Mathematical Foundations I (MATH7040)

Course overview

This course covers fundamental mathematical concepts, useful to students in a wide range of discipline areas, including agriculture, arts, business, education, health sciences, science, social sciences, applied science and engineering. It is the UQ equivalent course to Queensland Secondary School Mathematical Methods. Topics include: statistics (counting & probability, discrete random variables, continuous random variables), sequences and series, functions (quadratic, logarithmic, exponential, non-linear, trigonometric), differentiation and its applications, and integration and its applications.

This courseﾠprovides an introduction to the most important parts of the mathematics needed at University. It is designed for students with limited mathematical backgrounds and gives a level of mathematical knowledge roughly equivalent to completing four semesters of Queensland high school Mathematical Methods.

Most students take MATH7040 to satisfy a prerequisite. However, MATH7040 is also interesting in its own right, and can help you in everyday life. Many students from other fields take MATH7040 to strengthen their mathematical skills. A number of PhD students have completed MATH7040 so they can better understand the mathematics used in their area. Happily, a number of students have enjoyed MATH7040 so much that they have studied some of the follow-up courses, and at least two MATH7040 students have continued to a PhD in mathematics; why don't youﾠ be the third?

MATH1040 and MATH7040 are co-badged courses and will share learning activities. MATH7040 will have some differences in assessment to evaluate students at Level 9 (Masters) of the Australian Qualifications Framework.

In the School of Mathematics and Physics we are committed to creating an inclusive and empowering learning environment for all students. We value and respect the diverse range of experiences our students bring to their education, and we believe that this diversity is crucial for fostering a rich culture of knowledge sharing and meaningful exploration. We hold both students and staff accountable for actively contributing to the establishment of a respectful and supportive learning environment.

Bullying, harassment, and discrimination in any form are strictly against our principles and against ﾠUQ Policy,ﾠ and will not be tolerated. We have developed aﾠ suite of resourcesﾠ to assist you in recognising, reporting, and addressing such behaviour. If you have any concerns about your experience in this course, we encourage you to tell a member of the course teaching team, or alternatively contact an SMP Classroom Inclusivity Champion (see Blackboard for contact details). Our Inclusivity Champions are here to listen, to understand your concerns, and to explore potential actions that can be taken to resolve them. Your well-being and a positive learning atmosphere are of utmost importance to us.

Course requirements

Incompatible

You can't enrol in this course if you've already completed the following:

MATH1040 (co-taught).

Restrictions

Restricted to students enrolled in BEd(Hons), GCEd, GCEdSt, GDipEdSt, MEdSt, GCGIS, GDipGIS and MGIS.

Jointly taught details

This course is jointly-taught with:

• MATH1040 (Mathematical Foundations I)

MATH1040 and MATH7040 are co-badged courses and will share learning activities. MATH7040 will have some differences in assessment to evaluate students at Level 9 (Masters) of the Australian Qualifications Framework.

Course contact

Course staff

Timetable

The timetable for this course is available on the UQ Public Timetable.

Additional timetable information

There are no repeat lectures in this course. You should attend all three lectures per week. All lectures will be delivered live on campus and streamed live. All lectures are recorded.

Practicals are optional: you are welcome to attend on-campus or via Zoom. Each workshop runs for two hours and is structured in a highly ﾠinteractive way.

There will be no classes on public holidays. There will be make-up lectures for affected lectures. The exact dates for the make-up lectures will be announced on Blackboard closer to the time.ﾠ

OPTIONAL:

The Support Learning Tutorial (SLT) is optional. This class is highly recommendedﾠ for the following group of students.ﾠ

• Students who are repeating MATH1040/7040.
• Students who obtained a grade C for Queensland General Mathematics (or equivalent).
• Students who are returning to maths studies after a significant period.

Check Blackboard for further information about the SLT.ﾠ

ﾠ

Aims and outcomes

The aim of this course is for students enrolled in graduate programs to reach a standard of mathematics roughly equivalent to Queensland high school Mathematical Methods. Completing this course will also enable students to tackle first level mathematics courses such as MATH1050/7050 (Specialist Mathematics equivalent) and then MATH1051/7051, as well as MATH1061/7861 and/or STAT1201/7201. It will also enable students to cope with a reasonable level of mathematics in their other (non-maths) courses.

Learning outcomes

After successfully completing this course you should be able to:

Assessment

Assessment summary

A hurdle is an assessment requirement that must be satisfied in order to receive a specific grade for the course. Check the assessment details for more information about hurdle requirements.

Assessment details

Assignments

Mode

Written

Category

Tutorial/ Problem Set

Weight

25% weighted equally

Due date

28/03/2025 4:00 pm

16/05/2025 4:00 pm

Learning outcomes

L01, L02, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07, L08, L09, L10, L11, L12, L13, L14, L15, L16, L17

Task description

Submission guidelines

Submit via Blackboard

Deferral or extension

You may be able to apply for an extension.

Solutions for assignments will be released 7 days after the assessment is due and as such, an extension after 7 days will not be possible.

Late submission

A penalty of 10% of the maximum possible mark will be deducted per 24 hours from time submission is due for up to 7 days. After 7 days, you will receive a mark of 0.

You are required to submit assessable items on time. If you fail to meet the submission deadline for any assessment item then the listed penalty will be deducted per day for up to 7 calendar days, at which point any submission will not receive any marks unless an extension has been approved. Each 24-hour block is recorded from the time the submission is due.

In-Semester Exam

• Identity Verified
• Online

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

20%

Due date

In-semester Saturday

29/03/2025 - 12/04/2025

You must hold all of the following three Saturdays free until the exam date is officially announced

• 29 March 2025 (Week 5)
• 5 April 2025 (week 6)
• 12 April 2025 (week 7)

Other conditions

Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L04, L05, L06, L07

Task description

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

Final examination

• Hurdle
• Identity Verified
• In-person

Mode

Written

Category

Examination

Weight

55%

Due date

End of Semester Exam Period

7/06/2025 - 21/06/2025

Other conditions

Time limited.

See the conditions definitions

Learning outcomes

L01, L03, L08, L09, L10, L11, L12, L13, L14, L15, L16, L17

Task description

Hurdle requirements

Exam details

Submission guidelines

Deferral or extension

You may be able to defer this exam.

See ADDITIONAL ASSESSMENT INFORMATION for extension/deferral information relating to this assessment item.

Course grading

Full criteria for each grade is available in the Assessment Procedure.

Additional course grading information

IMPORTANT!!!

Note the requirements to achieve a passing grade (4, 5, 6 or 7) in the course. In summary,

(1) ﾠIf you do not receive a total score for the course of at least 50%, then you will fail MATH7040.

(2) If you do not eitherﾠ

ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ (i) receive at least 80% of the sum of the marks available for Section A of the mid-semester exam and Section A of the final exam

ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ ORﾠ ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ ﾠ (ii) receive at least 50% of the marks ﾠavailable in Section B ofﾠthe final exam.

then you will fail MATH7040.ﾠ

Supplementary assessment

Supplementary assessment is available for this course.

Should you fail a course with a grade of 3, you may be eligible for supplementary assessment. Refer to my.UQ for information on supplementary assessment and how to apply. 

Supplementary assessment provides an additional opportunity to demonstrate you have achieved all the required learning outcomes for a course.  

If you apply and are granted supplementary assessment, the type of supplementary assessment set will consider which learning outcome(s) have not been met.  

Supplementary assessment in this course will be a 2-hour examination similar in style to the end-of-semester examination. To receive a passing grade of 3S4, you must obtain a mark of 50% or more on the supplementary assessment.  

Additional assessment information

Artificial Intelligence

Assessment tasks in this course evaluate students' abilities, skills and knowledge without the aid of generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Translation (MT). Students are advised that the use of AI or MT technologies to develop responses is strictly prohibited and may constitute student misconduct under the Student Code of Conduct. 

Applications for Extensions to Assessment Due Dates

Extension requests are submitted online via my.UQ – applying for an extension. Extension requests received in any other way will not be approved. Additional details associated with extension requests, including acceptable and unacceptable reasons, may be found at my.UQ.

Please note:

· Requests for an extension to an assessment due date must be submitted through your my.UQ portal and you must provide documentation of your circumstances, as soon as it becomes evident that an extension is needed. Your application must be submitted on or before the assessment item's due date and time.

· Applications for extension can take time to be processed so you should continue to work on your assessment item while awaiting a decision. We recommend that you submit any completed work by the due date, and this will be marked if your application is not approved. Should your application be approved, then you will be able to resubmit by the agreed revised due date.

· If an extension is approved, you will be notified via your my.UQ portal and the new date and time for submission provided. It is important that you check the revised date as it may differ from the date that you requested. If the basis of the application is a medical condition, applications should be accompanied by a medical certificate dated prior to the assignment due date. If you are unable to provide documentation to support your application by the due date and time you must still submit your application on time and attach a written statement (Word document) outlining why you cannot provide the documentation. You must then upload the documentation to the portal within 24 hours.

· If an extension is being sought on the basis of exceptional circumstances, it must be accompanied by supporting documentation (e.g., Statutory declaration).

· For extensions based on a SAP you may be granted a maximum of 7 days (if no earlier maximum timeframe applies). See the Extension or Deferral availability section of each assessment for details. Your SAP is all that is required as documentation to support your application. However, additional extension requests for the assessment item will require the submission of additional supporting documentation e.g., a medical certificate. All extension requests must be received by the assessment due date and time.

· An extension for an assessment item due within the teaching period in which the course is offered, must not exceed four weeks in total. If you are incapacitated for a period exceeding four weeks of the teaching period, you are advised to apply for Removal of Course.

· If you have been ill or unable to attend class for more than 14 days, you are advised to carefully consider whether you are capable of successfully completing your courses this semester. You might be eligible to withdraw without academic penalty - seek advice from the faculty that administers your program.

· Students may be asked to submit evidence of work completed to date. Lack of adequate progress on your assessment item may result in an extension being denied.

· There are no provisions for exemption from an assessment item within UQ rules. If you are unable to submit an assessment piece then, under special circumstances, you may be granted an exemption, but may be required to submit alternative assessment to ensure all learning outcomes are met.

Applications to defer an exam

In certain circumstances you can apply to take a deferred examination for in-semester and end- of-semester exams. You'll need to demonstrate through supporting documentation how unavoidable circumstances prevented you from sitting your exam. If you can’t, you can apply for a one-off discretionary deferred exam.

Deferred Exam requests are submitted online via mySi-net. Requests received in any other way will not be approved. Additional details associated with deferred examinations, including acceptable and unacceptable reasons may be found at my.UQ.

Please note:

·        Applications can be submitted no later than 5 calendar days after the date of the original exam.

·        There are no provisions to defer a deferred exam. You need to be available to sit your deferred examination.

·        Your deferred examination request(s) must have a status of "submitted" in mySI-net to be assessed.

·      All applications for deferred in-semester examinations are assessed by the relevant school. Applications for deferred end-of-semester examinations are assessed by the Academic Services Division.

·        You’ll receive an email to your student email account when the status of your application is updated.

·        If you have a medical condition, mental health condition or disability and require alternative arrangements for your deferred exam you’ll need to complete the online alternative exam arrangements through my.UQ. This is in addition to your deferred examinations request. You need to submit this request on the same day as your request for a deferred exam or supplementary assessment. Contact Student Services if you need assistance completing your alternative exam arrangements request.

Learning resources

You'll need the following resources to successfully complete the course. We've indicated below if you need a personal copy of the reading materials or your own item.

Library resources

Library resources are available on the UQ Library website.

Other course materials

Additional learning resources information

In addition to the lecture notes, students will have access to:

• Problem sheets
• Assignments
• Online Quizzes
• Practice problems for the in-semester exam and final exam.
• Past exam papers with worked solutions.

Completion of these itemsﾠwill have a direct benefit to your learning.ﾠ

Additional learning material will be posted on Blackboard. It is therefore very important that students regularly checkﾠBlackboard.

TheﾠMATHS FIRST YEAR LEARNING CENTRE (FYLC)ﾠatﾠSt Lucia holds support sessions in 67-443 from Monday to ﾠFriday,ﾠ beginning the first week of semester. See Blackboard for details.

Theﾠ MATH1040/7040ﾠ SUPPORT LEARNING TUTORIAL PROGRAM (SLT) is a regular support programﾠaimed at students with gaps in their background skills.ﾠThis class is highly recommended for the following group of students:

• Students who are repeating MATH1040.
• Students with a grade C or lower in Queensland General Mathematics (or equivalent).
• Students who are returning to maths studies after a significant period.

Learning activities

The learning activities for this course are outlined below. Learn more about the learning outcomes that apply to this course.

Policies and procedures

University policies and procedures apply to all aspects of student life. As a UQ student, you must comply with University-wide and program-specific requirements, including the:

• Student Code of Conduct Policy
• Student Integrity and Misconduct Policy and Procedure
• Assessment Procedure
• Examinations Procedure
• Reasonable Adjustments - Students Policy and Procedure

Learn more about UQ policies on my.UQ and the Policy and Procedure Library.