Cursos / 1º Ciclo / Faculty of Economy and Business Management :: Marketing

Versao Portuguesa

MATEMÁTICAS GERAIS - 2017/2018

1º curricular year
Semestralidade: 1st semester
ECTS: 6

Teachers

Leading Teacher: Prof. Doutor Paulo Aguiar
Assistant Professor: Prof. Doutor Paulo Aguiar

Class type and School hours

Orientação Tutorial : 1 Horas
Teórico-prática : 2 Horas

Teaching Language

Portuguese

Main Aims/Objectives

We aim at:
a) Equipping the students with the mathematical techniques and concepts that are indispensable for the understanding of the subjects treated in other courses of the degree;
b) Assuring the understanding of the basic quantitative concepts and techniques in the areas of management and marketing;
c) Promoting the necessary skills to use mathematics in an effective manner in order to solve "real problems";
d) Promoting the development of reasoning and problem solution skills in general.

Specific Aims/Objectives

We aim at equipping the students with the elementary concepts and techniques of one variable differential calculus, with focus on the most relevant aspects for the areas of management and marketing and elementary concepts of functions of several variables, including partial differentiation. It is intended that the students understand and handle with ease some elementary aspects of financial mathematics, such as percentage, indexes and compound interest and also elementary notions of time series.

Skills to be acquired

By the end of the course the student should be capable of:
a) Working with functions of one real variable;
b) Working with exponentials and logarithms;
b) Applying his or her knowledge of differential calculus to solve practical problems, particularly optimization problems;
d) Understanding the elementary concepts of functions of two or more variables;
e) Applying knowledge of time series to make projections and assess their validity:

Teaching Procedures

The contents are presented following an expository methodology. When appropriate, texts are made available that further develop the subjects. The student is presented with problems that he or she must solve, being assisted during the tutorials.

Programme

I. Functions of one real variable
1. Linear equations and lines
2. Simultaneous linear equations and applications
3. Quadratic functions
4. Other functions
5. Exponentials and logarithms

II. A little financial mathematics
1. Percentages and indexes
2. Compound interest

III. Differential calculus
1. Introduction to derivatives
2. Differentiation rules
3. Elasticity
4. Application to the study of functions and optimization

IV. Functions of several variables
1. Level curves
2. Partial derivatives

V. Time series
1. Introduction to time series
2. Forecasting with moving averages
3. Quantifying the forecasting errors
4. Forecasting with exponential smoothing
5. Models for time series

Evaluation Type

The continuous assesment consists of two written examinations with the duration of about one hour each. The first one covers the first half of the course contents and takes place approximately half way through the semester and the second one covers the second half of the course contents and takes place towards the end of the semester.

Teaching Resources

The didactic resources that should be available to the students are the books in the course bibliography and room for study, individually and in small groups.

Sustainability Objectives

Keywords

Mathematics
Calculus
Functions
Quantitative Methods

Main Bibliography

Author Hoffmann, Laurence; Bradley, Gerald; Sobecki, Davi
Title Cálculo: Um Curso Moderno e Suas Aplicações
Edition 11.ª ed.
Place Rio de Janeiro
Editor LTC
Year 2014
Author Jacques, Ian
Title Mathematics for Economics and Business
Edition 8ª ed.
Place Harlow, England
Editor Pearson
Year 2015
Author Swift, Louise; Piff, Sally
Title Quantitative Methods: for business, management and
Edition 4ª ed.
Place Basingstoke, England
Editor Palgrave MacMillan
Year 2014

Complementary Bibliography

Author Dewhurst, Frank
Title Quantitative Methods for Business and Management
Edition 2ª ed.
Place Maidenhead, England
Editor McGraw-Hill
Year 2006
Author Wisniewski, Mik
Title Quantitative Methods for Decision Makers
Edition 6.ª ed.
Place Harlow, England
Editor Pearson
Year 2016