MA1101R review (NUS)

in this review, i will be giving the rough description, assessment criteria and difficulty. i will not discuss about how easy or difficult to score a certain grade or what not. also, excuse my language.. i am not a professional writer.

MA1101R: Linear Algebra 1

this module is a rather abstract module that might really interest those who are really into pure mathematics and proofing questions. your knowledge on vectors and matrices will really be tested here. your visualisation of mathematical problems has to be of certain standard too. like i mentioned, this module is quite abstract with test questions filled with both proving and calculation. i would say a 50/50 distribution of those two types.

as for grading wise, they grade you through midterm paper, final paper, tutorial attendance, lecture quiz and computer lab quiz.

personally, this module isn’t exactly fun to me and neither it is really difficult. when i say not really difficult, i don’t mean easy. there are sure to have challenging topics and what not but one can actually understand them after a sufficient amount of time and effort is put into understanding the concepts. the proofs are mostly challenging as they really test you fundamental understanding of each chapter and each law and what not. the lecture quiz is a breeze as the lecturer adopt the clicker system. you and your buddy will have to answer 8 questions per week in lecture time slots. you will be given the full marks for the week the moment you score correct for 5 or more of the questions. the lab quiz is rather straight forward as well. the exam papers, however, can be challenging when you reach the last couple of questions.

as for tips from someone who has taken tis module, i would say do not sleep in lectures. this will ensure you to not have a difficult time tackling the lecture quiz. if possible, sit with a big group of friends since discussion is allowed. expose yourself to a lot of proving questions in preparation for the papers. the calculation aspect should be manageable, just ensure no careless mistakes and you’ll be fine.

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.