202-107 Mathematics for Land and Food Resources

Students with a score of 25 or above in VCE Mathematics Methods or equivalent will not normally be permitted to enrol in this subject for credit.

Mathematics as a final-year subject at school or 202-250 Quantitative Skills for Land and Food Resources or equivalent

Students should develop:

• mathematical knowledge and skills which are applicable to and provide a foundation for other Land and Food Resources subjects, including chemistry, biology, statistics and economics; and

• the ability to apply mathematical knowledge and skills to analyse, investigate, model and solve problems in a variety of situations, ranging from well-defined and familiar situations to unfamiliar and open-ended situations.

Course content will be set within the context of relevant examples. Technology will be used as an effective support for mathematical activity.

Topic areas include:

• Algebra: polynomials of up to and including degree 3, linear factors, factor theorem, remainder theorem, quadratic and cubic equations, transposition of formulae;

• Functions: exponential and logarithmic functions and graphs, including transformations; composite and inverse functions; solution of equations involving transcendental functions;

• Calculus: derivatives, product, quotient and chain rules for differentiation; integration of simple functions; applications of differentiation and integration including rates of change, related rates and simple differential equations;

• Sequences and series and applications;

• Probability and statistics: elementary probability; random variables, mean and variance; binomial and normal distributions; introductory statistical modelling, inference for population means, linear regression.

One 3-hour examination (60%), assignments totalling up to 30 pages of written asssignments throughout semester (30%) and up to 1.5 hours of tests throughout semester (10%). The relative weighting of the examination and the mid-semester test will be chosen so as to maximise the student's results.

• S Tan, College Mathematics, 5th ed. Brooks/Cole, 2002.