Interactive Business Calculus

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Business calculus is notorious for being unappreciated by economics and business majors who see it as rigid and irrelevant. Even well prepared students have trouble making the transition from the discrete to the continuous domain that is inherent in calculus. The purpose of this project is to address these problems by creating truly interactive software that emphasizes visualization, applications, data and curve fitting. The project consists of designing a set of 20-25 interactive computer illustrations (tools) and a workbook of explorations. The user will interact with the tools by means of a point-and-click interface and sliders that are linked to illustrations. The software designer is Hubert Hohn of the Massachusetts College of Art, who is the software designer on Interactive Differential Equations, a similar project. Mathematicians at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia will direct the project, write the explorations and collaborate with Hohn on tool development. This package will be useful as a demonstration in a classroom with real-time interaction, in a distance learning situation or as assigned work in a studio classroom, computer laboratory or at home. It will be designed to be used with any business calculus textbook and will enhance either a standard or reform course in business calculus.