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Computational science underpins modern science, engineering and finance. It provides numerical solutions to problems that can't be solved analytically, and explores problems that are not amenable to experiments. This unit focuses on the foundation of numerical computing: how numbers are represented and manipulated by computers. Understanding the representation of integers and real numbers, and their fundamental limitations is critical for accurate numerical calculations. For example, if you add the value 0.1 a total of one million times, the exact answer is 1,000,000 x 0.1 = 100,000. However, when you do this on a computer the answer might be 100,958.3. This is a limitation of the floating-point representation of numbers in every modern computer - but most people are unaware of it! In this Unit you will learn about number systems and binary, two's complement representation for integers; fixed and floating-point representations for real numbers; precision and overflow, rounding and truncation errors. We will illustrate these with practical examples, and show how mistakes in computational calculations can result in catastrophes such as the explosion of the Ariane 5 rocket. All activities will be done in Python 3, a widely used modern programming language.
Study level | Undergraduate |
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Academic unit | Physics Academic Operations |
Credit points | 2 |
Prerequisites:
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None |
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Corequisites:
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None |
Prohibitions:
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COSC1003 or COSC1903 |
Assumed knowledge:
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HSC Mathematics |
At the completion of this unit, you should be able to:
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 1a 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Intensive June - July 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Semester 2a 2025
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
Outline unavailable
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Session | MoA ? | Location | Outline ? |
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Semester 1 2020
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 2 2020
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive June - July 2020
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive February - March 2021
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive June - July 2021
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive September - October 2021
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 1 2022
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 2 2022
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive June - July 2022
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 1a 2023
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive June - July 2023
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 2a 2023
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Online | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 1a 2024
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Intensive June - July 2024
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Semester 2a 2024
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Normal day | Camperdown / Darlington, Sydney |
View
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Find your current year census dates
This refers to the Mode of attendance (MoA) for the unit as it appears when you’re selecting your units in Sydney Student. Find more information about modes of attendance on our website.