General Information About the Course

General Information About the Course#

On this page, you will find information about the structure of the course. On the following pages, you will find information about:

For the course’s learning objectives and more, please refer to the DTU course base.

Learn#

The course’s Learn page, https://learn.inside.dtu.dk/d2l/home/242618, is used for:

  • Submitting assignments

  • Important announcements from instructors

Course Structure#

A course week includes the following elements: a Long Day and a Short Day, both with a lecture and group sessions with the teaching assistants (TAs), with the Short Day concluding with the Weekly Test, which lasts one hour. It is important that you participate in all these activities, as your performance will be tested in the written exam. You should also expect a significant amount of homework.

Schedule for the two teaching days:

  • Long Days, Wednesdays 10:00-17:00

    • Lectyre 10:00-12:00.

    • Self-study 12:30-13:00.

    • Exercise session with TAs present 13.00-16.00.

    • Self-study 16:00-17:00.

  • Short Days, Fridays 13:00-17:00

    • Lecture 13:00-14:00.

    • Self-study 14:00-14:30.

    • Exercise session with TAs present 14.30-16.00.

    • Weekly Test 16:00-17:00.

Teaching#

Weekly Plans#

The weekly plans (or weekly programs) form the backbone of the course. They are a key communication tool from the instructors to you. Weekly plans outline many of the core concepts covered in the week’s curriculum and include references to the syllabus in the textbook, assignments, activities, and discussion topics for self-study and exercise sessions.

Before and After Class#

You will always be able to review in advance which parts of the curriculum will be covered during a course week. Be sure to read the relevant parts of the textbook before the lectures, as this will significantly enhance your learning experience. It is perfectly normal not to fully understand every part of these textbook sections before the lectures, but experience shows that preparation has a tremendous positive impact. Similarly, reviewing the textbook and assignments after the in-class activities greatly deepens your understanding of the material.

Note that the course grants 10 ECTS credits, meaning it is structured for 16 hours of work per week.

Lectures#

On the Long Day, a survey lecture presents the key and central topics of the week’s program, putting it in perspective and showing examples. On the Short Day, there is more time to dive into examples, special cases, alternative methods, etc., providing important input for the exercise sessions, culminating in the Weekly Test. Note that what is covered in the lectures does not define the full curriculum of the course. Exam questions may include parts of the curriculum that were not explicitly discussed in the lectures. Use the textbook and other materials to ensure you are well-versed in all key points of the curriculum.

Long Day#

The Long Day begins with a lecture, followed by an exercise session. Note that the study areas are available from 12:00. The weekly plan includes information and activities for the day, including assignments. Use the self-study time (12:30-13:00) to familiarize yourself with the day’s agenda so you are ready for the subsequent exercise session with the TAs. Here, you and your study group, under the assistance of a team of TAs, will work on the material from the day’s lecture and the exercises in the weekly plan. After the exercise session, you (and your study group) have the hour from 16:00-17:00 to complete the day’s work, e.g., solving any missing exercises or starting on homework.

Short Day#

The Short Day starts with a lecture, followed by time for self-study and an exercise session before the Weekly Test, where you are assessed on the fundamental skills of the week’s topics. A few TAs will be available to provide academic and technical support. In certain weeks during the semester, the Short Day will be organized around so-called Theme Exercises, which will replace the usual Short Day activities. See more below.

Theme Exercises#

A couple of times during the semester, the usual in-class activities on a Short Day are replaced by a Theme exercise. The purpose of such a Theme exercise is to provide examples of how concepts and methods from Python programming can be applied in Mathematics 1b and relate the material to engineering applications. All four hours on these Short Days take place in the study area, with no lecture and no Weekly Test.

The Theme exercises will be released on the website and is to be solved but not submitted. The concepts and methods you learn during the Theme exercise may appear in homework assignments and exams.

Weekly Test#

In weeks without Theme exercises, the Short Day concludes with a test called the Weekly Test. This test can earn you bonus points that will be added to your exam result (see exam rules elsewhere on the website).

We emphasize the following about the Weekly Test:

  • It is an on-location test, meaning it must be completed while you are physically present in the study area.

  • The test is solved without electronic aids but must be entered into the Möbius quiz program.

  • You must use full-screen mode so the test occupies your entire screen.

  • Your teaching assistant will provide you with a code to activate the test.

  • You may discuss the test questions within your study group, but note: You have your own version of the test, which you must solve and submit individually.

During the last hour of the Short Day, you have only one attempt (this is called the one-hour version). From Friday 18:00 to Wednesday 18:00, the test reopens for multiple attempts (this is called the week version).

You will find the Weekly Test link on the course’s Learn page: The link to Möbius is in the top menu.

Homework Assignments#

Two homework assignments will be given.

Homework assignments (HW) are available both in the Lesson Overview and under the menu item Homework Assignments. HW assignments must be submitted as PDF files via Learn. Deadlines are listed on both the homepage and Learn.

All answers in the HW assignments must be justified, and all necessary explanations and reasoning included.

Logical conclusions and mathematical accuracy in your formulations will also be evaluated. A perfect submission contains all the necessary reasoning, but nothing more. HW assignments are individual, so while you may collaborate on solution strategies, submissions must be done individually. Two identical submissions will be considered plagiarism.

NB: On the final Long Day before a homework deadline, TAs will provide hints from 15:30-16:00 based on specific questions you bring.

Project Period#

During the last four weeks of the course, the project period will take place. This concludes with a project exam day on the final Long Day - see more under exam rules. In groups, you will work on a project topic that applies the mathematics you have learned in the Mathematics 1 courses to an engineering problem. More information will be published a few weeks before the project period begins.

Materials#

The course materials include: the weekly plans with exercises and other materials on the course website, the textbook, HW assignments, SymPy demos, and more. The curriculum is found here.