MTH1020: Analysis of Change

3 x assignments (10% each; total 30%)
The 3 assignments are relatively well spread out during the semester, so they fit quite well amongst my other assignments. In my opinion, the problems in the assignments (as well as some in the problem sets) are probably the hardest that you will encounter in the entire course, so if you can understand and complete them, you should be fine for the end of semester exam. You are required to hand them in at the start of your support class in the week it is due, and I found that they were generally marked before the next week's support class (marks are uploaded to Moodle). You are also able to collect your assignment and keep it.

Mid-semester Test (10%)
This is a closed book which went for around (or a bit less than) an hour, and was done in the week 6 support class. There was a practise test uploaded on Moodle a week or so beforehand - if you can do this, you'll be fine for the mid-sem test. I found these were marked before the next week's class as well (although I heard some other tutors took a bit longer).

End of Semester Exam (60%)
This is a hurdle, with a 40% mark in the exam required to pass the unit. It is non-calc and closed book, and went for 3 hours, with around 9 questions and 140 marks (from memory). The past exams were a very good indicator of what was on the actual exam (although there was some content difference between semesters, which I think is worth noting). Andy himself said that the difficulty of the exam will be harder than the mid sem test, but easier than the problem sets, so take that as what you will.

The content in this unit is pretty similar to some of the topics in VCE Specialist Maths, but with more depth, and some more content as well. The general topics are: complex numbers, vectors, functions, limits, differentiation and its applications, integration and its applications, differential equations. I found the approach to teaching the content in this unit was quite different than VCE - the lecturer (Andy) starts with a problem (such as wanting to find the square root of 1), and then introduces a way we can solve it (the imaginary number, i). Even though I did spesh in VCE, I still found this unit to be interesting and engaging. Probably the most important thing it aims to teach is your ability to set out mathematics - in VCE, I think that you can get away with starting a line of working without any justification, but in uni, they're looking for justification of essentially every step that you take. Overall, I think that this unit provides a pretty solid foundation for further units in calculus/mathematics.

Dr Andy Hammerlindl (unit coordinator)
Andy provides consultation hours a few times a week. I never went to any, but they might be useful if you're struggling with any of the content.

Yes, the past exams from the 2 previous semesters were uploaded, but only one with solutions. Apparently this is the policy of the School of Mathematical Sciences, so I expect it to be the same in other maths units.

4 out of 5

Yes, with screen capture

Per week: 3 x 1 hour lectures, 1 x 2 hour support class

The lectures involved the lecturer teaching the content via handwriting their notes under document camera while they taught (so no actual lecture notes are available before the lecture). The notes would then be scanned and uploaded towards the end of the week.

The support classes were not compulsory (except in weeks where you had to hand in an assignment, or do the mid semester test), and involves you working through a problem set (basically a worksheet about the previous week's content), with the tutor going through certain questions on the board, and walking around to see if anyone needed help. Note that your experience might be different, since I got stuck in an 8am class, a timeslot which doesn't have the best attendance rates (my tutor said there was literally a week or two where no one turned up ). Detailed solutions to selected problems from the problem sets are posted on Moodle the week after.

Semester 2, 2017
Note that this review may only be applicable to semester 2, since there is a different coordinator for semester 1

Not yet available

First things first, I passed lol, probably the most surprised I've ever been. This is in no way an indictment on the unit or its teachers, rather my unique and sometimes hilarious mathematical ineptitude. This unit is for the most part well taught, and the lecturers are quite passionate, definitely knowledgeable and deliver the content as well as any maths teacher I've ever had. In the interests of transparency, I didn't attend the majority of the lectures due to clashes with biomed stuff, so I can't comment well on the lecture quality - but I liked what I was there for.

The course content is essentially Specialist Mathematics plus a tiny bit more, all compressed to 12 weeks. It might sound difficult, but it's actually quite manageable, even with 3 other full-on units; you just need to manage your time well. The workload is by no means excessive and there are plenty of people you can approach for help.

Aside from the lectures, there is a 2-hour tutorial in which you complete a problem set (essentially a worksheet) with a tutor present if you need help. My tutor was very helpful, but if yours isn't then don't worry because tutes aren't compulsory, and there is the Maths Help Centre available in the Maths building if you need help (definitely use this, I didn't until the end of semester and I regret not doing so far earlier).

The assignments are a bit more complicated and involved than what you generally come across in the problem sets, but they're fairly easy to full-mark if you devote a fair amount of thought to them (hint, WolframAlpha helps if you're stuck). In order to get full marks for the assignments (as well as the exam questions) you need to do more than get the question right and show your working; you need to write "mathematically" according to the guidelines at the back of the lecture notes. In some cases, this might involve giving written explanations to your working (though you could probably get away with not doing this for the most part).

The exam is a hurdle (i.e. you need to pass the exam to pass the unit) and I personally found it quite tough, but I wasn't properly prepared and if you do the practice exam that they give you a few times you'll be well set for the exam. As mentioned above, you can take your annotated bound lecture notes book into the exam for reference, which is helpful given the length of the exam and the breadth of content.

Overall, I enjoyed this unit somewhat because it taught maths in a way that worked far better for me than how it's taught in VCE, even though the content was definitely harder than what I experienced in school.

Yes, but only one.

3.5 out of 5

Calculus – Early Transcendentals 7^th edition by Stewart. This is a great textbook for explanations/reference/extra questions etc. but is by no stretch of the imagination critical. Not worth buying, and you can definitely find a .pdf version online if you look hard enough.

MTH1020 Lecture Notes by A/Prof Cristina Varsavsky, available from the Monash Bookstore for about $18. BUY THIS, you take it into the exam with you.

D

Yes but solutions are scarce. Can also leech off Engineering maths, similar content

4/5

Yes, with screen captures, so lecturer workings on tablet PC recorded

2012 Semester 1

82 HD