[MV=PT]

Hey,

If I take Ec102, ma100 and 103 and st102 starting this September then in order to make sure I get a slight head start or fit in just write what topics in maths would you all recommend I touch on before I start ? This can include maths or stats topics.

Thnx


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[LostAccounti]

(Original post by MV=PT)
Hey,

If I take Ec102, ma100 and 103 and st102 starting this September then in order to make sure I get a slight head start or fit in just write what topics in maths would you all recommend I touch on before I start ? This can include maths or stats topics.

Thnx


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I haven't gone in yet, but I am preparing for the year, because I had 2 gap years and may have forgotten all my math.

EC102: It seems the most important stuff to revise is math, because they will reteach econ again. Just brush up on Micro because the lectures are fast. Maybe familiarize yourself with Consumer theory and Firm theory, because these form the basic models of rational choice. There are several new results not seen in pre-university econ, and simple math is used (analysis of quadratic functions, simple calculus, arithmetic) in almost every topic.

Part A Supply and demand: consumer choice; characteristics of individual market demand; information & signalling; altruism & cooperation; theory of the firm; perfect competition, monopoly & price discrimination; externalities & property rights; public goods.
Part B Measurement of the aggregate economy; money & inflation; trade & exchange rates; unemployment; economic fluctuations; stabilization policy; growth & development.


For MA100, you would want to focus on Linear algebra and calc. Read up on matrices, remember how to find a derivative of a function. Multivariable functions and calculus can be a bit hard to visualise at first.

For this module, you can refer to the brilliant MIT videos:

http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...8&feature=plcp (Linear Algebra)
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...1&feature=plcp (S Variable Calc)
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...8&feature=plcp (M Variable Calc)

I really like how Prof Gilbert Strang illustrates linear combinations. Very intuitive.


L. Algebra: Matrices, reduced row echelon form, rank. Systems of linear equations, Gaussian elimination. Determinants. Vector spaces, linear independence, basis, dimension. Linear transformations, similarity. Eigenvalues. Diagonalization. Orthogonal diagonalization. Complex numbers. Vectors.

Calc, analysis: Functions of several variables, derivatives, gradients, tangent hyperplanes. Optimisation including Lagrange's method. Vector-valued functions, derivatives and their manipulation. Inverse functions, local inverses and critical points, use in transformations. Integration, differential and difference equations. Some applications of the above topics.


MA103 focuses on proofs, theories and mathematical language. You may want to start learning proof by contradiction, direct proofs and proof by Mathematical Induction. Especially focus on how you present your mathematics in this section. If you want to, you can read about sets, functions and quantifiers. I like reading the results of number theory for fun, but you can skip that.

Specific topics covered are as follows: Logic, integers, sets and functions, prime numbers, relations, real and complex numbers, greatest common divisor and modular arithmetic, infimum and supremum, sequences, limits, continuity, groups and vector spaces.

ST102: I haven't read the books for the Stats module yet, but I've covered the topics before. If it's just application of the results (proving stats theorems is another matter), it really shouldn't be too much to worry about.

Descriptive statistics including some exploratory data analysis. Probability: axiomatic probability, conditional probability, Bayes' Theorem, independence, combinatorial methods. Random variables: discrete and continuous random variables, expectation and variance, joint and conditional distributions, the moment generating function. Important distributions of statistics, including the binomial, Poisson, uniform and normal distributions.
Sampling distributions of statistics and the Central Limit Theorem. Concepts of statistical inference; Point estimation: method of moments estimation, least squares estimation and maximum likelihood estimation; Interval estimation; Testing statistical hypotheses: one-sample tests and two-sample tests; Inference for correlation coefficients and variances; Rank-based nonparametric tests and goodness-of-fit tests; Contingency tables; Linear regression analysis: LSE, hypothesis testings, and prediction; Regression and ANOVA with Minitab.

Oh and just have some general knowledge for LSE 100.

Bear in mind that I'm still not in the course yet, so these are my impressions after self study of the books on LSE's reading list.

[MV=PT]

(Original post by LostAccounti)
.

Are you saying that you have bought and read the books LSE recommend for their course ? I was planning on doing that too but thought it wouldn't be worth it if they change the textbooks this September.

As for matrices, are the covered in the MIT linear algebra video you have mentioned or should I read elsewhere ?

Those videos you mentioned should have me covered for MA 100 but what about MA 103, any advice on what to read for that ? Got any vids on that ?

Thanks for your time sir, really appreciate it.

[LostAccounti]

(Original post by MV=PT)
Are you saying that you have bought and read the books LSE recommend for their course ? I was planning on doing that too but thought it wouldn't be worth it if they change the textbooks this September.

As for matrices, are the covered in the MIT linear algebra video you have mentioned or should I read elsewhere ?

Those videos you mentioned should have me covered for MA 100 but what about MA 103, any advice on what to read for that ? Got any vids on that ?

Thanks for your time sir, really appreciate it.

No, I borrowed the books from a local library. Content shouldn't change too much within a year, so any book covering the topics listed should be fine.

Matrices are covered in the MIT linear algebra course (L.A. is almost inseparable from matrices, however, some operations may or may not be covered. I have not gone through the whole series, but I know elimination, inverse matrices, determinants, systems of linear eq. vector spaces, linear indep and linear transformations are covered within the first seven lectures. Prof Strang seems to assume knowledge of vectors though...

I happen to have a copy of An intro to mathematical reasoning in my library so that's what I'm reading for MA103. You can search in Amazon and your library catalogue for any books covering the topics listed.

[Setrith]

(Original post by MV=PT)
Hey,

If I take Ec102, ma100 and 103 and st102 starting this September then in order to make sure I get a slight head start or fit in just write what topics in maths would you all recommend I touch on before I start ? This can include maths or stats topics.

Thnx


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Having done all those courses myself I can maybe lend a bit of advice. For MA100, just look over all the functions, differentiation, vectors and matrices you did in school and that'll be more than enough to get you started, as those are the topics the course builds on.

For EC102 just look at your Micro A Level notes, and if you haven't done A Level Economics then find some online notes on the Micro topics. It's pointless learning any Macro as it's taught completely differently than at A Level.

MA103 will be a very different type of Maths to anything you do in school, apart from possibly Proof By Induction and Complex Numbers, so maybe revise them briefly. The first few weeks are pretty basic topics so I wouldn't do much else for it. As for ST102, don't bother doing anything, as literally everything from GCSE level onwards is taught from scratch during the first weeks.

It might sound as if I'm telling you not to do very much, but the truth is you really don't need to do anything more than that. I did NOTHING over the Summer before starting and perhaps found it slightly challenging initially as I'd forgotten some basic things, but after that I was fine. The course is certainly challenging but it's not THAT hard, and you certainly don't you need to spend your entire Summer studying for it. Enjoy your holidays and briefly look over a few of the things I mentioned a couple of weeks before you arrive and you'll be well up to speed with everyone else.

[Swayum]

I think the best preparation is relaxing over the summer! It's going to be one of the last summer holidays of your life if you do work experience in your summers at LSE, I think it's a good idea to relax, have fun and enjoy as much as you can before the intensity of an LSE degree begins!

That said, I think once you reach September, it's a good idea to start learning (or revising if you did Further Maths) stuff on matrices. Look up an A-level FP1/FP3 textbook and learn all the stuff in there about matrices.

If you've done Economics A-level, there's no need to learn anything for Economics. If you haven't, learn about supply/demand + about competition (perfect competition vs monopoly). Don't touch macroeconomics, stick with micro.

No need for any preparation for any other courses.