BSC N401 Accounting (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NN43 Accounting and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC NN42 Accounting and Management (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N4L1 Accounting with Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N391 Banking and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BBA N104 Business Administration (Including Foundation Year),
BBA N104CO Business Administration (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N201 Business Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA L102 Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC L103 Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N301 Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BA L118 Financial Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC L117 Financial Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N124 International Business and Entrepreneurship (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N124CO International Business and Entrepreneurship (Including Foundation Year),
BA L160 International Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC L161 International Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N2N5 Management and Marketing (Including Foundation Year),
BA L190 Management Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC L191 Management Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N505 Marketing (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N505CO Marketing (Including Foundation Year),
BA LX14 Financial Economics and Accounting (Including Foundation Year),
BSC LG04 Economics with Data Science (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N347 Finance and Management (Including Foundation Year),
BA LX10 Business Economics (Including Foundation Year),
BSC C149 Economics with Psychology (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N358 International Business and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N358CO International Business and Finance (Including Foundation Year),
BA R113 Economics with Language Studies (Including Foundation Year),
BSC N114 Business Administration and Supply Chain Management (Including Foundation Year)
The module covers the mathematical and statistical skills needed to proceed to any degree course within the Department of Economics and Essex Business School. The syllabus covers a range of mathematical and statistical topics including basic arithmetic, algebra, sketching and finding key points on graphs, differentiation, measures of centrality and spread, visualizing data, normal distribution, and hypothesis testing. The lecture introduces the topics covered in the module, while the class worksheets and lab sessions develop the skills used to solve relevant problems from each topic. Class worksheets and mini-online assignments are being set and full solutions are provided as part of the feedback process.
1. To ensure that students from a wide range of educational backgrounds have an understanding of core mathematical skills needed within the study of Economics and Business.
2. To develop the ability to acquire knowledge and skills from lectures, classwork exercises, and mathematical software and application of theory to a range of weekly tasks.
3. To develop students' ability to use these skills in their subsequent degree course.
4. To equip students with the mathematical techniques needed to solve problems involving arithmetic, algebra and differentiation and to clearly structure their solutions and conclusions.
5. To give students the ability to present and interpret data clearly and unambiguously, both by hand and with the use of Excel software.
6. To give students an understanding and ability to calculate statistical measures and set up hypothesis tests.
On successful completion of this module a student is expected to be able to:
1. Understand and use basic arithmetic and algebra;
2. Plot basic graphs and find key points on graphs;
3. Understand and use differentiation and partial differentiation to find the gradient of functions of one or two variables and in different Economics and Business applications;
4. Understand basic statistics and methods of visualising data, and calculate measures of centrality and spread;
5. Understand the normal distribution and be familiar with reading statistical tables;
6. Understanding of basic statistical inference and able to construct simple hypothesis tests.
Syllabus
Basic arithmetic and algebra.
Systems of linear equations.
Graphical representation of functions, shifts in graphs and identification of key points on graphs.
Calculus: differentiation of linear and polynomial functions, partial differentiation of functions of two variables, turning points, applications of differentiation in Economics and Business scenarios
Compound interest rates
Descriptive statistics: interpreting data, measures of location and dispersion.
Key probability concepts
The normal distribution, reading statistical tables
Inference Statistics: basic hypothesis testing, the z-test
Using Excel to learn key formulas, find summary statistics, carry out statistical computations and create graphs.
Practical application of algebra and statistics to economics and business related problems.
Assessment
Formative assessment
Students engage in weekly worksheets, lab sessions and online assignments and receive in class feedback.
Summative assessment
- One-hour timed online test 1 (30%) (to be completed on Numbas or FASer)
The first in-class test examines students’ understanding of mathematical concepts taught in the first six lectures of the course. These concepts include: prime factorisation, solving basic exercises involving arithmetic operations, solving basic exercises involving algebraic operations, solving systems of simultaneous linear equations, solving linear and quadratic equations, basic linear graphs concepts and solving worded questions.
- Two-hour timed online test 2 (30%) (to be completed on Numbas or FASer)
The second in-class test examines students’ understanding of further mathematical and statistical concepts. These concepts include: solving exercises and worded questions using calculus (differentiation, partial differentiation and applications of differentiation), understanding of introductory statistical concepts, descriptive statistics, measures of centrality and dispersion, and methods of visualising data. Mathematics and statistics questions relating to economic and business concepts are emphasised.
- A 2.5-hour Faser timed exam (40%)
The exam consists of questions covering all the topics taught during the mathematics and statistics sections of the module. The exam will include topics covered in the first two in-class tests as well as further normal distribution and hypothesis testing questions. Emphasis is put on mathematics and statistics questions relating to economic and business concepts.
Reassessment strategy
Failed Exam - Resit the Faser timed exam which is re-aggregated with existing coursework mark to create a new module aggregate.
Failed Coursework - Resit the exam which counts as coursework and is then re-aggregated with the existing exam mark to create a new module aggregate.
Failed Exam and Coursework - Resit the exam which will count as 100% exam mark. The exam will cover all the learning outcomes.
Teaching and learning on Essex Pathways modules offers students the ability to develop the foundation knowledge, skills, and competences to study at undergraduate level, through a curriculum that is purposely designed to provide an exceptional learning experience.
The module is delivered via a weekly 1 x 1-hour online, pre-recorded lecture, a 1 x 1-hour lecture support hour, 1 x 1-hour class and 1 x 1-hour lab session. There are a total of 22 weeks of teaching, with two weeks of revision lectures and classes in the Summer Term. The first 10 weeks of the Autumn Term focus on Mathematics, with the subsequent 10 weeks of the Spring Term focusing on Statistics..
All lecture notes and exercises are placed on Moodle for easy student access prior to classes. Solutions to all exercises are provided at the end of each week. All textbooks are available through the Library. Listen Again is used as part of learning support through which students can review recordings of teaching sessions at a later date. Relevancy and applicability of topics to the real world is presented and discussed for each main topic. Students with specific learning difficulties are contacted regarding any accommodations required in consultation with DDLO.
This module does not appear to have a published bibliography for this year.