Course syllabus

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About the course

The course is mainly intended to strengthen your mathematical thinking, and your ability to apply such thinking in applications, and in your continued studies. The focus in not on mathematical knowledge in the traditional sense, but on the often implied abilities needed to effectively be able to apply any mathematics you already know, and efficiently be able to learn new mathematics. The most important parts are mathematical reasoning, problem solving and mathematical modelling. Important aspects such as using the computer to support your mathematical thinking, and to be able to communicate with and about mathematics are also integrated in the course. It is our experience that independently of your prior level of experience with mathematics, the course provides a deeper perspective in all these areas.

The core of the course is a number of carefully selected problems, where you by working in an investigative way develop your abilities. We also have lectures which provide a broader understanding, follow-up and perspective. The problems will engage you in mathematical thinking both within mathematics itself and in different realistic applications, and in this way the gap between mathematical theory and relevant applications is bridged.

The overall structure of the course is given by the weekly modules:

1. Introduction
2. Functions, equations and geometry I 
3. Functions, equations and geometry II 
4. Mostly optimization 
5. Mostly dynamic systems
6. Mostly probability and statistics
7. Mostly discrete mathematics
8. Conclusion and final report

The learning objectives are found in the official course plan. The course plans for the different course codes are similar.

For detailed information about the modules see the Modules page.

Contact details

Dag Wedelin (examiner and course responsible) dag at chalmers.se
Alexey Pavolotskiy (teacher modules 3 and 4)
Birgit Grohe (teacher) birgit.grohe at cse.gu.se
Kiana Kade (TA) kiana.kade at chalmers.se
Lovisa Hagström (TA) lovhag at chalmers.se
Denitsa Saynova (TA) saynova at chalmers.se
Anton Matsson (TA) antmats at chalmers.se
Leo Woxberg (TA) woxberg at student.chalmers.se

For administrative questions about assignments, groups etc., contact NN (first see the general instructions).

Student representatives:

TKGBS Josephine.arnell at gmail.com Josephine Arnell
TKGBS gusniljod at student.gu.se Jonas Nilsson

Information about being a student representative.
 

Schedule

In 2022, the course will be campus-based, although there will be elements of blended learning, with prerecorded lecture clips etc. The schedule varies slightly from week to week, see the TimeEdit schedule (available from the start page) and the specific information for each module. There will be some common lectures with another course with the same overall structure, while the problem modules and their supervision - which form the core of the course - will be adapted to each course. Please be attentive to the schedule for your course.

Examination and grading

The course is examined continuously module by module through submissions and by attending compulsory activities. To pass the course, all modules must be submitted and pass.

For grading, points are awarded to each module as follows:

Module 1 and 7: pass 2p
Module 2-7: pass 1p (do core problems), good 2p (do all problems and a well-written presentation)
Module 8: pass 4p, brilliant 6p (quality of final report)

Please note that we do not grade on how well you solve individual problems. Instead, we grade on effort and the final report+reviews .

Final course grade:

10 points → grade 3
18 points → grade 4
20 points → grade 5

From an overall course perspective, you should do the following to pass:

  • Actively participate in the course activities
  • Spend appropriate time in the course
  • Show that you approach the intended learning outcomes to a significant extent.

For a higher grade:

  • Clearly show that you reach the learning outcomes
  • Work with a varied set of tasks (subject to the character of each task)
  • Responsibility, engagement, initiative, originality
  • For the highest grade distinguish yourself in several of the above areas

These general criteria are adapted to different parts of the course as appropriate.

If you should not complete the course in time, and need to come back next year, it is in your best interest to keep copies of your solutions to enable future assessment.

Course literature

There is no compulsory course literature. Reading instructions will be provided in connection to the modules.

Changes made since the last occasion

Main changes 2022:

  • Simplified grading system
  • Scheduled feedback sessions 

 

 

Course summary:

Date Details Due