Excursions in Modern Mathematics

Mathematics becomes easier to recognize when it is connected to choices people make, routes they travel, money they manage, and patterns they see. Excursions in Modern Mathematics uses those kinds of real-world questions to introduce a wide range of mathematical ideas, from election methods and networks to fractals and statistics.

Mathematics in public life and practical decisions

The book opens with social choice: how elections are counted, how voting power is measured, how resources can be divided, and how seats are apportioned. These chapters reveal that mathematical methods can shape decisions that appear straightforward at first glance—and that different methods may produce different results.

Routes, networks, and connected systems

In its management-science section, the text turns to street-routing problems, traveling-salesperson problems, networks, and scheduling. Readers encounter graphs, paths, circuits, trees, and algorithms as tools for thinking about movement, connection, and efficient planning.

From growth to the shape of patterns

Later chapters examine population models and financial mathematics, including interest, savings, and consumer debt. The book also explores symmetry, fractal geometry, Fibonacci numbers, and the golden ratio, offering a broad look at how mathematical structure appears in natural forms and designed patterns.

Make sense of data and uncertainty

The statistics section covers data collection, surveys and studies, graphs and charts, measures such as means and standard deviations, probability, odds, expectations, risk, and normal distributions. Together, these topics provide a framework for asking how evidence is gathered and what conclusions it can support.

A broad, applied survey for mathematics students

Organized into five subject areas, the chapters can be used in any order, according to Pearson’s overview. Each chapter includes key concepts and exercises, making the book suitable for readers studying liberal arts mathematics and for curious learners who want to explore the many ways mathematical reasoning informs everyday and civic life.