Mathematics 403
Topics in Mathematics for Economics
(Winter 2010)
For the latest update, see bottom of page.
Content of the Course
The topics covered in the course are
particularly essential to Microeconomic Theory. They include:
Textbook and References
The required textbook
for the course is a set of Lecture Notes
prepared specifically for this course. They are available for download. See the
section on the Lecture Schedule.
A summary of the topics, as well as many others, can be found in an Appendix of
Andreu Mas-Colell, Michael D. Whinston, and Jerry Green. Microeconomic
Theory. Oxford University Press, 1995.
The sections particularly relevant to our course are
M.F - M.I (pp.943-954). Note, however, that this book does not
contain any discussions on the mathematical details, and it is NOT a required
textbook.
Note that you can find in the library many textbooks that contain the materials
for the topics in MATH 403. However, you may need to adapt to the specific
symbols and notations used by different authors. Also, most of them are at a
higher level than our course.
Calculators
No Calculators are allowed.
Assignments
There will be five assignments. Each
is worth 4%, and so together they are worth 20% of the course. The specifics
are as follows:
|
Due date |
Chapters covered |
Solution |
|
|
January 29 |
1, 2, 3 (Linear Algebra) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
|
February 12 |
4, 5, 6, 7 (Topology) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
|
March 5 |
8, 9, 10, 11 (Sequences and
Continuity) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
|
March 19 |
12, 13 (Convexity) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
|
April 9 |
16, 17, 18, 19 |
Available on Blackboard |
All assignments are due on Friday at 5 pm at my
office (MS 420).
Quizzes
There will be four quizzes. Each is worth 5%, and so
together they are worth 20% of the course. The specifics are as follows:
|
Date |
Chapters covered |
Solution |
|
|
Quiz 1 |
February 5 |
1, 2, 3 (Linear Algebra) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
Quiz 2 |
February 26 |
4, 5, 6, 7 (Topology) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
Quiz 3 |
March 12 |
8, 9, 10, 11 (Sequences and
Continuity) |
Available on Blackboard |
|
Quiz 4 |
April 16 |
18, 19, 20 (Hemicontinuity) |
Available on Blackboard |
Midterm Test
There will be one Midterm Test to be
held in class on March 26, 2010 and is 50 minutes in duration. It is worth 20%
of the course. More details to come.
Midterm Test
Date: March 26, 2010
Time and Place: In class, 50 minutes
Details: It covers chapters 1 to 15.
Final Examination
There will be a final examination
scheduled by the registrar's office. It is worth 40% of the course.
You need to pass the final examination to pass
the course. That is, if you fail the Final Exam, you fail the course.
Date: April 22, 2010
Time: noon – 3pm
Place: ST 064
There are
TEN questions to be completed in 3 hours. During the course, you have completed
five assignments and four quizzes. One question from each of these will appear
(with suitable modifications) on the Final Exam. You will find out all about
the tenth question at the time of the Final Exam.
You need to pass the
final examination to pass the course. That is, if you fail
the Final Exam, you fail the course.
If you pass the final exam, your weighted
total course mark will be calculated according to the formula:
Assignments 20%, Quizzes 20%,
Midterm Test 20% and Final Exam 40%.
This is how I intend to assign
grades based on your weighted total course mark:
85-100% = A+, 80-85% = A, 77-80% =
A-,
73-77% = B+, 70-73% = B, 67-70 = B-,
63-67% = C+, 60-63% = C, 55-60% =
C-,
50-55% = D or D+, 0-50% = F.
Lectures
The following is a tentative
schedule of the course. It will be updated to reflect the actual pace of the
lectures. Sections referred to are those from the course Lecture Notes.
|
Week of |
Monday |
Wednesday |
Friday |
|
Jan 11-15 |
Chapter 1 |
Chapter 1 |
|
|
18-22 |
Chapter 2 |
||
|
25-29 |
Chapters 5 |
Chapter
6 (A1 due) |
|
|
Feb 1-5 |
Quiz 1 |
||
|
8-12 |
Chapter 8 |
Chapter 9 (A2 due) |
|
|
15-19 |
--- |
--- |
--- |
|
22-26 |
Chapter 10, 11 |
Quiz 2 |
|
|
Mar 1-5 |
Chapter 11 |
Chapter 12 (A3 due) |
|
|
8-12 |
Chapter 12, 13 |
Chapter 13 |
Quiz 3 |
|
15-19 |
Chapter 13, 14 |
Chapter 14, 15 |
Chapter
16 (A4 due) |
|
22-26 |
Midterm Test |
||
|
29 – Apr 2 |
Chapter 19 |
--- |
|
|
Apr 5-9 |
Chapter 20 |
Chapter 20 (A5 due) |
|
|
12-16 |
Chapter 21, 22 |
Quiz 4 |
Solutions to the Exercises in the Lecture Notes are partially available as
follows:
1,
2,
3,
4,
5,
6,
7,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15, 16,
17,
18,
19,
20,
21, 22.
Blackboard
Blackboard will be set up for this
course shortly. You can check the marks for your assignments, quizzes and test.
Assignments and their solutions will be posted on Blackboard.
Updates
December
16, 2009
January 8, 2010
·
Links to lecture sheet and
associated solutions added.
February 1, 2010
·
Links to Assignment
1 and Assignment 2 added.
February 12, 2010
·
Link to Assignment
3 added.
March 5, 2010
·
Link to Assignment
4 added.
March 24, 2010
·
Link to Assignment
5 added.
March 25, 2010
·
Information about the Final Exam
posted.
April 6, 2010
·
Date, time and place for Final Exam
posted.
April 12, 2010
·
Grade scale posted. See section on
the Final Exam.
Created: December 16, 2009
Last updated: April 12, 2010
Joseph M. Ling