Mathematics and Economics: Connection for Life, 9-12 is a set of 15 lessons showing how mathematical processes and concepts may be applied in the study of economics and personal finance. In this volume, mathematics educators will find lessons connecting mathematics instruction to practical problems and issues that students will encounter through their lifetimes.

In the study of these problems and issues, economics and mathematics are natural intellectual allies. Economics is, after all, the study of peoples' attempts to make good decisions in an uncertain world endowed with limited resources. The tools economists use--for example, those related to optimization and informed decision-making--gain power, elegance, and visual appeal as they are represented mathematically in models. Indeed, one might think of economics as "first quadrant math" since economic magnitudes only rarely take on a negative sign. Research indicates the students with a strong background in mathematics are more likely than others to succeed in their introductory college-level economics classes.

But the lessons presented here are not designed exclusively for college-bound students. Several of them are intended to serve a general education purpose, providing knowledge and skills that students will use subsequently as savers, investors, consumers, producers, and informed citizens.