Maths from Scratch for Biologists

Numerical ability is an essential skill for everyone studying the biological sciences, but many students are frightened by the 'perceived' difficulty of mathematics, and are nervous about applying mathematical skills in their chosen field of study. Having taught introductory maths and statistics for many years, Alan Cann understands these challenges, and is aware just how invaluable an accessible, confidence building, textbook could be to the fearful student. Unable to find a book pitched at the right level, that concentrated on why numerical skills are useful to biologists, he wrote his own. The result is Maths from Scratch for Biologists , a highly instructive, informal text that explains step by step how and why you need to tackle maths within the biological sciences. Features: An accessible, jargon-busting approach to help readers master basic mathematical, statistical and data handling techniques in biology. Numerous end of chapter problems to reinforce key concepts, and encourage students to test their newly acquired skills through practise. A handy, time saving glossary. A supplementary website with numerous problems and self-test exercises. Essential reading for all students within the biological sciences, taking core skills and numeracy courses, and an invaluable reference for those working within academia and industry About The Author: Alan Cann has worked in both the UK and USA, and in addition to teaching undergraduate and postgraduate biologists and medical students, he runs an active research laboratory at the University of Leicester, UK, studying the molecular biology and pathogenesis of viruses. He has been awarded numerous grants for educational research and was the inaugural winner of the Society for General Microbiology UK Wildy prize for Education in 2001. Table Of Contents: Prefacexi1Maths in Biology11.1What can go wrong?11.2Estimating51.3How to use this book61.4Mathematical conventions used in this book62Manipulating Numbers72.1Manipula