Table of Contents 1 Thinking Critically 1A Living in the Media Age ....................................................................... 1 1B Propositions and Truth Values ............................................................. 9 1C Sets and Venn Diagrams .................................................................... 17 1D Analyzing Arguments ......................................................................... 29 1E Critical Thinking in Everyday Life .................................................... 37 2 Approaches to Problem Solving 2A Understand, Solve, and Explain ......................................................... 46 2B Extending Unit Analysis ..................................................................... 52 2C Problem-Solving Hints ....................................................................... 58 3 Numbers in the Real World 3A Uses and Abuses of Percentages ........................................................ 66 3B Putting Numbers in Perspective ......................................................... 74 3C Dealing with Uncertainty ................................................................... 80 3D Index Numbers: The CPI and Beyond ................................................ 88 3E How Numbers Can Deceive: Polygraphs, Mammograms, and More ................................................................... 96 4 Managing Money 4A Taking Control of Your Finances ..................................................... 108 4B The Power of Compounding ............................................................ 114 4C Savings Plans and Investments ......................................................... 120 4D Loan Payments, Credit Cards, and Mortgages ................................. 126 4E Income Taxes .................................................................................... 132 4F Understanding the Federal Budget ................................................... 140 5 Statistical Reasoning 5A Fundamentals of Statistics ................................................................ 146 5B Should You Believe a Statistical Study? .......................................... 154 5C Statistical Tables and Graphs ........................................................... 162 5D Graphics in the Media ...................................................................... 172 5E Correlation and Causality ................................................................. 176 6 Putting Statistics to Work 6A Characterizing Data .......................................................................... 186 6B Measures of Variation ...................................................................... 194 6C The Normal Distribution .................................................................. 202 6D Statistical Inference .......................................................................... 210