This unit has been updated as part of a 2009 review and comparison of data with current Handbook, Syllabus + and Callista data.

31/8/2015 - Updated for course architecture programs. Effective Semester 1, 2016.

5/10/2015 - Tutorial length changed to 1.5 hours, following representations from School of Mathematical Sciences

21/3/2017 Assessment loading has changed to 60/40 since there is now a university requirement that final exams not be 70%. The final examination should remain 3 hours. This is *NOT* a change.

The reasons for this *non-change* are:

We are testing not just conceptual understanding but also ability to work things out. Calculations and deductions take time.

Time pressure in mathematics is a disaster because questions go pear-shaped if you make a minor error early in a calculation or miss some subtlety of the question. This may result in a lot of wasted time trying to make something work when it isn't going to, or in having to do a question completely again from the start. Redoing questions in this way is common on maths exams.

There are lots of concepts in MAT1841. We go a little way into a lot of different directions. To get coverage of a healthy fraction of these concepts requires a longer exam. If the coverage is less it disadvantages students whose strengths are not tested, and introduces a larger luck factor in the final results.

(Almost) all MTH units have a 3 hour final exam, for reasons similar to the above.

24/9/19: Admin - updating the exam duration to include additional 10 minutes as per University requirement.

16/09/2020: - Admin: Update to include new assessment and teaching approach fields as per Handbook requirements.

This unit is a core requirement and mathematics component of the BCS. It is based on previous offerings of the unit and its content (in MAT1841 prior to 2010 and MAT2003 post 2010).

At the completion of this unit, students should be able to:

1. demonstrate basic knowledge and skills of linear algebra, including the manipulation of matrices, solution of linear systems, and evaluate and apply determinants;
2. explain fundamental concepts in calculus including basic differentiation and integration, and composite, inverse and parametric functions;
3. calculate approximations of functions with tangent lines, evaluate power series and construct Taylor series;
4. perform key skills in the calculus of functions of several variables including the calculation of partial derivatives, find tangent planes and identify stationary points.

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The unit covers linear algebra (vectors, equations of lines and planes, solutions of simultaneous equations, determinates, Gauss elimination, Gauss-Jordan method), calculus topics (differentiation, parametric differentiation, fundamental theorem of calculus, and numerical integration), an introduction to multivariable calculus (functions of several variables, partial derivatives, tangent planes and directional derivatives), and the construction of splines and Taylor series expansions are also covered.

Examination (3 hours and 10 minutes): 60%; In-semester assessment: 40%

1. Assignment 1 - 10% - ULO: 1
2. Assignment 2 - 20% - ULO: 2
3. Assignment 3 - 10% - ULO: 3
4. End of semester exam - 60% - ULO: 1, 2, 3, 4

Minimum total expected workload equals 12 hours per week comprising:

(a.) Contact hours for on-campus students:

(b.) Additional requirements (all students):

School of Mathematical Sciences