Mathematical Skills for Chemists

Learning Outcomes

Subject Specific Practical Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate ability to frame a problem or concept in chemistry in the form of a mathematical equation or appropriate plot.

Transferable and Generic Skills

Having successfully completed this module you will be able to:

• Demonstrate numeracy and ability to apply mathematical concepts to solve contextual problems.

Knowledge and Understanding

Having successfully completed this module, you will be able to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of:

• Describe chemical problems in terms of mathematical concepts.

The course covers the following mathematical concepts and skills, with practice in their application to problems in Chemistry:

• numbers and orders of magnitude, units, quantity calculus, and estimations;
• functions: exponentials and logarithms;
• algebra: BODMAS, rearranging equations, solving algebraic and non-algebraic equations;
• graph plotting, the equation of a straight line, and linear plots from non-linear expressions;
• trigonometry: right angle triangles, diagonal dimensions of cubes and rectangles, definitions and applications of sin, cos, and tan, the cosine rule;
• differentiation: by the rule (polynomials and various functions), the chain, product, and quotient rules, use of derivatives to find inflection points, maxima and minima;
• integration: indefinite and definite integrals;
• matricies and vectors: definitions, addition, subtraction, multiplication, determinants, and as systems of equations;
• complex numbers.

Lectures and problem-solving workshops.

Summative

This is how we’ll formally assess what you have learned in this module.