Matemática financeira: abordagem histórica e contemporânea para o ensino.

Abstract

This work presents historical and contemporary aspects of financial mathematics, with a view to serving as a basis for basic mathematics teachers in the approach of this content in the classroom. We will present the concept, functions and characteristics of the currency, as well as its origin and historical evolution, from the beginning to the present day. Since interest is the fundamental idea on which financial mathematics is based, we also approach its emergence, its concept and calculation in different stages of economic system development. We show how financial mathematics relates to logarithmic and exponential functions. We highlight the reasons that bring mathematics to Finance Theory, as well as the use of mathematical models to study the financial market behavior. For a good understanding of the financial movement, the use of advanced mathematical tools becomes inevitable. One of the possibilities is the insertion of the fractal theory associated with the concepts of chaos, complexity and non-linearity in this field of research. Thus, we also present the Theories of Fractals and Chaos and show how this last one changes the notion of predictability of the financial market behavior. Finally, we discuss which strategies, teaching methodologies and didactic resources favor the current learning process. Based on the discussion, we propose the possibility of creating an educational resource for use in the classroom, with a view to promoting the apprehension of the contents related to the finance field.