Basic Mathematics for Biochemists

Mathematics is essential to the study and understanding of biochemistry yet most undergraduates do not have a grasp of maths. This book sets out all the mathematics needed for an undergraduate course in biochemistry, assuming a minimum of prior knowledge. Emphasis is placed on topics necessary for biochemists and all the examples are relevant to biochemistry. Each chapter contains illustrative boxes and worked examples and also a problem section (the answers are given in the back of the book). The book starts by covering the basic concepts of mathematics such as manipulating fractions, functions, and plotting graphs and then explains exponents and logarithms in depth. The next two chapters cover all the ordinary differentiation and integration required by the biochemist. Partial differentiation is explained in a later chapter. Chapter 6 is about solving equations (linear, simultaneous, quadratic, and higher-order) and the final chapter covers the basic ideas of statistics. Basic Mathematics for Biochemists will therefore be invaluable to all biochemistry undergraduates and will also be useful to more experienced biochemists needing to refresh their maths.

Basic ideas; The language of mathematics; Exponents and logarithms; Differential calculus; Integral calculus; Solving equations; Partial differentiation; Ideas of statistics; Notes and solutions to problems; Glossary; Index

Athel Cornish-Bowden, Directeur de Recherche, CNRS-LCB, Marseille, France