MA12710 - A ROUGH GUIDE TO MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

Module Identifier

MA12710

Module Title

A ROUGH GUIDE TO MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

Academic Year

2004/2005

Co-ordinator

Professor V Mavron

Semester

Semester 1

Other staff

Mr Alan Jones, Dr Robert J Douglas

Mutually Exclusive

May not be taken with any of the modules MA10020-MA11310

Course delivery

Other

Workshop. 11 x 2 hour help-desk (attendance optional)

Lecture

20 x 1 hour lectures

Assessment

Assessment Type	Assessment Length/Details	Proportion
Semester Exam	2 Hours (written examination)	50%
Semester Assessment	In-Course Assessment: 2 x 1-hour in-course tests, each held during a lecture period. (25% each)	50%
Supplementary Assessment	2 Hours The mark for any passed component of the semester assessment (in-course tests and written examination) is carried forward; 2-hour written examination (remaining percentage).	100%

Learning outcomes

On completion of this module, students should be able to:

apply formulae involving percentages, interest and rates of change to solve financial problems;
formulate simple quantitative problems and solve them;
recognise and analyse trends and patterns;
calculate probabilities and make appropriate decisions;
interpret, and draw inferences from, summarised data and diagrams;
use basic logic to make inference from a set of statements.

Brief description

The module will enhance a student's employment prospects through developing proficiency in the application of quantitative skills. The module is designed for students pursuing degree schemes with little or no mathematical content. Students are not expected to have formal mathematical training beyond GCSE level. Techniques covering quantitative skills, problems of everyday finance, interpreting data, and logical reasoning will be taught using appropriate case studies.

Aims

To enhance a student's employment prospects through developing proficiency in the application of quantitative skills. To develop elementary techniques in formulating and solving problems and in interpreting summarised data. To apply quantitative techniques to problems of everyday finance. To develop basic logical reasoning.

Content

1. Mathematical notation, fractions and decimals, ratios and percentages.
2. Simple and compound interest, instalment buying, annuities and mortgages.
3. Exponential growth, logarithms.
4. Manipulating formulae, applications, proportionality.
5. Graphs of linear and quadratic functions.
6. Simple logic, truth tables.
7. Chance and probability, elementary rules, conditional probability and independence, tree diagrams, sampling with and without replacement, expected values and decision making.
8. Interpreting tables and diagrams, multiple bar charts, summary statistics, box and whisker plots, scatter plots.
9. Interpretation of computer output; one and two sample confidence intervals, fitted lines and curves.

Reading Lists

Books
** Supplementary Text
A. Angel, S. Porter (2001) Survey of Mathematics with Applications 6th. Addison-Wesley 0201703084
W. M. Setek and M. A. Gallo (1999) Fundamentals of Mathematics 8th. Prentice-Hall 0137783418
D. K. Hathaway (2000) Mathematics for the Modern World Addison-Wesley 0201611295
T. Pirnot (2001) Mathematics All Around Addison-Wesley 0201308150

Notes

This module is at CQFW Level 4