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/SymPy module (weight 10%)
Each parts 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.
Theme Exercises / SymPy Module#
Starting in week 6 and continuing for the rest of the semester a thematic exercise will be presented near the end of each Long Day. It’s purpose is to introduce the students to the Python package SymPy that will act as an important CAS tool for mathematical computation in future courses, including Mathematics 1b. Every second of these Thematic Long Days a SymPy test will open in Möbius.
Written Exam#
The course will finalize in a 4-hour written exam in December. No electronic aids are permitted; all paper-based aids are permitted, such as books, paper notes, printed paper sheets etc, and remember to bring your own writing accessories. The exam is in two parts that both will be handed out from the start, each designed for approximately 2 hours.
One part is a multiple-choice test. Each question on the test is followed by a list of answer options, of which precisely one is correct. The student must mark one answer for each question directly on the given problem sheet with no in-between steps or reasoning given.
The other part is a written test. A problem sheet will be handed out on paper, and the student must write his/her full solution on blank sheets of paper found in the exam room. In-between steps and all reasoning should be included in the solution, as well as references to relevants part of the textbook.
When the exam is over, the student will place all paper sheets that they wish to hand in in an envelope found in the exam room that will then be sealed.
The two parts weigh equally in the scoring, and bonus points are added to the score before the theme score is added and the course grade calculated - 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 %.
Syllabus for the Exam#
The syllabus is specified in the agendas for each week (see the semester overview on the course website).