Mathematics (PDF)

This book is for students who did not follow mathematics through to
the end of their school careers, and graduates and professionals
who are looking for a refresher course. This new edition contains
many new problems and also has associated spreadsheets designed to
improve students' understanding. These spreadsheets can also be
used to solve many of the problems students are likely to encounter
during the remainder of their geological careers.

The book aims to teach simple mathematics using geological
examples to illustrate mathematical ideas. This approach emphasizes
the relevance of mathematics to geology, helps to motivate the
reader and gives examples of mathematical concepts in a context
familiar to the reader. With an increasing use of computers and
quantitative methods in all aspects of geology it is vital that
geologists be seen as numerate as their colleagues in other
physical sciences. The book begins by discussing basic tools such
as the use of symbols to represent geological quantities and the
use of scientific notation for expressing very large and very small
numbers. Simple functional relationships between geological
variables are then covered (for example, straight lines,
polynomials, logarithms) followed by chapters on algebraic
manipulations. The mid-part of the book is devoted to trigonometry
(including an introduction to vectors) and statistics. The last two
chapters give an introduction to differential and integral
calculus. The book is prepared with a large number of worked
examples and problems for the students to attempt themselves.
Answers to all the questions are given at the end of the book.