Mathematics for JF Science students - part 3
Course 1S3, lecturer: Richard M. Timoney
Introduction
In general this part of the mathematics course is integrated with the other parts (1S1 and 1S2) and together thay aim to deal with topics in Mathematics of interest to future scientists. The applications are mostly concentrated in 1S2 (Dr. Buttimore). A lot of the course is designed to provide the background for more advanced topics that are directly relevant to highly mathematical scientific theories, but some of the topics will be used directly in your science subjects.
This part of the course has the feature that we try to make use of computers where they can help. Specifically, the computer algebra program Mathematica will be used as a sort of mathematical assistant for dealing with some of the topics. That system is one of a number of similar products that can do "mathematics" for you, but they do not obviate the need to learn the mathematical concepts. You need at least to be able to understand what your problem is and to be able to judge how good the solution is that the system proposes. The system is quite good at graphing as well as doing calculations and has the powerful feature that it can be programmed to carry out more complex tasks than those that can be done by a single instruction. In order to use Mathematica, you will need to be able to cope with the computer system in the Mathematics department. This is learned via the computer lab part of the course and this will take place in small group tutorials in the computer rooms in the Mathematics department.
See the Syllabus for more specific information and also the Guide to textbooks if you would like to read more on the topics covered.
There is information online about the second year course (which you may wish to take).