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Linear programming – the basic ideas
Science, Maths & Technology

Linear programming – the basic ideas

...free course examines the formulation and solution of small linear programming problems. Section 1 deals with the formulation of linear programming models, describing how mathematical models of suitable real-world problems can be constructed. Section 2 looks at graphical representations of two-dimensional models, considers some theoretical implications and examines the...
Number theory
Science, Maths & Technology

Number theory

...free course is an introduction to Number Theory. Section 1 provides a brief introduction to the kinds of problem that arise in Number Theory. Section 2 reviews and provides a more formal approach to a powerful method of proof, mathematical induction. Section 3 introduces and makes precise the key notion of divisibility. The Division Algorithm, concerning the division of...
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs
Introduction to analysis
Science, Maths & Technology

Introduction to analysis

...free course is an introduction to analysis which looks at real numbers and their properties, with a particular emphasis on inequalities. Section 1 starts by revising rational numbers and their decimal representations. Then, real numbers are introduced as infinite decimals. Section 2 looks at rules for manipulating inequalities and finding the solution set of an...
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs
Modelling events in time
Science, Maths & Technology

Modelling events in time

...free course develops ideas about probability and random processes. Sections 1 and 2 introduce the fundamental ideas of random processes through a series of examples. Section 3 describes a model that is appropriate for events occurring ‘at random’ in such a way that their rate of occurrence remains constant. Section 4 derives the main results from Section 3. Section 5...
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs
Introduction to group theory
Science, Maths & Technology

Introduction to group theory

...free course is an introduction to group theory, one of the three main branches of pure mathematics. Section 1 looks at the set of symmetries of a two-dimensional figure which are then viewed as functions. Section 2 introduces an algebraic notation for recording symmetries and calculating composites and inverses of symmetries. Section 3 introduces definitions and looks at...
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs
Introduction to the calculus of variations
Science, Maths & Technology

Introduction to the calculus of variations

...free course concerns the calculus of variations. Section 1 introduces some key ingredients by solving a seemingly simple problem – finding the shortest distance between two points in a plane. The section also introduces the notions of a functional and of a stationary path. Section 2 describes basic problems that can be formulated in terms of functionals. Section 3 looks...
Kinematics of fluids
Science, Maths & Technology

Kinematics of fluids

...free course examines the basic kinematics of two-dimensional fluid flows. Section 1 introduces the differential equations for pathlines and streamlines. Section 2 introduces a scalar field, called the stream function, which for an incompressible fluid provides an alternative method of modelling the flow and finding the streamlines. Sections 2 and 3 derive the stream...
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs
Group theory
Science, Maths & Technology

Group theory

...free course consolidates and builds on group theory studied at OU level 2 or equivalent. Section 1 describes how to construct a group called the direct product of two given groups, and then describes certain conditions under which a group can be regarded as the direct product of its subgroups. Section 2 describes the key properties of the structure of cyclic groups....
Level 2: Intermediate 16 hrs