New UB Curriculum Math Reasoning option
Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2025 10:32 pm
COM 123 Numerical Reasoning for Everyday Communication
Course Information
COM 123 is designed for students who are either uncomfortable with numbers/mathematics or dislike having to sort out numbers and compute answers to questions involving numbers. The inability to deal comfortably with numbers, probability, and statistics is often called innumeracy. The ability to understand the basic principles of numbers is vital to everyday communication and is relevant to our personal and professional lives. This course endeavors to convince students of the importance of numeracy and to teach students the basic aspects of quantitative reasoning. It is understood that the real world often has less than perfect data, presents ambiguities (some strategic) and presents multiple solutions that are quantitative in nature. Students will learn an array of quantitative/mathematical methods and data analytical techniques relevant to real-life applications (e.g., financial planning). The data analytical techniques include but are not limited to: (1) linear algebra, (2) introductory calculus methods, (3) advanced statistics, (4) graph, (5) discrete math concepts/set theory, and (6) probability. It is the expectation of this course that students will be able to understand and compute basic statistics, probabilities, compound interest, correlation coefficients, chi-square analysis, and some basic social network math related to relative network position in a closed network.
Tues/Thus 11 - 12:20 in Clemens 6
Recitation - Tuesday 12:30 - 1:20 in Clemens 6
Course Information
COM 123 is designed for students who are either uncomfortable with numbers/mathematics or dislike having to sort out numbers and compute answers to questions involving numbers. The inability to deal comfortably with numbers, probability, and statistics is often called innumeracy. The ability to understand the basic principles of numbers is vital to everyday communication and is relevant to our personal and professional lives. This course endeavors to convince students of the importance of numeracy and to teach students the basic aspects of quantitative reasoning. It is understood that the real world often has less than perfect data, presents ambiguities (some strategic) and presents multiple solutions that are quantitative in nature. Students will learn an array of quantitative/mathematical methods and data analytical techniques relevant to real-life applications (e.g., financial planning). The data analytical techniques include but are not limited to: (1) linear algebra, (2) introductory calculus methods, (3) advanced statistics, (4) graph, (5) discrete math concepts/set theory, and (6) probability. It is the expectation of this course that students will be able to understand and compute basic statistics, probabilities, compound interest, correlation coefficients, chi-square analysis, and some basic social network math related to relative network position in a closed network.
Tues/Thus 11 - 12:20 in Clemens 6
Recitation - Tuesday 12:30 - 1:20 in Clemens 6