Math 151 - Fall 2004

Mathematics for the Life Sciences


NOTICE regarding 3-digit code for COMPETE: I did not have time during the first class to hand out class codes. You may pick up a 3-digit class code from my office door (639 Science and Engineering on the Hill), or wait until Monday's class. This code will be used, rather than your social security number, for posting any grades for this class. You should note the code for your records and bring the small sheet to class on Tuesday - write your name and email address on the sheet which will be turned in to your TA. For the COMPETE login, you can use any number you wish for the password set up - it does not have to be your SS# or the suggested number plus the code noted in the below information on COMPETE.

NOTICE regarding the COMPETE exam: this is not being graded and does not count as part of the course grade. As I pointed out in class, it is to your benefit to make certain that you either score well on this exam the first time you take it (a score of 20 out of 25 or better) or else you devote some time to going over the tutorials on questions that you did not correctly answer. This exam covers background high-school level mathematics that is considered pre-requisite to this course and Math152.

NOTICE regarding EXAM 1 and special extra help session: There is a sample Exam in the Course Supplement on pages 27-28. Problem 3 a,b on this deals with inverse functions other than exponentials and logarithms, and this material will not be covered on the first exam (you are expected to be able to derive inverses for exponential and log functions). You are urged to try the sample exam and Assignment 6 after we meet on Wednesday Sept 8. A special extra help session will be held on Friday Sept 10, at the normal class time (10:10-11) in the normal lecture hall (Buehler 300). This is to give you an opportunity to ask questions about the Sample Exam or any other questions about Exam 1. The class period on Monday Sept. 13 will mostly be spent going over new material that will not be covered on Exam 1.

NOTICE regarding Assignment#7 (Project#2): I have posted a Matlab .m file that does all the calculations for this project here which should ease doing this project once you have collected the data. I expect that you will look at the Matlab code and understand what it is doing at each step of the calculations.

NOTICE regarding MatLab: There is a Freeware version of Matlab called Octave that is available for most operating systems (the Octave web site is here ) and which runs most Matlab commands. I have tried several of my .m files on it (using the Mac OS X version) and it runs OK. If you wish to have a program similar to Matlab on your personal computer, this is one option.

NOTICE regarding dropping this course: The Drop Deadline with a W notation on Transcript is September 28. If you wish to drop the course from September 29 until November 9 you will receive a WP if your course average up to that date (including all exams and quizes whether you took them or not) is a 60% or above, and a WF if the average is below 60%. A WP will not be computed in your GPA, while a WF will be calculated as an F grade in your GPA. My signature is required on a WP/WF form that you can pick up at the Registrar's Office in 209 Student Services Bldg. Tennessee Education Lottery Scholarship recipients should be aware that if you wish to drop a course that would result in changing your status from full-time (12 or more hours) to part-time (11 hours or fewer), you must receive approval from the Office of Financial Aid and Scholarships before doing so. See the Financial Aid website.

NOTICE regarding Matlab Project 3 (Assignment 12): I have created a modified version of lesson5.m called project 3.m that does essentially all the calculations you need for this project. See project3.m. Note that you will still need to change the "q" parameter in the matrix P (this is currently set to .7 in the program)as well as change the "F" parameter (this is set to .1 currently in the program) for each run of the model.

NOTICE regarding course evaluations: Evaluations of the TAs will be done in class on Tuesday Nov. 16 using written forms. These should be filled out based upon your opinions of the efforts of your TA in asssitaing you to carry out the course work. The overall evaluation of the course and of Dr. Gross is being conducted using the on-line SAIS system which you can access at the online Student Assessment of Instruction System . This on-line evaluation will be available for you to complete from 8:00 a.m. November 12 until midnight on December 9, and I would appreciate it if you would complete this.

  • Sample Final Exam Pages 1 and 2 PDF File
  • Sample Final Exam Page 3 PDF File
  • Sample Final Exam - Answers PDF File - 2 pages

    Assignments

    COMPETE Pre-Calculus On-line Exam (Due Aug. 30)
    Assignment1 (Due Aug. 24)
    Assignment2 (Due Aug. 31)
    Assignment3 (Due Aug. 31)
    Assignment4 (Due Sept. 7)
    Assignment5 (Due Sept. 7)
    Assignment6 (Due Sept. 14)
    Assignment7 (Due Sept. 21)
    Assignment8 (Due Sept. 28)
    Assignment9 (Due Sept. 28)
    Assignment10 (Due Oct. 5)
    Assignment11 (Due Oct. 5)
    Assignment12 (Due Oct. 19)
    Assignment13 (Due Oct. 19)
    Assignment14 (Due Oct. 26)
    Assignment15 (Due Nov. 2)
    Assignment16 (Due Nov. 9)
    Assignment17 (Due Nov. 9)
    Project #4 using Matlab (Due Nov. 16) . You may need to use the Matlab program ranleslie2.m if the version of Matlab you have does not recognize the geomean function in ranleslie.m
    Assignment18 (Due Nov. 16)
    Assignment19 (Due Nov. 23)
    Assignment20 (Due Nov. 30)
    Example Drug Dosage problem



    Extra Credit Project

    There is a extra credit project available for those who wish to pursue it, with the description at Extra Credit project on Harvesting a Stochastically-growing Population and the Matlab code to assist you in carrying out this project is at harvestopt.m. Note that the time period simulated in the Matlab code is 300 time steps. To count for extra credit, this project must be turned in to your TA's mailbox in Ayres Hall by 5PM on Friday December 3. After consideration, I decided to simply add overall points to your grade if you do the project, based upon how well the project is done, up to 4 points. Thus someone with a course average of 78 (C+ grade) who does the project very well would have 4 points added to bring the grade up to 82 (B grade in the course).



    Grade Results

    Exam 1 Summary
    Exam 2 Summary
    Exam 3 Summary
    Final exam, extra credit and course grades posted by individual 3-digit class code given at the start of the semester

    MATLAB Files

    Quick Intro to Matlab (PDF file)
    Longer Matlab Primer (PDF file 213KB)
    Online Matlab tutorial from Univ of Utah (PDF file 213KB)
    Listing of Matlab files for this course sequence and codes (Web page)

    Some Lecture notes

    Introduction to Biological Data Analysis and Statistics
    Basic Descriptive Statistics
    Constructing Histograms and Regressions
    Linear Data Analysis and Correlations
    Linear regression and correlation calculations
    Exponentials, logarithms, rescaling of data and log-log and semilog plots
    Additional Powerpoint lecture notes on Exponentials, logarithms, rescaling of data and log-log and semilog plots
    Introduction to matrices
    Introduction to Eigenectors and Eigenvalues
    Main facts about Eigenectors and Eigenvalues and Introduction to Compartment Models
    Introduction the chance and probability models in biology
    Drug testing example of Bayes Theorem
    Discrete-time models in biology

    References cited in lectures

    List of papers mentioned in lectures as examples of applications of math to life sciences

    Tutorial help

    Math Department Tutorial Center Home page
    Registration form for UTK Library Workshops including ones on the Web of Science and Biological Abstracts use


    Web resources related to mathematics and biology

    Society for Mathematical Biology
    Modules applying elementary mathematics to various topics in General Biology
    Resources for Mathematics Education for Biology Students
    UTK Mathematical Life Sciences Page for Education
    How does Biology affect Mathematics? (Essay for Mathematics Awareness Month Home Page)
    Mathematics and Ecology (Essay for Mathematics Awareness Month Home Page)
    Mathematics in Biology (Science On-Line Page)

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