MA2311 review (NUS)

DISCLAIMER: firstly, i am not a professional writer, so if there are mistakes in my language, move on. secondly, the review is mostly based on opinions, so i would advise you to google for more reviews to get a diverse take on the modules you are interested in. thirdly, module details change every semester, so do not expect every assessment will stick. last but not the least, i will not talk about grades. hope this is useful for you, cheers.

MA2311: Techniques In Advanced Calculus

what do you learn?

you will be exposed to advance calculus concepts such as series convergence/divergence, multiple integrations, further differentiations, Lagrange’s multiplier, change of variable formula for multiple integrals and many more. vectors, planes and 2D/3D visualisation will be your good friends  for the course of this module. this module is an alternative to MA2108 for statistics major students.

how are you being graded?

this module is slightly scary because of the way it is graded. midterms 20% and finals 80%. well, at least for the time when i was taking this module. not sure if this distribution applies to subsequent semesters.

my take on this module?

it took me quite some time to get used to the “language” of this module. however, weeks later, one would probably get used to it. the exam papers are made to test heavily on the basic concepts. when you read the questions, you will know so. the questions are made in a way that it is simple to comprehend but challenging to handle and write your thoughts out. simply put, the questions avoid giving complex equations and what not.. but rather they give simple ideas that make you think quite a bit. while i find this module slightly challenging, i think this module forces you to get a grasp of the basic concepts rather than memorising and vomiting “tailored” answers. pessimist will call this abstract.

advices?

basic concepts. circle your thoughts, ideas and answers around them. if you know you are unable to get the final answer for a particular question in either of the exams, don’t panic and don’t give up. there are lots of partial credit marks. write down your ideas and thought process. doing so not only get you decent marks but also might end up enlightening you. also, pay close attention to the lectures for this module relies quite heavily on intuition and simple thought process which are given through speech and not through the notes.

click here to see the modules i have read and their respective reviews. do feel free to contact me via Telegram @alvinngjh for any questions or what not.