Course Description
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This is a Kursus Teras offered by school of physics. Students who take this course cannot simultaneously take MAA101/4 and MAA 111/4 because these courses overlap with ZCA 110. |
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There will be two separate classes for ZCA 110 (A and B). The two classes will be handled concurrently by two different lecturers, namely Yoon Time Leong (i.e. me lah) and Dr. Rosy Teh. |
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Despite being taught by two different lecturers, the two classes will take the same tests and final exam. |
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Generally ZCA 110 is taken by most first year students in the school of physics. This course serves the purpose to prepare the basic foundation for any science students (particularly physics students) who would need this very important basic mathematics in their future undertaking of any discipline of study. |
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The course will be conducted in English. However, students can answer in either Bahasa or English in the final exam. You can check out the details related to exams and tests here. |
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Since this is a 4 units course, as a rough guide, students have to spend about 4 hours for revision per week for this course. In other words, if you spend about 4 hours per week to practice the exercises it would be suffice to pass the course. Of course, if a student want to score excellently he/she is required to walk an extra mile by spending more time than suggested for practicing the exercises. |
Course Duration
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This course is offered in the first semester for science students in the USM -- a 14-week term at USM that runs from 10 July 2006 until 21 Oct 2006. |
Course Prerequisites
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Despite no formal prerequisites (prasyarat kursus) for this course, students are assumed to have been familiar with some basic mathematics at STPM or Matrikulasi level, such as simple differentiation, integration, trigonometry, basic algebra, geometry, and of course arithmetic of addition, subtraction, division and multiplication. Students who have a good foundation in the pre-U level mathematics as mentioned would definitely have an advantage. For those who don't, working hard (and smart) consistently throughout the course will almost sure to compensate for the the lack of strong foundation. |
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In addition, since this course will be conducted in English, students of course must also able to to understand, to read and to write in English. |
Consultation hours
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There is no specific timeslots allocated for consultation with Yoon Tiem Leong. You can come to see him in his office anytime as long as he is free to entertain you. However, in order to avoid inconveniences students are advised to call up (ext 3674) or email him (tlyoon@usm.my) before rushing into his office. His door is always open to you. |
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You would need to contact Dr. Rosy Teh for her consultation hours. |
General Comments
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Calculus and linear algebra are the two very basic mathematical tools for anyone who wish to study any branch of scientific discipline. |
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As most mathematic calculation involves integration, differentiation, algebraic solutions to simultaneous equations etc., calculus and linear algebra are almost an indispensable survival skill a student must master in order to perform any basic mathematical calculation. Just like a building worker would not be able to built any lasting building if he lacks the basic knowledge of, say, tightening a screw or knocking a nail, a science students lacking proficiency in calculus and linear algebra shall be seriously hindered when he/she is given the task of performing a serous investigation (either experimentally, theoretically or numerically) of any phenomena that necessarily involves mathematics of some kind. Having said that, ZCA 110 is not a particularly difficult subject. I would say it's "sup sup shui" (Cantonese, meaning "no sweat") as long as you keep an attitude to study and practice it consistently throughout the course. |
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Calculus is tightly related to geometry, hence the geometrical interpretation of calculus makes it easily visualised, hence less abstract. Most concepts discussed in the calculus of ZCA 110 have been actually studied in the STPM or Matrikulasi syllabus. In ZCA 110 we extend the syllabus further to investigate more diversified kinds of functions (e.g. hyperbolic functions, inverse trigo functions etc.). In addition we shall also investigate the theoretical roots of some 'mysterious' formulae that were used but rarely explained in the pre-U level, such as d/dx (cos x) = -sin x. To explain this formula we need to go back to the basic idea of limit which is one of the most abstract ideas in calculus. Besides being a very interesting topic, the idea of limit may pose some challenge to the students who are new to it. Other than the concept of limit, the calculus syllabus also necessitate many problem-solving and calculations involving, e.g. integration, differentiation and graphing of many types of functions. Needless to say, practice is the only way (unless you are exceptionally brilliant) to make your study of ZCA 110 a perfect. |
Textbooks
Lectures on the Calculus part by Yoon Tiem Leong will primarily base on the following text books:
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Engineering Mathematics Volume 1 (second edition), by Chooi Wai Leong et al. (published by Pearson, ISBN:983-3655-15-7). This is a particularly ''understandable'' book written specially for the context of Malaysian students. This book is the collective work of the mathematics lecturers in the Multimedia University (MMU). It is written to cater for our Malaysian students. In addition to its 'easy to read' features (from the view point of most Malaysian students), the price for this book is cheap so that you can just buy the original one. Making a pirate copy of it is not money-worthy. |
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Calculus, Schaum's outlines Series, fourth edition, by Frank Ayeres Jr. an Elliot MEndelson, McGraw-Hill 2000 edition. This book is an excellent book for the purpose of practicing more advanced exercises. In addition, it will also be explicitly used when covering topics involving series. |
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Thomas' Calculus, 11th edition, by G.B. Thomas, Pearson international edition. This book will not be used explicitly. However it is listed here as an extra reference for those who are keen to know more. |
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Students are strongly urged to
get either one of these books. It is strongly advised that students should not be
contented with the lecture material supplied by the
lecturers alone. They should STUDY these
suggested texts and try out the exercises on a consistent
manner throughout the semester. You gonna
prepare to think in an intellectual manner in order to comprehend the essential
concepts and ways of performing calculation I wish to convey in this course.
So please exercise your initiatives to think independently and critically.
On the other hand, for people who are expecting to make only mechanical memorisation yet can pass with flying colour (just like what you did during the pre-U years), please be prepared for disappointment. There is a high risk that you shall flop the course if you study mathematics via memorisation and don't practice enough on the exercises suggested. |
Tutorial
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Tutorial session is scheduled to take place during the Thursday 2.00pm slot. |
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The tutorial session will be conducted in the lecture hall as it is for the lecture. |
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NO new lecture material will be covered during the tutorial session. We will be discussing tutorial questions and exercises or doing Q&A instead. |
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There will be NO tutorial sheets or problem sets be prepared for the tutorial session. Instead, students are expected to prepare for the tutorial session by attempting the end-of-chapter exercises from Chooi et al. and, if they are hardworking enough, the problems from the Schaum's Series for the material covered during the week. |
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Attendance will be taken for the tutorial session. |
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"Selected check": As a 'stick' to drive the students to do their homework on a continuous basis, a number of selected students will be asked to show evidence of effort to attempt the exercises for the relevant week, failing which shall render their names be recorded as a evidence of not fulfilling their obligation. |
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Remember, now you can't wait passively for your tutors to mark the tutorial questions for you anymore. Hence you have to be proactive to take initiatives to discuss whatever questions you have with the lecturer during tutorial sessions, or you may consult the assigned tutors during their respective consultation hours. To encourage active learning, you are also expected to make active discussions with your fellow course mates. It would be an excellent practice if students could form study groups among themselves. |
Test assessment for coursework marks
Coursework makes up 30% of the final grade of ZCA 110. Click here for more details about the assessment.