Pre-Mathematics

Abstract

The aim of this short manual is to provide the student of GEI (Grau d’Empresa Internacional) a thorough summary of the contents of an introductory course for the subject Mathematics of GEI. This course, which does not form part of the curriculum of this degree, intends to homogenize the mathematical skills of students to the level required for the specific subjects in GEI in which the potential use of mathematics is needed. To this end, two of the most important aspects of this potential, such as derivatives of functions of one real variable and systems of linear equations, will be covered. The manual includes two sections. The first, “Calculus”, studies functions of one real variable putting the emphasis on the applications to the calculus of extreme points (maxima and minima) called optima points in Economics. The second section, “Algebra”, does the same with systems of linear equations with the aid of the elementary matrix theory. It is worth noting that each of the sections contains a short list of exercises which tend to ground all the concepts treated there. Also, at the end of the manual there are some bibliographic references of interest and a glossary of terms to help the student to find the most important concepts quoted here. Finally, it should be mentioned that this document has been filed in the Digital Repository of the UB (OMADO Collection): http://hdl.handle.net/2445/44829) and that its contents, as well as the mistakes that may be found, are the sole and exclusive responsibility of the author.