SEQUENCES, SERIES, AND VECTOR CALCULUS

MAT01A2 / MAT2A10

Learning Guide
Online Teaching and learning

Department of Mathematics and Applied Mathematics

University of Johannesburg
How to do Mathematics?

When you are with any mathematical text, never ever read it like a
story book. You need to study it actively. What does it mean by that?
Well! Assume you come across a definition. Now, what should you do?
First check whether do you know all the “mathematical words” in the
definition (except the defining word). If not, do the following with each
unknown word: Try to find examples of the mathematical word. It will
be great if you come up with your own examples which are not written
in the text. Then try to find examples which are not examples of that
mathematical word, that is “counter-examples”. Once you do this process
with all unknown mathematical words, try to find examples and counter-
examples of the defining word. On completion of this process, you will
definitely understand that definition.
Next, probably you will see a theorem or a proposition. Along with
some extra conditions, generally those things talk about properties of the
mathematical words you have encountered before. First thing you need
to do is to look at the result carefully for a while. Ask yourself: What does
it mean? Does the property hold if we remove one or more assumptions
from the statement of the theorem? Do I know all the “ingredients” to
prove the result? Once you are satisfied with all these questions, try to
prove the result by yourself without looking at the proof given in the text.
Proving a result by yourself is the biggest achievement towards learning
mathematics. Once you have a proof, try to understand overall meaning
of the result and how does the result contribute to the theory.
Finally, solving exercises are just a process of checking your under-
standing of the text you have just read. Therefore, if you have understood
the text up to the trivial level, solving exercises become merely a routine
work for you.

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Well known åquotesæ

}How do you study, how do you penetrate the darkness, how do you
learn something? · · · It’s been said before and often, but it cannot be
overemphasized: study actively. Don’t just read it; fight it! Ask your own
questions, look for your own examples, discover your own proofs. Is the
hypothesis necessary? Is the converse true? What happens in the classical
special case? What about the degenerate cases ? Where does the proof use
the hypothesis?~
Paul R. Halmos

} · · · a proof is not really understood until the stage is reached at which

one can grasp it as a whole and see it as a single idea. In achieving this
end, much more is necessary than merely following the individual steps
in the reasoning. This is only the beginning. A proof should be chewed,
swallowed and digested and this process of assimilation should not be
abandoned until it yields a full comprehension of the overall pattern of
thought.~

George F. Simmons

}· · · it is not enough to understand the problem, we must also desire its

solution. We have no chance to solve a difficult problem without a strong
desire to solve it, but with such desire there is a chance. Where there is a will
there is a way.~

G. Polya

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Contents

0.1 ΠBlackBoard - the online platform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

0.2  Online textbook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
0.3  Online teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
0.4 L Online tutorials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
0.5 - Online assessments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
0.6 ¿ Sick test policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
0.7 ? Online help . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

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Important announcement

This learning guide is for Term II (starting from 20.04.2020) when we

will have ”online teaching and learning”. We strongly suggest you to
check your UJ email inbox and blackboard regularly for all announcements.
Please read this guide attentively and follow all the instruction given here.
* Any change of information/schedule will be communicated via
BlackBoard.

0.1 ΠBlackBoard - the online platform

From now on we will communicate through BlackBoard. Therefore you

need get familiarize about BlackBoard as much as possible.
¬ Get an access of BlackBoard through the uLink.
https://uj.blackboard.com
­ Consult the manual to understand where is what in BlackBoard.
https://help.blackboard.com/Learn/Student
® To submit your document/assignment online, the software called Cam-
Scanner is extremely helpful. It is a mobile document scanning applica-
tion available on Android and iOS. You can take photos via your smart
phone which then get converted to PDF documents. The Premium ver-
sion is currently free for students using your institutional email address.
You will find it here.
https://www.camscanner.com.
¯ Check your BlackBoard account regularly, if possible on a daily basis.
All news, announcements will be posted here.

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 6 CONTENTS

0.2  Online textbook

Although you have a hard copy of the textbook James Stewart – Calculus:
Early Transcendentals, 8th edition, Brooks/Cole Cengage Learning Publishers,
2012, you can access an e-copy of the book through BlackBoard using
your UJ login credentials. You can browse through the book even offline.
The syllabus of the module (MAT01A2/MAT2A10 – Sequences, series, and
vector calculus) comprises of the following sections from chapter 11 and
chapter 13.

Chapter 11: Infinite Sequences and Series

11.01 Sequences.
11.02 Series.
11.03 The integral test and estimates of sums.
11.04 The comparison tests.
11.05 Alternating series.
11.06 Absolute convergence and the ratio and root tests.
11.07 Strategy for testing series.
11.08 Power series.
11.09 Representations of functions as power series.
11.10 Taylor and Maclaurin series.
Chapter 13: Vector Functions
13.01 Vector functions and space curves.
13.02 Derivatives and integrals of vector functions.
13.03 Arc length and curvature.
13.04 Motion in space: velocity and acceleration.

0.3  Online teaching

Since we will not have “classroom” teaching, we upload the following
materials on weekly basis to cover the sections of our syllabus whatever
not done in Term I.
Ê Handwritten lectures of each section comprising of explanation of the
theory and worked-out examples to show how to implement the theory.
Ë A section summary of each section in the form of slides (power-point
presentation) to glance through the material.
0.4. L ONLINE TUTORIALS 7

Ì An web-link will be provided which will help you to practice exercises

from the textbook. This site also provides detailed solution of each
exercise.
Í Some additional video lectures either will be uploaded or links will be
provided to facilitate the above resources.

0.4 L Online tutorials

Our usual weekly classroom tutorials will be substituted by the following
materials. These will be uploaded on weekly basis as well.
¶ Based on each section, a set of tutorial problems will be posted.
· The complete solution of the above mentioned tutorial problems will
be available on BlackBoard on the following week. This will give you
enough time to go through the problems, and finally check your work
with the solution.
¸ An web-link will be provided having some additional exercises with
step-by-step hints.

0.5 - Online assessments

On the second term we will have a number of short assessments and
Test II. All of them will be online. You need to login on BlackBoard and
complete the assignments/answer multiple choice questions. After each
assessment, a complete solution of the paper will be uploaded. The final
module mark will be the accumulation of all the assessments.

0.6 ¿ Sick test policies

A sick test will only be granted in the following cases:
¶ If you cannot write the test because of illness, you must submit a valid
doctor’s certificate to me.
· If you cannot write the test due to any other reason such as death of a
parent or sibling, you must also submit a certified affidavit.
¸ You will only be granted a sick test if you missed one of the semester tests
due to illness. If you are ill during a semester test but decide to write
8 CONTENTS

the semester test anyway, then you will forfeit your chance to write a
sick test. No exception!!

0.7 ? Online help

9 For consultation and any enquiry about the module, please contact me.
We will communicate through BlackBoard.
ÿ Dr. Amartya Goswami
k agoswami@uj.ac.za
© For administrative enquiry, please contact the HoD.
þ Dr. W. Morton
k wmorton@uj.ac.za
i For any other departmental enquiry, please contact the departmental
secretary.
þ Mrs P. Mapimele
k pmapimele@uj.ac.za
In due course we will upload contact details of tutors who will help you
with consultation as well.