Activities and Assessment#
Basis for the Course Grade#
Your final course grade will be determined by two main components:
A 4-hour written exam + bonus points (weight 90%)
Theme exercises/Python module (weight 10%)
Each part is assessed, and a single overall grade is awarded based on a holistic evaluation.
Weekly Tests and Bonus Points#
In semester weeks 1-12, the Short Day ends with a Weekly Test containing questions from the material of the week. Passing a Weekly Test grants you a bonus point that will count towards your grade. Not passing it has no consequence.
The half-hour version: The Weekly Test is active during the final half hour of the Short Day, so Friday 16:30-17:00. We call this the half-hour version. Here you have one attempt to get as many right answers as you can. Only paper-based aids (notes, books) are allowed - use your laptop to access the test link and nothing else.
The week version: Most likely you won’t earn your bonus point in the half-hour version, so a week version of the test will be open from Friday 18:00 to Wednesday 18:00. Here you have an unlimited number of attempts - a new attempt resets your week-version score (but not your half-hour-version score).
Both versions and each new attempt in the week version contain the same questions but with “scrambled” numbers each time. A Weekly Test contains 10 questions, and your results from the half-hour version and from the week version will be added together. To earn a bonus point, you must reach a total of 8 correct answers.
You may bring up to 10 bonus points to the exam. Your bonus points will be added to your exam score before the grade is computed.
Rules for the Weekly Tests#
The Weekly Test is accessed via the Möbius quiz system. A link can be found in the course’s DTU Learn module (in the topmenu).
You may discuss the questions with fellow students. But note that Möbius scrambles the numbers such that while all students have the same question types, each student has their own personal version of the test. You must calculate and enter your own answers into your own test.
For the half-hour version, the following rules apply:
The test is on-location, meaning it must be done in your study area.
You must bring your own laptop. An access passcode will be handed out by the teaching assistants.
No electronic computational aids are allowed. Aids in paper-form are allowed. Your laptop may only be used for typing your answers into Möbius.
Your laptop must be in fullscreen mode when you have entered the test, such that the test fills the entire screen.
You may discuss the questions in your study group/at your table.
Homework Assignments#
A total of three homework assignment sets are assigned.
Links to the problem statements will be available via the semester overview a few weeks before, where deadlines are also displayed. All assignments are to be submitted online in .pdf format before the deadline to the course’s DTU Learn module (click Assignments in the menu).
In an assignment, all answers should be justified, and all necessary explanations and reasoning should be included. The purpose of an assignment is for the individual student to test their ability to formulate clear, precise, and concise mathematical arguments with logically and mathematically correct conclusions. The student will receive personalized feedback by a teaching assistant on their assignment. A perfect solution is short and concise - it contains just the right amount of reasoning, explanation, and presentation, and no more than that.
The homework assignments are intended to be solved without computational aid - a text editor such as latex or Microsoft Word is perfectly fine for presenting your solution, but any use of CAS tools is to be avoided. The student may also do a hand-written assignment with the purpose of practicing under the same conditions as the written exam - the solution is still to be submitted via DTU Learn, so in that case it must be scanned to .pdf.
Please note that the homework assignments do not contribute to your final course grade. You are still strongly encouraged to complete them since they are your chance of personalized, individual feedback on your own work.
Thematic Python Modules#
Python as a fundamental computational tool is a part of the polytechnical foundation at DTU. You will need Python in many future courses, not least in Mathematics 1b. In Math1a we will therefore introduce the students to the usage of Python for mathematical work, mainly using Python’s Sympy library. We will do that via the presentation software Jupyter that allows for text markup and executable code cells in one document.
On the Long Days in semester weeks 6, 8, 10, and 12, a Jupyter Notebook will be released on DTU Learn at 15:30. These Notebooks contain material that will train the students’ usage of Sympy on the mathemtical syllabus that has been covered at that stage in the course.
A week after each Notebook release, so on the Long Days in semester weeks 7, 9, 11, and 13, respectively, a Python/Sympy test based on the Notebook’s material will be conducted:
The tests are on-location in our usual study area (cannot be accessed from home)
The tests are carried out in Möbius
The tests take place in the timeslot 15:30-17:00
All aids are allowed, including online ressources and AI tools. Keep in mind, though, that asking an AI tool to fully solve a test question defeats the purpose.
Bring a laptop with VS Code ready. It is your responsibility that your technical equipment and software are working.
You may discuss the test questions in your study groups, but note that while all students get the same questions, the values will be scrambled so the Python test is individualized.
Before the Python modules, students should follow DTU’s Python installation guide (https://pythonsupport.dtu.dk/), to ensure they have the code editor VS Code installed with necessary Jupyter add-ons and packages. In case of installation issues, failing kernels etc., the Python support crew is available in building 302, ground floor.
Each Python test gives up to 2.5 points (10 points total), which count toward the course grade according to the above-mentioned weight.
Written Exam#
The course concludes with a 4-hour written exam in December. Here, students may use non-electronic written aids, such as books, paper notes, printed paper sheets etc. (Note that simple pocket calculators count as electronic devices and thus are not allowed). Bring your own writing accessories, and bring your student card for identification at all exams.
The exam consists of two parts, both handed out at the start and each designed for approximately two hours:
Part 1 is a multiple-choice (MC) test. A sheet containing problems along with answer options will be provided. For each question there is exactly one correct answer and you are to clearly mark one option with an X. No intermediate steps or reasoning can be taken into account. A wrong, missing, or unclear/ambiguous answer gives zero points (i.e. there is no point subtraction for wrong answers).
Part 2 is a long-response test. A problem sheet will be provided. You must write your full solution on official DTU exam paper where you show all necessary steps and reasoning. You may provide references to the course textbook when appropriate. You may write on both sides of the DTU exam paper and you may use as many sheets as needed.
You can find DTU exam paper and an envelope in the exam room. Remember to write your student number on every page as well as on the envelope. When the exam is over, place your filled-in exam paper sheets and your MC sheet in the envelope, seal it, and hand it in. Do not place any other materials, including paper that is not DTU exam paper, in the envelope, as this will not be taken into account.
The number of problems and their mutual weights within each part will be clearly written on the exam set frontpage. The two parts of the exam weigh equally, and bonus points are added as percentage points before the exam score is finalized - roughly speaking, if you score 67 % at the exam and bring 6 bonus points, then the exam result will count as if you had scored 73 %. Then the Python module score is added, and the course grade is calculated according to the respective weights.
Syllabus for the Exam#
The syllabus is specified in the agendas for each week (see the semester overview on the course website).