7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

1/12

Using Mathematics

Starting points

Course Guide

MST121

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

2/12

Contents1 Introduction 22 Courselearningoutcomes 23 Thecoursecomponents 44 Assessment 75 Studysupport 9

1 Introduction

WelcometoMST121UsingMathematics. We hope that you will find the courseenjoyableandrewarding!ThisCourseGuidegivesyouanoverviewofthelearningoutcomesofthiscourse,thecoursecomponents,assessmentandstudysupport,tohelpyoutoplanyourstudy.Youshouldbegin,now,tomakesomepreparationforstudyingMST121.Inthismailingyouwillfindpreparatorymaterials, includingtheGuide toPreparationandtheRevisionPack,tohelpyoutorefreshyourmathematicalskills. Youshouldalsohave,orbemakingarrangementstoobtain,anappropriatecomputerrunningWindows,andbefamiliarwiththebasicWindowsprocedures inSection2oftheGuide toPreparation.OnsuccessfulcompletionofMST121,youwillhavethemathematicalknowledgeandskillstostudyothercoursesthatusemathematics. Youwillalsohavegainedexperience inusingmathematicalandstatisticalsoftware,andshouldhavedevelopedgeneralskillsforlearningandcommunicatingmathematics. IfyougoontostudyMS221,thenyouwillbewellpreparedtotakefurthermathematicscourses.

2 Course lear ning outcomes

Thefollowing listofoutcomes indicateswhatyoushouldbeabletodobytheendofthecourse.

Knowledge and under standing

Youshouldbeableto: Recogniseandworkwithbasicmathematical language,andobjects

suchassequences,series,functionsandgraphs. Understandtheuseofcoordinategeometry,matrices,calculusand

statisticsinsimplesituations. Performelementarydifferentiationand integration. Describetheneedforjustificationandproof.

2

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

3/12

Cognitive skills

Youshouldgainanappreciationof: Mathematicalideasandwaysofthinkingmathematically. Theneedforjustificationandproof. Themathematicalmodellingprocess.Key skills

Youshould: Improveyourlearningandperformanceskills(e.g.yourabilityto

organisestudytime,tostudyindependently,to learnfromfeedback,andtomeetdeadlines).

Developyourskillsforcommunicatingmathematical ideas includingtheuseofmathematical languageandterminology insentences.

Beabletoappreciatemathematicalmodelsofsimplesituations. Developskillsforusingacomputeralgebrapackage(Mathcad) in connectionwithmathematicalproblems.

Practical and/or professional skills

Youshouldgainanabilityto: Developlogicalandmathematicalargument. Useacomputeralgebrapackage(Mathcad)foralgebraicmanipulation,

differentiationand integration. Useappropriatestatisticaltechniqueswhenhandlingdata, includingacomputerpackage(OUStats). Interpretstatisticaldata. Provideappropriatediagramsandchartstosupportstatistical

information.Yourunderstandingofthesemathematical ideasisassessedthroughtutor-markedassignment(TMA)andcomputer-markedassignment(CMA)questions. SomeTMAquestions involvemakingcriticalobservationsabouttheiranswers.Yourwrittencommunication isassessed intheTMAs. Inmanycases,creditisgivenfortheclarityofyourpresentation.Improvingyourownperformance is implicit inthecourseandnotexplicitlyassessed. EvidenceofyourabilitytoworkwithacomputerwillformpartofyourTMAanswers.

3

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

4/12

3 The cour se components

ThemainMST121coursecomponentsaredescribedbelow.

Study textsMST121 ismadeupofthefollowingfourblocksofstudy.

BlockA MathematicsandmodellingBlockB DiscretemodelsBlockC ContinuousmodelsBlockD Modellinguncertainty

Eachblock isdivided intoseveralindividuallyboundchapters,andhasassociatedwith itanexercise bookletcontainingexercisesandsolutions,andacomputer bookcontainingsoftware-basedactivities.MostchaptersinMST121containthefollowingelements: astudy guide,whichgives informationonthestructureofthe

chapter,andanintroduction; severalsections, with examples,activitiesandcommentsonthose

activities,asection summary, and exercisestoprovidepractice; achapter summary, includingastatementoflearning outcomes; solutionstoactivitiesandexercises.Somechaptersincludeablock introductionorablock summary, and somecontainanappendixrelatedtoparticularteachingsections.Yourstudywillbeguidedbythechapters,andmuchofyourstudytimewillbespentworkingdirectlyfromthem. Youwillgainmostbenefitfromyourstudyifyouworkwithapencilandpapertohand,readingthe Youshouldalsohaveyourchapters,annotatingthemandmakingyourownnotes. Weadviseyouto calculatorandthecoursekeepthesenotes,andothersthatyoumake(forexample,notesfrom Handbook available.tutorialsandyourroughdraftsofassignments),inaringbinderornotebook,foreaseofreference.Somesectionsandtheiractivitiesrequiretheuseofresourcesbeyondthechaptersthemselves. Theseresourcesarespecified inthechapterstudyguides,andtheirassociated icons(seebelow)appearatthebeginningoftheappropriatesections.

indicatesthatyouwillneedyourcomputer

indicatesthatyouwillneedaudioCDplaybackequipment

indicatesthatyouwillneedDVDplaybackequipmentInaddition,theremaybetimesotherthanthosespecifiedwhenyouwishtouseyourcomputertochecksomething. Whenusingyourcomputer,doavoidsittingatthescreenfor longperiodswithoutabreak,andkeepapencilandpapertohandforanynotesthatyouneedtomake.4

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

5/12

Onaverage,moststudentsareabletostudyachapterfromthecourse inabout15hours, includingworkingthroughtheassociatedcomputerwork,audio-visualmaterialandtherelevantassignmentquestions. Towardsthebeginningofthecourse,youmayfindthatyourstudytakesalittle longer,particularly ifMST121 isyourfirstOpenUniversitycourse. However,manystudentsdofindthematerial inBlockAtobedemanding,soyoumayfindthatthepressureofstudyisreducedwhenyoureachBlockB.Youmayfindthattheweeksinwhichassignmentsareduedemandmoreofyourtimetoo. Thereisalotofmaterial inBlockC, includinganintroductiontocalculus;this isoneofthemost importantareasofmathematics,particularly forapplicationsofmathematics,and it isdeveloped inanumberofhigher-levelcourses. Accordingly,youmayneedtoreservealittlemoretimetostudyBlockC,particularly ifyouaregoingontoothercourses inmathematics,physicsorelectronics. Moststudentsfindthestatistics inBlockDfairlystraightforward,butthis isfollowedbythefinalassignments,coveringthewholecourse,forwhichyouarelikelytoneedtoreviewyourworkfromthroughoutthecourse.

Calculator

Youneedascientificorgraphicscalculator forpartsofthecourse. Thegraphicscalculatorused inthecourseMU120 issuitable,butanyscientificcalculatorshouldbesufficient. Ifyouarenotfamiliarwithyourcalculator,thenyoushouldpractiseusingitwiththehelpof itsmanual,preferablybeforethecoursebegins. Someguidance isgivenintheGuide toPreparation,andtherearefurtheropportunitiesforpracticeintheRevisionPack.

Computer software

ThesoftwarepackageMathcadandassociatedcoursefilesaresuppliedontheCD-ROM inthesamemailingasthisCourseGuide. TheprocessofinstallingMathcadandthecoursefiles isdescribed inChapterA0. Theactivitiesassociatedwiththesecoursefilesaregiveninthecomputerbooks. ThedocumentAGuide toMathcadprovidesasourceofreferencetothefeaturesofMathcadusedinthecourse. AnothersoftwarepackagecalledOUStats isused laterinthecourse.

Audio bands

Audiobandsareused insomepartsofthecourse,usuallytotalkyouthroughmaterialprinted inthetext,andoccasionally inconjunctionwithyourcomputer. Dostop,startandreplaythesebandsasoftenasnecessary.

5

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

6/12

Video bands

TheDVDincludesvideobandsofvarioustypes. Someofthebandsarelinkeddirectlytothemaincoursetexts,andshouldbeusedwhenindicatedbythesetextsandontheStudyCalendar. The AlgebraworkoutbandsforBlocksA,BandCcovermoregeneraltechniquesinalgebra,takingyouthroughthebasicsstep-by-step.BandA(i) AthomewithMST121: in thisband, twoformerMST121

studentsanda tutordescribe theirexperienceswith thecourseandgivesomeusefuladvice.

BandA(ii) Algebraworkout: SimultaneousequationsBandA(iii) VisualisingcirclesBandA(iv) Algebraworkout: QuadraticequationsBandA(v) Algebraworkout: Powersand logarithmsBandB(i) Algebraworkout: SigmanotationBandB(ii) NetworksandmatricesBandB(iii) Algebraworkout: ArithmeticwithmatricesBandB(iv) Algebraworkout: WorkingwithvectorsBandC(i) Algebraworkout: DifferentiationBandC(ii) Visualising thederivativeBandC(iii) Algebraworkout: IntegrationBandC(iv) Algebraworkout: DifferentialequationsBandD Samplingdistributions

Supplementar y video material

AseriesoffifteenvideobandsontwoDVDsisassociatedwiththethreecoursesMU120,MST121andMS221. Youare likelytofindalloftheseprogrammes interestingandenrichingasyoustudy,butsomearemoreexplicitlyassociatedwithMST121coursechapters. ThefirstDVDcompriseseightbandsassociatedwithMU120,andthesecondhasfourbandsforMST121andthreeforMS221.

Study Calendar s

There isaStudyCalendar forMST121thatgivesthestartingdateforyourstudyofeachchapterandthedateswhentheassignmentsaredue. Italsogivesschedulesfortheaudioandvideobands.Handbook

TheMST121Handbook containsa listofnotationandaglossaryoftechnicalterms,arrangedalphabetically,togetherwithkeyresultsandformulas,organisedaccordingtothechapterinwhichtheyappear.TheHandbook isakeysourceofreferencethroughoutthecourseandyoushouldaddyourpersonalannotationstoit. Intheory,therefore,thereisno It isagoodideaeithertouseneedtomemorisematerialfromthecourse. However,themorenotation apencilortousePost-itandterminologyyoucanrememberandunderstand,theeasieryouwill stickers for your annotations untilyouareconfidentwhichfindittostudythecoursematerialsandtodoassessmentquestions typesuitsyoubest.confidently. Also,manyresultsandtechniquesfromMST121willbeusedinMS221andinothersecond- andthird-levelmathematicscourses.6

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

7/12

Stop Presses

TheStopPresses,printedonpinkpaper,actascoursenewsletterscontainingusefulandoftenessentialinformation,suchaserrata,howtoreportothererrors,whattodo ifyouneedhelp,andmoredetaileddescriptionsofthevideobands.It is important to read each Stop Press as soon as it arrives, andto make a note of any points which affect you.

Course website

Any last-minutenewsaboutthecourse,suchaslateerrata,willbepostedonthecoursewebsite. Thecoursewebsitealsocontainsotherusefulresources,suchaselectroniccopiesofthecoursematerials.

4 AssessmentTheassessmentforMST121consistsoffivetutor-marked assignments(TMAs),towhichyouprovidewrittenanswers,andthreecomputer-marked assignments(CMAs),whichcontainmultiple-choicequestions. Theseassessmentsarecontained inthreeassignmentbooklets.Theassessmentonthecourse issummarised inthistable.Assignmentnumber Weighting Material covered NotesTMA10 0% Preparatory; formative

RevisionPackCMA51 0% Preparatory; formative

RevisionPackTMA01 20% BlockA substitutableTMA02 20% BlockB substitutableTMA03 20% BlockC substitutableCMA41 10% BlockD non-substitutableTMA04 20% BlocksA,B,C,D non-substitutableCMA42 10% BlocksA,B,C,D non-substitutable

TMA10andCMA51areformative,whichmeansthatyourresultsforthemdonotcounttowardsyourfinalcourseresult. Thesearepracticeassignmentstohelpwithyourpreparationforthecourse,andtogiveyouearlyfeedbackonyourmathematicalworkand, inthecaseofTMA10,onhowyoupresentyourmathematics.Thedatesbywhicheachassignmentshouldbesubmittedaregiven intheStudyCalendar. Thecut-offdateforeachofTMA01,02and03 isthelastdateonwhichyourtutormayacceptyourworkformarking,unlessheorshe

feels

that

there

are

exceptional

reasons

why

you

should

be

allowed

to

submit late. NosuchextensionsarepossiblefortheCMAsorforTMA04. InstructionsforsubmittingTMAsandCMAsaregiven intheassignmentbooklets.

7

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

8/12

Itisimportanttoplanyourstudyto includetimetoworkontheassignments,allowingtimetorefineandcheckwhatyouwriteandperhapstoactonanyadvicethatyoumightseekfromyourtutor. Youwillprobablyfinditbesttodotheappropriateassignmentquestionsattheendofstudyingeachchapter inthecourse,andthenreviewthewholeassignmentjustbeforeyousubmit itinadvanceofthecut-offdate.InTMA04youwillbeaskedtoattemptfour longerquestionsonthecourse. TMA04 issubjecttoathreshold: youmustobtainaminimumoverallgradeof30%onthisassignment inordertopassthecourse.

Your overall grade

TopassMST121,youwillneedtohaveperformedsatisfactorily intheassessmentcomponentasawholethiswouldnormallymeanobtaininganoverallscoreofat least40%acrossalltheassignments(exceptTMA10andCMA51),andachievingat least30%onTMA04. Youroverallscorewillbecomputed inlinewiththeprocedureoutlined intheAssessmentHandbook,taking intoaccounttheweightingforeachassignmentasgiveninthetableabove.If,forwhateverreason,youdonotsubmitorachieveonlya lowmarkononeofTMA01,02or03,youroverallscoremaybe improvedbyasystemknownassubstitution. ThismeansthatyourscoreforoneofTMA01,02or03canbesubstitutedbyyouroverallcoursescore(ifthisishigher),whenthat iscalculatedattheendofthecourse. Ifsubstitutionwouldbenefityouroverallscore,theprocessiscarriedoutautomatically. Theeffectsofthesubstitutionsystemarethat: youarenotpenalisedtooseverelyforalowmarkononeofTMA01,

02or03; it isadvantageoustosubmitalltheTMAs,evenifyouarenotableto Youwillalsoreceiveuseful

doyourselfjusticeonsomeparts. feedback.MST121 isaLevel1course,andthusattheendofthecourseyouwillbeawardedeitherapassorfailgrade.Ifyouhaveachievedsatisfactorymarksacrosstheassessmentoverall,andmadeareasonableattemptatTMA04butnotachievedthethreshold,thenyoumaybeofferedtheopportunitytoattemptthenewversionsofTMA04andCMA42inthenextpresentationofthecourse. Ifyouaccepttheoffer,thenyourfinalcourseresultwillbebasedonyourscoresforthese

two

assignments

and

on

the

scores

you

obtained

for

TMA

01,

TMA02,TMA03andCMA41.

8

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

9/12

5 Study suppor t

Your tutor

YourRegionalCentrewillsendyouthenameandaddressofyourtutor,whowillsupportyouracademicstudyandprovidefeedbackonyourwork.EveryTMAthatyousubmitontimeshouldbereturnedmarkedbyyourtutor,withcomments. Thesecommentsshouldpointoutwhatyouhavedonewell,while indicatinganymisunderstandingsanderrorsandgivingadviceonhowtoavoidthese. TMAsarethebasisforcorrespondencetuition,andshouldenableyoutoestablishadialoguewithyourtutor.Youwillreceivedetailsofotherwaysinwhichyourtutormayofferyousupport, forinstancewithface-to-facetutorialsorcomputerconferences.Youwillbeabletoobtaindetailsofface-to-facetutorialsprovidedbyothertutors,whichyouareentitledtoattend. Youarestronglyencouragedtoattendface-to-facetutorials, if itisfeasibleforyoutodoso,astheyprovideanopportunitytoreceivefocusedtuition,toworkwithotherstudents,andtodiscussyourownquestions.If itis impossible foryoutotakepart inorganisedactivities,pleasemakecontactwithyourtutor,andmaintaincontactthroughtelephone,email,lettersorfax.

Other students

Talkingwithfellowstudentsaboutthemathematicsyouarestudying isavaluablewayofenhancingyour learning. Thereareopportunitiesforthisattutorials,andyoucanarrangefurthercontactbyexchangingaddresses,emailaddressesortelephonenumberswithotherstudentsinyourarea,perhapsforminga self-helpgroup. Itmaybepossibletobookaroomatastudycentreforself-helpgroupmeetings; ifso,yourRegionalCentrewillbeabletosupplydetails. Inadditiontoanylocalarrangementsthatyoumaymakewithyourtutorandfellowstudents,theOpenUniversityStudentsAssociation(OUSA)supportsanonlinecourseforumforMST121students.

Telephone help-lines

Asmentionedabove,youmaychoosetocontactyourtutorandfellowstudentsbytelephone. Youmayalsowishtousetelephonehelp-lines. Forexample,thereisatelephone tutorial servicerunonavoluntarybasisbymembersoftheFacultyofMathematicsandComputingwhoendeavourtoansweryourqueries. Thereisalsoacomputing help-linetosupportstudentsoncourseswhichinvolvetheuseofapersonalcomputer(likeMST121).Detailsabouttheseservicesaregiven inStopPresses.

9

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

10/12

Other suppor t

RegionalCentresprovideallstudentswithstudysupportforproblemsthatarenotdirectlyrelatedtothecoursematerials. NewstudentsstudyingMST121willusuallyreceivethissupportfromtheirtutor. Ifyouhaveanynon-academicproblemsaffectingyourOpenUniversitystudiesyoushouldconsulttheLearner Support TeamatyourRegionalCentre.DetailsabouttheLearnerSupportTeamaregiven intheliteraturesentfromyourRegionalCentre.

10

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

11/12

cPrinted in theUnitedKingdom Copyright2008 TheOpenUniversitySUP002610 6.1

7/22/2019 MST121 mst121

12/12

CourseGuide

SUP00261 0

121CourseGuide

121UsingMathematics

MST

MST