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1st Year Courses

Please note that the Wits School of Mathematics does not offer any upgrade or bridging courses for mathematics.
Mathematics I (Major) MATH1034A (Algebra I) and MATH1036A (Calculus I)

Course co-ordinators: 

Coordinator of MATH1034:

Coordinator of MATH1036A:

Prerequisites: Prerequisites: minimum 70% for NSC6 and 80% for NSC7

Possible destinations / required for: MATH, Chemistry, Geology and Physics

Mathematics I (Major) is a first-year mathematics course having 6 lectures and two tutorials per week of 45 minutes each per week for 26 weeks. Mathematics I (Major) is composed of two courses: Calculus I (MATH1036A) and Algebra I (MATH1034A).

ALGEBRA I (MATH1034A)

Textbook: "College Algebra & Trigonometry" by Lai, Hornsby, Schneider and Daniels. 6th Edition, Global Edition by Pearson

First semester topics include:

  1. Radian measure
  2. Proofs of the trigonometric identities
  3. The Cartesian-plane - the concept of distance, the triangle inequality, circles in the plane
  4. Lines in the plane - parametric and implicit representations
  5. Inequalities
  6. The absolute value function
  7. The concept of a function, domains and ranges of functions, the graph of a function, odd and even functions, one-to-one and onto functions, inverses of functions, composite functions
  8. Inverse trigonometric functions
  9. Polar coordinates and sketching curves specified in polar coordinates
  10. Mathematical induction
  11. Sigma notation and telescoping series
  12. The factorial function and the Binomial theorem
  13. Conic Sections
  14. Basics on Function

Second semester: based on the first 3 chapters of the textbook "Elementary Linear Algebra" by Anton and Rorres, 9th Edition, International Edition. The material covered includes:

  1. Vectors in R2
  2. Addition, subtraction and scalar multiplication of matrices
  3. Products of matrices and its interpretation
  4. The transpose operation
  5. Matrix powers and polynomials
  6. Invertible matrices
  7. Elementary matrices
  8. Solution of AX=B for a general matrix A
  9. Determinants and their properties
  10. The adjoint and Cramer s rule
  11. Rank of a matrix
  12. Vectors in R3
  13. Complex numbers

MATH1036A (Calculus I)

Textbook: Calculus Volume 1, Calculus Volume 2, Calculus Volume 3, 

Syllabus:

  1. Functions and Limits
  2. Continuity
  3. Differentiation
  4. Introductory Integration
  5. Differentiation techniques
  6. Applications of derivatives
  7. Hyperbolic functions
  8. Integration Theory
  9. Advanced Integration techniques
  10. Improper integrals
  11. Sequences & series
  12. Differential equations
Auxiliary Mathematics
Course co-ordinators:             

MATH 1041 is required for: Biological Sciences, Earth Sciences and Chemistry

This is a first-year mathematics course designed specifically to equip students with basic calculus and algebra techniques which they will need in the biological and life sciences. 

Matric Maths result requirement is 60%.

The course is a terminating course and does not enable students to continue with a second-year mathematics or statistics course. 

The course includes:

Calculus: functions and graphs, limits, differentiation and applications (curve sketching, optimization, approximations), exponential and logarithmic functions, trigonometric functions, integration techniques and applications, partial differentiation, differential equations

Algebra: Vectors in the plane, polar coordinates, inverse trigonometric functions, induction, series, linear equations and matrices, geometry of three dimensional vectors, complex numbers.

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