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B.Sc. Resources | Einstein Institute of Mathematics

B.Sc. Resources

Learning & studying resources

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Preparing for studies

The first encounter with university-level mathematics can be challenging, even for students who excelled in mathematics in high-school. In part this is because students arrive after a prolonged period away from academic study. But it is also because high-school mathematics is too often taught by rote and with a focus on calculation, while university mathematics is more rapid, more rigorous, and more conceptual (and, yes, plain harder). It requires an entirely different frame of mind, which takes time to acquire.
 
In order to make the transition easier, we strongly recommend ample preparation. The mathematics department provides several ways to prepare
 
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Learning & studying resources

The math department offers a nubemr of Learning and studying resources:

  • Office hours - each lecture has a weekly office hours, during which students can ask questions about the previous lectures. Usually specific time and location of the office hour is given during the first lecture.
  • Study workshop - the Study workshop (סדנת עזר) is a workshop were students can get help with homework assignments and general understanding of mathematical concepts from graduate students. B.Sc students are encouraged to attend. more details here.
  • Homework groups -  In the first year calculus courses we have an experimental program in which students review their homework in small groups together with the graders, and get direct feedback. More about this program and enrollment details will be provided in the first week of the course.
  • Mentorship Program - During the first year of study each student will be assigned to one of our faculty members who will serve as a mentor. A meeting between students and mentors will take place in the course of the first semester, and students are encouraged to contact their mentors if they would like to discuss academic or other problems. More details will be provided at the start of the academic year.

A couple of remarks on study habits:

  • Mathematics, like a language, can only be learned actively. Therefore just attending the lectures and reading the notebook before the test is, usually, not enough to get a passing grade.
  • Correct study habits tend to consist of: attending lectures, doing all the homework assignment, understanding all the concepts discussed in the lectures during the semester (if a concept is not clear there are office hours and the "Assistance Workshop" to help) , and generally thinking and playing with the material.
  • Every hour of class will require typically 1-2 hours at home for going over the material and solving excercises.  This should be taken into account when planning a semeter's schedule.

Planning my schedule

Graduating a B.Sc in mathematics requires successfully collecting 134 course credits. In general each semestrial lecture hour is worth one unit of credit. In the regular track at least 77 of these credits should be awarded for mathematical courses, while in the extended track at least 93 mathematical credits are required.

Time devoted to studies: an average student should expect do devote two hours per credit for home study, including preparing homework, going over lecture notes and reading books. This number may vary as a function of the student's talent and background.

Courses of the following type count towards the required mathematical course credit towards a B.Sc. degree.

  • Required mathematics courses. The core curriculum which must be taken by all mathematics students. These consist of: "Discrete mathematics", "Infinitesimal calculus 1" "Infinitesimal calculus 2", "Linear algebra 1", "Linear algebra 2" , "Advanced infinitesimal calculus 1", "Advanced infinitesimal calculus 2" and "Algebraic structures 1".
  • Semi-required mathematics courses. This is a list of eight core courses, out of which the students must take 6 (extended track) or 3 (regular track and most joint degrees). These consist of: "Introduction to topology", "Algebraic structures 2", "Probability theory", "Measure theory", "Introduction to logic", "Set theory", "Ordinary differential equations" and "Complex variables".
  • Electives in mathematics. All other mathematic courses fall into this category, as do a small number of courses in other departments which are specifically recognized for this purpose.
  • Courses from other departments that count as mathematical credit (please check with the specific program for details). These include Algorithms (67504), Computation models, computation and complexity (67521), Equations of mathematical physics (77313).
  • In the extended track, students may additionally receive up to 6 credits in mathematics for the following courses:
    • Applied mathematics 1 (80114) - only if taken in the first year of study.
    • Applied mathematics 2 (80115) - only if taken in year 1 or 2.
    • Mechanics and special relativity (77101)
    • Electricity and magnetism (77102)
    • Waves and optics (77305)
    • Analytic mechanics (77303)
    • Quantum mechanics 1 (77318)
    • Problem solving and algorithms (67573)
 
Required courses in other departments: All degree tracks require that some credit will be earned in other departments which do not count towards the total of credits from mathematical courses. The requirements include "An online introduction to the university library resources" (in the first year of study), A computer programming course (in year one or two, for details check the specific program in the shnaton.), 6-8 credits from the Cornerstones interdisciplinary program (requirements vary by track),  a minor ("Hativa") in another department (only for the regular track).

Joint degrees with other departments have their own course and credit requirements which must be completed in addition to the ones above.

For the most accurate and comprehensive information on the requirements for a B.Sc. in mathematics - consult with the faculty page (Hebrew).

Planning: In planning the degree, the student should make sure that prerequisites of every required mathematics course and semi-required mathematics course are completed before taking the course itself. Consequently it may be wise to consult with an advisor for B.Sc. studies before making a significant deviation from the suggested schedule for the first two year, especially if one is interested in continuing to graduate studies.
 

 

A typical schedule

The tables below describe a typical course schedule for students starting a B.Sc. in mathematics in the fall semester. Please note that:

  • Required courses are marked with *.
  • Semi-required courses are marked with ^. These courses may be taken in any order subject to the pre-requisites of each course and can be divided between years 2 and 3. The division in the tables below is not binding.
  • Students in some joint programs may be exempt from the requirement of "Discrete mathematics" in the first year. Please consult the specific program for details.
  • When studying a joint degree with another department, additional requirements set by the other department may take place.
  • Elementary number theory (80115) and first year physics courses give credit as mathematical courses only if taken in the first year of study.
Year 1
Semester A Semester B
* Infinitesimal calculus 1 (80131) * Infinitesimal calculus 2 (80132)
* Linear algebra 1 (80134) * Linear algebra 2 (80135)
* Discrete Mathematics (80181)  

* Introduction to library resources (76411)

* Computer programming course (see list) - may be postponed to year 2.

Strong students may take an additional elective course, e.g. Elementary number theory (80115) or Set theory (80200), or one of the first year physics courses. Note that, with the exception of set theory, these courses give credit as mathematical courses only if taken in the first year of study.

 

Year 2
Semester A Semester B
* Advanced infinitescimal calculus 1 (80135) * Advanced infinitesimal calculus 2 (80136)
* Algebraic structures 1 (80445) ^ Algebraic structures 2 (80446)
^ Probability theory (80420) ^ Set theory (80200)
^ Introduction to logic (80423) ^ Introduction to topology (80516)

* Cornerstone courses (may also be taken in 3rd year).

* Minor studies in another department (regular track only, may be postponed to year 3, depending on the course sequence).

Elective courses in mathematics (please consult the current list).

 

Year 3
Semester A Semester B
^ Measure theory (80517) ^ Ordinary Differential Equations (80320)
^ Complex analysis (80519)  

* Cornerstone courses.

* Minor studies in another department (regular track only).

Elective courses in mathematics or other departments (please check current availability).

Undergraduate seminar and/or problem solving seminar.

Mathematical typesetting

Almost all mathematical writing is typeset with LaTeX. This is a markup-like language which allows the user to combine plain text, mathematical formulae, and many other features in a single text file, which is then compiled to produce output in pdf, postscript or other format. LaTeX is free and is available for most modern computer platforms, the most common installations are Miktex (for windows) and Texlive (linux and mac).

A user-friendly graphical interface for producing  LaTeX documents is LyX. More information about LyX (with Hebrew) installation can be found here and a lyX video tutorial is added below:

FAQ

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Can I delay a Required courses?

It is not advised to defer required courses, since they commonly appear as pre-requisites of more advanced courses.
Nonetheless, it is possible to defer them if necessary.

Are pre-requisites flexible?

In general pre-requisites are not flexible. But if a student is in Possession of the required knowledge and the lecturer premit it, a student may enroll to the course.

Can a course from another department count as math credit?

Yes. There are particular courses from computer science and physics that count as mathematical credit. See "planning my schedule" above.

Is there an upper limit on mathematical credit in a degree?

There is only a lower limit on the mathematical credit used for the degree. A student may take only mathematical courses along with the few required courses in other departments.
A more extensive list of FAQ and their answers is available here (in Hebrew).