ECON 1003 - Maths For Social Sciences I
ECON 1003 - Maths For Social Sciences I
ECON 1003 - Maths For Social Sciences I
DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMICS
CAVE HILL, CAMPUS
Course code and title ECON 1003 – Maths for Social Sciences I
Level 1
Credits 3
Course goals
The goals of this course are to:
Facilitate exploration and analysis of basic concepts in mathematics specifically -
functions, linear algebra and calculus.
Demonstrate the effective use of mathematical tools in social science
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chosen career. The purpose of this course is to cull the mathematical tools, s and techniques
relevant for social sciences today. On successful completion of this course, students should be
able to:
Use set notation and perform set operations
Evaluate functions
Prepare graphs from functions
Define a series
Distinguish between arithmetic and geometric series
Evaluate arithmetic and geometric terms and for each sum to a given number of terms
Use calculus to differentiate functions applying simple algebraic techniques, product,
and quotient rules
Use the second derivative to find maximum or minimum of a function
Evaluate/compute the integral of functions
Use matrix techniques to solve systems of linear equations by inverse or Cramers’
rule method
This course will be mainly delivered through interactive lectures and student-led tutorial
discussions. Tutorial assignments will be posted on e-learning and are designed to help
students flesh out concepts and practice the application of the logic and concepts to a
range of problem situations. These are important in this course since they provide the basis
for formal practice and assist in reinforcing the concepts introduced in lectures.
The E-learning Website should be visited frequently by each student to access lecture notes,
messages from the lecturer, coursework grades, tutorial assignments and course notices.
You are reminded that courses such as Mathematics require lots of practice. You will be
required to read the lecture materials from one of the course texts, participate in the in-class
discussion of that material and supplement both these activities by competing the practice
questions and quizzed via links on the course page on e-learning.
Students will be provided with a minimum of four (4) contact hours a week: three (3) hours
for lectures and one (1) hour for tutorials.
Assignments will be provided for each tutorial and these assignments must be done (or at the
very least attempted) before each tutorial. Students should spend at least 6 hours reading
course materials and preparing tutorial assignments before each class.
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Course Content
(5) LIMITS/CONTINUITY
Concepts of a limit
One sided limits
Limits of polynomial and rational functions
Limits to infinity
Continuous and discontinuous functions
Types of discontinuity
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(6) DIFFERENTIATION
Definition of a derivative
General rules of differentiation – derivative of a constant; power rule; constant
factor rule; sums and differences; product rule; quotient rule; chain rule
Differentiation of exponential and logarithmic functions
Higher order derivatives.
(8) INTEGRATION
Integration as the inverse of differentiation
General rules of integration (constant.
Integration by substitution
Finding the constant of integration
Definite Integral
Area under the curve
Using integration in economics and business
Assessment
In class quiz on topics 1-3 worth 30% of the final mark. Date in October.
Take home assignment on topics 2-5 and will be worth 10% of the final mark. Date to
be announced.
NB: Manuals are available from the Department of Economics. The manual contains
all the notes and additional practice questions. The cost is $40.
4 September 2017
Mr. Eustace Edwards