MATH 202(F,S) Mathematics of Finance (Advanced Section)

This course includes all of the material in Mathematics 102, but is intended for students who have approximately the background of Mathematics 104. Topics will include simple and compound interest (and Banker's Rule), periodic loans (such as home mortgages and auto loans), present value, future value, amortization, sinking funds, bonds and money market funds, tax-exempt and tax-deferred investments, life annuities, perpetual annuities, the mechanics of life insurance, and some basic accounting. Students will be required to carry out some assigned problems on either the IBM (Lotus) or Macintosh (Excel) system; instruction on the use of these systems will be given as needed. Recursion and probability will be used as widely as possible. Additional topics may include advanced linear programming, probability theory, finite differences, and selected topics from actuarial mathematics. The course, however, does not prepare students for the examinations of the Society of Actuaries. Evaluation will be based primarily on performance in class quizzes, computer software exercises, and exams. Prerequisite: Mathematics 104 or 151 or equivalent. (Students with less background should register for Mathematics 102 instead.) Credit will not be given for both Mathematics 102 and Mathematics 202. Not open to first-year students. Not open to junior or senior Mathematics majors except by permission of the instructor. Preference to juniors in the spring. Not open on a pass/fail basis except by prior written permission of the instructor. Enrollment limited to 42.

Hour:  V. HILL