MATH 120 Mathematics for Scientists

2024-02-27 Admin 写评论

MATH 120 Mathematics for Scientists

COURSE OVERVIEW
The modern world is built on science and technology. As such, the increasingly competitive job market requires new graduates to have confidence and fluency in quantitative problem solving. MATH 120 uses a problem-based learning approach to develop problem-solving and critical thinking skills by consistently working through applied examples from a range of scientific disciplines, while learning new techniques and tools. Students will be encouraged to try different approaches, critically analyse their findings and communicate them orally and/or as written reports. As a result, MATH 120 students will be ideally equipped to specialise in any discipline that includes a quantitative component.
Aim: The development of understanding, formulation and application of a variety of approaches to quantitative problem solving in scientific disciplines.
Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of MATH120 students will:
• Understand the role of and how to formulate a scientific problem using quantitative approaches
• Identify and evaluate relevant quantitative approaches for physical, geo-, biological, biomedical, business and social sciences
• Evaluate, visualize and synthesize data for quantitative problem solving
• Identify and apply appropriate models to describe scientific problems
• Use a range of mathematical and computational techniques to solve problems
Course Coordinators:
Associate Professor Sarah Wakes ([email protected])
Dr Florian Beyer ([email protected])
Timetable:
MATH120 is a standard 13-week semester paper, with three 1-hour lectures and one 2-hour laboratory per week. Lectures are recorded but student attendance at lectures and laboratories is considered vital to the course.
Lectures:
Monday 10 - 10.50 am
Tuesday 10 - 10.50 am
Wednesdays 10 - 10.50 am
Laboratory Streams:
Wednesday 1 - 2.50 pm
Wednesday 3 - 4.50 pm
Thursday 10 – 11.50 am
Thursday 1 – 2.50 pm

Timetable

Module
 Week of Semester
 Information
 Monday
 Tuesday
 Wednesday
 Thursday
 Friday
 Saturday
 Sunday
Introduction
 1
S1 starts
Introduction Labs
27 Feb
Lecture 1
28 Feb
Lecture 2
1 March
Lecture 3
2 March
 3 March
 4 March
 5 March
Module 1
 2
 Lab 1 Week
6 March
Lecture 4
7 March
Lecture 5
8 March
Lecture 6
9 March
 10 March
 11 March
 12 March
3
Project Week
A1 due
13 March
Lecture 7
14 March
Lecture 8
15 March
Lecture 9
16 March
 17 March
 18 March
 19 March
Module 2
 4
Lab 2 Week
Lab assessment 1 due
20 March
Lecture 10
21 March
Lecture 11
22 March
Lecture 12
23 March
 24 March
 25 March
 26 March
5
Project Week
Project Presentations due
27 March
Lecture 13
28 March
Lecture 14
29 March
Lecture 15
30 March
 31 March
 1 April
 2 April
6
Project Week
A2 due
3 April
Lecture 16
4 April
Lecture 17
5 April
 6 April

7 April 

Good Friday

8 April
 9 April
Mid semester break
10 April
11 April
 12 April
 13 April
 14 April
 15 April
 16 April
Module 3
 7
Lab 3 Week
Lab assessment 2 due
17 April
Lecture 18
18 April
Lecture 19
19 April
Lecture 20
20 April
 21 April
 22 April
 23 April
8
Project Week
A3 due
24 April
Lecture 21

25 April
ANZAC Day

26 April
Lecture 22

27 April
 28 April
 29 April
 30 April
Module 4
 9
Lab 4 Week
Lab assessment 3 due
1 May
Lecture 23
2 May
Lecture 24
3 May
Lecture 25
4 May
 5 May
 6 May
 7 May
10
Project Week
A4 due
8 May
Lecture 26
9 May
Lecture 27
10 May
Lecture 28
11 May
 12 May
 13 May
 14 May
Module 5
 11
Lab 5 Week
Lab assessment 4 due
15 May
Lecture 29
16 May
Lecture 30
17 May
Lecture 31
18 May
 19 May
 20 May
 21 May
12
Project Week
A5 due

22 May
Lecture 32
23 May
Lecture 33
24 May
Lecture 34
25 May
 26 May
 27 May
 28 May
13
Project Week
Lab assessment 5 due
Project report due
29 May
Lecture 35
30 May
Lecture 36
31 May
1 June
2 June
 3 June
 4 June

Assessment and proposed due dates:
Final grade compilation is 100% from internal assessment.
Assignment
 %
Due date
(at 11.59pm unless otherwise stated)
A1
 8
 19th March
A2
 8
 9th April
A3
 8
 30th April
A4
 8
 14th May
A5
 8
 28th May
L1
 6
 Week starting 20th March (day before lab)
L2
 6
 Week starting 17th April (day before lab)
L3
 6
 Week starting 1st May (day before lab)
L4
 6
 Week starting 15th May (day before lab)
L5
 6
 Week starting 29th May (day before lab)
Project oral presentation
 10 (group)
 Week starting 27th March (in lab)
Project report
 20
 2nd June



The laboratory activities are due two weeks after your laboratory. It is important that you use the correct submission link for your lab stream.
Terms Requirements
Completion of 3 out of 5 laboratory assignments
Submit the final report
The University of Otago uses the following standard scale for converting numerical marks awarded into grades:
Pass







Fail
A+
 A
 A-
 B+
 B
 B-
 C+
 C
 C-
 D
 E
100 - 90
 89 - 85
 84 - 80
 79 - 75
 74 - 70
 69 - 65
 64 - 60
 59 - 55
 54 - 50
 49 - 40
 < 40
Late submission of assignments:
• There are no late submissions of the STACK online assignments. You can be excused from at most 2 online assignments.
• Late submissions of labs will incur a 5% penalty per day up until the marks have been returned unless an extension has been granted. After this date late assignments will not be marked unless an extension has been approved.
• No late submission is accepted for the final assignment (project report) without an approved extension.
Extensions
Extensions need to be managed by the student through direct communication with the course coordinator. Early communication with the course coordinator about any issues affecting attendance or performance is encouraged. Student health declarations (part A) [http://www.otago.ac.nz/studenthealth/forms/] or other relevant documentation as appropriate are required for all requests for extensions and must be sent directly to the course coordinator. Part B of the student health declaration is required only for significant absences.
Online assignments
There will be 5 online assignments, i.e. one for each module. The assignments will be run on the online assessment platform STACK, which is integrated into Blackboard.
• You will be given three (3) chances to answer each question, with a 10% penalty at the 2nd and 3rd attempt.
• Your mark for each question will be the best attempt of the 3.
• You will get feedback about whether you got a question right or wrong via the “Check” button. If your answers are right you can move onto the next question but if wrong you will be prompted to “Try Again”, either immediately or later.
• If you are struggling with a question please ask for guidance at a laboratory session.
• You can only submit the assignment once so make sure you do not do a final submission of the assignment until you are ready.
Lab-based assessments
During the lab weeks, you will be given an activity to complete by the end of the session. The lab activities will help you develop you computing skills as you will work with computing software Excel and MATLAB. These activities are assessed and due in two (2) weeks after your lab session. We will not accept submissions using the incorrect submission link so make sure you know which your lab stream is.
The project
The third component of the assessment for MATH120 is a semester-long project that you will work on in groups of 2 or 3. The groups will be formed during the lab session in week 1 of the semester. In the project weeks you will be given an activity to complete as part of the project. Each activity covers techniques and concepts from one module. As opposed to the lab-based assessment, you do not have to complete each activity by the end of the session. In fact, it is likely that you will need to work on the activity outside the scheduled lab sessions. During the lab session in week 13 you will synthesize your findings from each activity and start planning your report and presentation. The assessment takes 2 forms:
• A group presentation (5 minutes) where all members of the group have to take part to get the mark (Week 5) based on Project Activity 1.
• A final individual report (Week 13) based on Project Activities 2-5.
Academity Integrity
Academic integrity means being honest in your studying and assessments. It is the basis for ethical decision-making and behaviour in an academic context. Academic integrity is informed by the values of honesty, trust, responsibility, fairness, respect and courage. Students are expected to be aware of, and act in accordance with, the University’s Academic Integrity Policy.
Academic Misconduct, such as plagiarism or cheating, is a breach of Academic Integrity and is taken very seriously by the University. Types of misconduct include plagiarism, copying, unauthorised collaboration, submitting work written by someone else (including from a file sharing website, text generation software, or purchased work) taking unauthorised material into a test or exam, impersonation, and assisting someone else’s misconduct. A more extensive list of the types of academic
misconduct and associated processes and penalties is available in the University’s Student Academic Misconduct Procedures.
It is your responsibility to be aware of and use acceptable academic practices when completing your assessments. To access the information in the Academic Integrity Policy and learn more, please visit the University’s Academic Integrity website at www.otago.ac.nz/study/academicintegrity, or ask at the Student Learning Centre (HEDC) or the Library, or seek advice from your paper co-ordinator.
For further information:
Academic Integrity Policy
http://www.otago.ac.nz/administration/policies/otago116838.html
Student Academic Misconduct Procedures
http://www.otago.ac.nz/administration/policies/otago116850.html
Disability: The Department encourages students to seek support if they find they are having difficulty with their studies due to a disability, temporary or permanent impairment, injury, chronic illness or deafness. Contact Disability Information and
Support, (Ph 479-8235, email [email protected], website http://www.otago.ac.nz/disabilities).
Class Representative: A class representative will be nominated for the course. You are welcome to bring any issues you have to the attention of your class representative for discussion at these meetings.
Problems: Should you experience any problems with any aspect of this paper, you should first see the person teaching the relevant section of work. If the problem is not resolved or discussion with the teacher is not appropriate, please contact the course co-ordinator [Associate Professor Sarah Wakes].

发表评论

电子邮件地址不会被公开。 必填项已用*标注