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MATH1070: Frontiers of Computational Science |
Forum Answers |
Q. I can't find the file 'makenet.m' mentioned in the second complex systems assignment. Where is it?
A. Sorry. To avoid confusion with its ambiguous name it is now called 'buttons.m' and is one of the files in 'CXfiles2.zip'. Unfortunately one occurrence of the name 'makenet.m' in the second assignment sheet was not renamed to 'buttons.m' like all the rest.Q. For the 2nd complex systems assignment it says the due date is Wednesday 22nd September. Just want to confirm this date since the stated due date is actually before the scheduled due date on the "lectures" part of this site.
A. That was a mistake. The second complex systems assignment is now due Monday October 4 at 10am to give you extra time. Howvere, the last complex systems prac is on Monday September 20 so if you finish the assignment by the date listed on the "Lectures" page (September 24) you won't have to worry about it over the mid-semester break.Q. Hi, I'm not sure if I'm suppose to ask non-general question here. But, well I'm having one now, if we are not suppose to, I won't. In prac B, section 6 Simple Graph, it asks us to plot the function x^(x^x)-(x^x)^x for x>=0. I typed ezplot('x^(x^x)-(x^x)^x', [0, Inf]) in the MatLab, it shows nothing but X and Y axis. Then I tried ezplot('x^(x^x)-(x^x)^x', [0, 3]), it shows a curve. Did I do it wrongly? Also, it says "Print off the graph and attach it to your report". What report is required to submit? Am I late for it? Thank you.
A. No you did exactly the right thing! The function x^(x^x)-(x^x)^x increases very rapidly. Eg with x=4, 4^4=256 and 4^256-256^4 has size about 2^500 ~ 10^50. If you looked at the scale on the y axis on the first graph, you would have seen it ranged up to 10^70 or something. So you clearly could not see things happening when function has values of between about 0 and 2. (On your graph the function would appear to be hugging the x axis until the very last point.) Your second graph with a better range showed things better, and about [0,2.2] is a perfect x rage.No you did not need to hand things in, it was just the experience that was important. Keep the graph to remember this function by!
Q. What is this course really about?
A. Problem solving! Developing the tools and using computers to solve problems and investigate science from biology, chemistry, computer science, mathematics, and more! See the "About this course".
Q. Why is maths so boring?
A. A common question that we understand - one lecturer quotes a student: "If I had only one day left to live I'd spend it in a maths lecture ... it would make the time seem so much longer!". We try our best to make mathematics as interesting and as relevant as possible and are always open to suggestions for improvement. Maths is an important part of may professions and of daily life. As we go through the course, you can help to dispel boredome by contemplatng the role of mathematical thinking in your chosen degree and career.
Q. In previous FAQ, it is said that the final exam will be in the lab, h owever, in the course profile, it says the final exam will be held during the fi nal examination period, with no choice of question. Do they contradict? Thanks
A. Thanks for your question; there was some old info in the file that suggested the exam was lab based. This is NOT correct; the course profile gives a true description of what is happening. The wrong information has been removed from the file.
Q. Hi, I found that this course is mainly more focused on maths theories of computer science. According to the course summary from the SiNet, our assignments will be "report", this is a bit contradict with the course profile. Also I don't think it make much sense if a maths course requires students to memorize things. What I want to know is if we will be tested of our abilities of memorizing. Thank you.
A. I don't think the course is really focused on maths theories of computer science. Certainly we cover some maths theory, and some computer science theory, and some biology theory. But the course is largely application driven, and we don't study any theory simply for the sake of the theory. And I don't fully see how `report' conflicts with the course profile: you need to submit assignments in the form of code, some results, and some written summaries of what you found, what you did and so on. That is surely a report? In any case, the course profile gives a correct and complete description of the assessment. Finally, you ask about memorising things. I think for every exam you need to have things committed to memory; maybe rules, or how to apply them, or so on. This exam will be no different. However, I am quite confident that much of the work on the exam will be solving problems. Certainly on my bit (cryptography) I will ask you to discuss a few things from memory (not much and not hard; just general concepts), but then you will be solving problems.
Q. I signed up for the course today, Wednesday 28 July, and have therefore missed two lectures and the introductury tutorial/prac. Due to clashes on the schedule I will not be able to attend the Monday lectures during this semester. Do you think it will be possible to take the course anyway?
A. Well, missing 50% of the lecture material for any course makes it pretty tough. And if you have to miss the lab classes as well, then I think it is almost impossible. If you like, come and talk to me in person sometime.
Q. Hi, I enrolled this course late too. I missed this week's lectures and prac, but I am doing the prac now and will read through the lecture notes on the web. Could you please tell me what else I should do in order to catch up before next week? Is there any assessment out already? For the prac B, where can I find the solutions? Thank you very much!
A. There is nothing much else you need to do. The only lecture content we have done is the background chat about cryptography, and the only lab stuff is some initial matlab programming. So that is all. I don't know where the solutions are to prac B. Maybe you'll get them next week? (sorry to be useless).
Q. Hi, could the lecturer kindly tell me how far have you gone through the lecture note please? So I can catch up b4 next week. Also, are we suppose to post problem-related (e.g. prac) questions here? Thank you very much.
A. We are up to the bottom of page 11 of the notes, so haven't really done any content yet (it was really just background chat). And you can post prac questions here, but they are hard for you to typeset and the answers are hard for me to typeset, so it might be easier to ask them in the labs.
Q. Question - Im using Windows to perform the counting and file handling required for the assignment, and the end-of-file character ^M couldnt be removed without destroying the file mixed_cipher_xx.txt. After editing it, the counting doesnt work properly anymore (the function counttext returns incorrect values) Therefore my letter count isnt 100% correct, e.g. the number of Ms should be 1 instead of 2 and the total number of characters used to calculate the relative frequencies is slightly incorrect (602 instead of 601).
Could this give me any problems when my assignment is marked? Could/should I do something to correct it or is it enough to add the above "dislaimer" to the assignment report? I have tried to remove the character and saving the file usig several different editors, but the counttext function always return false values afterwars.
A. A disclaimer is all you need; the impact of a single wrong character should not be at all significant. Indeed, you don't even need a disclaimer, as we don't know the exact character frequency for your file anyway.