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Unit of study_
MATH4076: Computational Mathematics
2025 unit information
Sophisticated mathematics and numerical programming underlie many computer applications, including weather forecasting, computer security, video games, and computer aided design. This unit of study provides a strong foundational introduction to modern interactive programming, computational algorithms, and numerical analysis. Topics covered include: (I) basics ingredients of programming languages such as syntax, data structures, control structures, memory management and visualisation; (II) basic algorithmic concepts including binary and decimal representations, iteration, linear operations, sources of error, divide-and-concur, algorithmic complexity; and (III) basic numerical schemes for rootfinding, integration/differentiation, differential equations, fast Fourier transforms, Monte Carlo methods, data fitting, discrete and continuous optimisation. You will also learn about the philosophical underpinning of computational mathematics including the emergence of complex behaviour from simple rules, undecidability, modelling the physical world, and the joys of experimental mathematics. When you complete this unit you will have a clear and comprehensive understanding of the building blocks of modern computational methods and the ability to start combining them together in different ways. Mathematics and computing are like cooking. Fundamentally, all you have is sugar, fat, salt, heat, stirring, chopping. But becoming a good chef requires knowing just how to put things together in creative ways that work. In a previous study, you should have learned to cook. Now you're going to learn how to make something someone else might want to pay for more than one time.
Unit details and rules
Managing faculty or University school:
Science
| Study level | Undergraduate |
|---|---|
| Academic unit | Mathematics and Statistics Academic Operations |
| Credit points | 6 |
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Prerequisites:
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[A mark of 65 or above in (12 credit points of MATH2XXX) or (6 credit points of MATH2XXX and 6 credit points of STAT2XXX or DATA2X02)] or (12 credit points of MATH3XXX) |
|---|---|
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Corequisites:
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None |
| Prohibitions:
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MATH3076 or MATH3976 |
| Assumed knowledge:
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(MATH2X21 and MATH2X22) or (MATH2X61 and MATH2X65) |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
- LO1. apply the basic ingredients of any programming language including syntax, definition of variables, control structures and memory management
- LO2. investigate and resolve sources of error in numerical computation
- LO3. explain how binary and floating-point decimal numbers are represented on a computer
- LO4. critique the uses and dangers of iteration and recursion
- LO5. leverage and compute linear operations on data
- LO6. create numerical routines using fundamental numerical methods to solve computational problems in science, engineering and mathematics
- LO7. create reports that combine a description of a practical problem, its numerical framing and the results of computation to solve this problem.
Unit availability
This section lists the session, attendance modes and locations the unit is available in. There is a unit outline for each of the unit availabilities, which gives you information about the unit including assessment details and a schedule of weekly activities.
The outline is published 2 weeks before the first day of teaching. You can look at previous outlines for a guide to the details of a unit.
| Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
|---|---|---|---|
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Semester 1 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown/Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Modes of attendance (MoA)
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