional probability and give you the opportunity to apply this to real-world problems.
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