Finite Mathematics

• Credit value: 30 credits at Level 6
• Convenor and tutor: Steven Noble
• Assessment: short, problem-based assignments (20%) and a three-hour examination (80%)

In this module we will look at the mathematics of finite systems. It will include the following techniques and applications, all of which have many real-world applications:

• Linear programming
• Game theory
• Social choice

By the end of this module, you will have:

• knowledge and understanding of, and the ability to use, mathematical and/or statistical techniques
• knowledge and understanding of a range of results in mathematics
• an appreciation of the need for proof in mathematics, and the ability to follow and construct mathematical arguments
• an awareness of the use of mathematics and/or statistics to model problems in the natural and social sciences, and the ability to formulate such problems using appropriate notation
• an understanding of the importance of assumptions and an awareness of where they are used and the possible consequences of their violation
• an ability to present, analyse and interpret data
• knowledge and understanding of a range of modelling techniques, their conditions and limitations, and the need to validate and revise models
• a deeper knowledge of some particular areas of mathematics, in particular, linear algebra and group theory.