Mathematics of buying and selling

Many people find numbers and maths to be too complicated especially when it comes to calculations related to the simple activities of their daily life. This course will shed light on the applications of mathematics in real life in general, and particularly when buying and selling. In the course of four weeks, learners will tackle mathematical problems that stem from situations that they encounter daily, at places like restaurants and stores. Learners will be taught how to apply markups and markdowns when selling as well as buying any merchandise.

 

At the beginning of each week, learners will watch a video of two characters; siblings Omar and Noor. The characters will showcase a problem that requires basic knowledge of the maths of sales and purchase. The instructor draws the connection between these videos and theoretical mathematics using a problem-based approach. Throughout the course, learners will also have access to an array of rich examples that will nourish their understanding of important concepts such as sales, discounts, markups and markdowns.

 

In the course of this MOOC learners will be able to explore the following mathematical concepts that stem from real-life situations:

1- Solving for the unknown

Variables and constants

Algebraic terms and algebraic expressions

Evaluating an expression

2- Discounts

Percentage of a value

Increasing and decreasing with percentage

Calculating price after discount and original price

3- Markups and markdowns

Markups based on cost

Markups based on selling price