Dr David O'Sullivan

This course is compulsory on the BSc in Financial Mathematics and Statistics, BSc in Mathematics and Economics, BSc in Mathematics with Data Science and BSc in Mathematics with Economics. This course is available on the BSc in Actuarial Science, BSc in Actuarial Science (with a Placement Year), BSc in Data Science, BSc in Finance and BSc in Mathematics, Statistics and Business. This course is not available as an outside option to students on other programmes. This course is not available to General Course students.

Pre-requisites:

Students must have completed MA102 before taking this course.

Co-requisites:

Students must complete MA102 either before taking this course or in the same year as this course.

Additional requisites:

Students should have taken, or be taking concurrently, the course Mathematical Proof and Analysis (MA102). Students will need basic knowledge of Python. Students who do not have this, and who are not attending MA160P, should contact the course convenor at the beginning of AT.

The course is a second introduction to the use of formal definitions and proofs in mathematics, and to basic results of number theory, linear algebra, and algebra. Specific topics covered are as follows: Integers, prime numbers, greatest common divisor and modular arithmetic, algorithms and running time, groups and vector spaces.

20 hours of lectures, 10 hours of help session and 20 hours of classes in the Winter Term.

Students will be expected to produce 10 problem sets in the WT.

Written answers to set problems will be expected on a weekly basis.

Students may wish to have one of the recommended textbooks: N L Biggs, Discrete Mathematics (2nd edn) or P J Eccles, An Introduction to Mathematical Reasoning, but these are not required. Further background reading can be found in R Allenby, Numbers and Proofs; M Liebeck, A Concise Introduction to Pure Mathematics and H Anton, Elementary Linear Algebra.

Exam (90%), duration: 120 Minutes in the Spring exam period.

Continuous assessment (10%).