Fourth Edition Changes

The fourth edition contains many changes reflecting suggestions from users, formal reviews by 18 college and institute instructors, and initiatives of the author and publisher.

• New Presentation of Solutions in Chapters 8 to 15
  The new presentation provides a better integration of algebraic and financial calculator methods. The financial calculator procedure appears in a call-out box that points clearly to the corresponding algebraic operations. The result is a more compact, less fragmented solution than in previous editions. There is now less likelihood that students will entirely ignore one method in favour of the alternative method.

• Texas Instruments BA II PLUS Calculator Shown in Examples
  Previous editions presented financial calculator keystrokes for Sharp financial calculators (models EL-733A and EL-735). These keystrokes also correspond closely to those for the Texas Instruments BA-35.
       In recent years, the Texas Instruments BA II PLUS financial calculator has been gaining market share. Our survey for the fourth edition indicated that more colleges use this model than the three main competitors combined (Sharp EL-733A, Texas Instruments BA-35, and Hewlett-Packard 10B). Furthermore, Sharp discontinued its EL-735 model in 2000, and Sharp's Canadian distributor could not provide comfort on the future availability of the EL-733A. For these reasons, we now present keystrokes for the Texas Instruments BA II PLUS in financial calculator solutions.
       We still provide guidance to users of the Sharp EL-733A and the Texas Instruments BA-35 calculators in Tips (see, for example, Section 8.3) and in Appendixes 8A and 13A. We also flag 21 Example problems in Chapters 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13 by the icon shown in the margin at left. The icon signifies that these Examples are also solved using the Sharp EL-733A and Texas Instruments BA-35 calculators, and that the solutions may be found on the CD-ROM attached inside the back cover of this text. (The CD-ROM is described later in the Preface under Supplements.)

• Changes in the Treatment of Markup and Markdown
  The following three changes should make these topics more straightforward for students. First, we now use single-letter symbols for the variables. The symbols S, E, P, S(reduced), and P(reduced) replace SP, OE, OP, RSP, and ROP, respectively. Second, a graphic solution model replaces the previous table solution model. A majority of reviewers found the graphic model more intuitive and helpful. Instructors who prefer the table model can continue to use it, supported by the Chapter 4 Supplements in Part B of the CD-ROM.
       The third significant change is a more judicious choice of Example and Exercise problems. Previous editions contained a few problems that, while mathematically tractable, were unrealistic and less intuitive for students. For example, it is an improbable scenario for unit cost to be an unknown quantity while unit selling price is known. Such problems have been either revised or replaced by more realistic problems.

• Updated Tables and Problems; New Problems
  Tables and Problems incorporate the most recent data at the time of writing in 2001. The interest rates used in many examples and problems have been reduced to reflect the current low-interest-rate environment.
       Over 90 new problems have been added with concentrations as follows: seven in Section 1.3, ten in Section 2.4, six in Section 2.5, six in Section 2.6, eleven in Section 3.3, six in Section 4.2, ten in Section 4.3, seven in Section 5.1, six in Section 5.2, eight in Section 5.3, and four in Section 9.1. Many of these problems are at the confidence-building level. In addition, 250 new problems are posted on the Online Learning Centre.

• New Points of Interest; NET @ssets boxes
  Thirteen new Points of Interest have been added, bringing the total number to 35. The "CAUGHT IN THE WEB" boxes in the third edition have been revised and renamed "NET @ssets."

• Resources on CD-ROM
  Some new resources are provided on the CD-ROM attached inside the back cover. More details are provided later in the Supplements section.

• "How to Succeed in Business Mathematics" Guide
  Part A of the CD-ROM is a new guide on "How to Succeed in Business Mathematics". It is brought to students' attention at the beginning of each of the first four chapters. The guide may also be downloaded from the Online Learning Centre.

• Notation Change in Chapter 8
  In the third edition, the symbols S for future value and P for present value were carried forward from simple interest in Chapter 6 and 7 to compound interest in Chapter 8. It was only after the introduction of financial calculators that we replaced S by FV and P by PV. In the fourth edition, we use only FV for future value and PV for present value throughout the compound-interest environment.

• Other Sections Re-Written
  Section 2.6 now gives more attention to the calculation of income yield, capital gain yield, and rate of total return for each of three common securities: stocks, bonds, and mutual funds. The main thrust of Section 3.3 is now the conversion of percentage differences to proportions. The graphical method for solving two linear equations in two unknowns is added to Section 5.3. The graphical approach to cost-volume-profit analysis is now in its own Section 5.4. The exposition in Section 6.4 has been shortened and simplified.