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MATH-UA 132 006
This is the second semester of a sequence designed to give you the intuition to think about economic
ideas in mathematical terms and interpret mathematical concepts in the context of economics. Your
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understanding of economics and mathematics both will improve after this sequence. Mathematics is
increasingly important in terms of the expression and communication of ideas in economics. A thorough
knowledge of mathematics is indispensable for understanding almost all fields of economics, includ-
ing both applied and theoretical fields. In particular, understanding of elements of calculus and linear
algebra are crucial to the study of economics, and this class is designed to provide such appropriate
mathematical tools. The formal derivations of the mathematical concepts needed will be the heart of
this class. Economic models can often be easily and precisely described in terms of mathematical nota-
tion when words and graphs would fail or mislead us. Therefore, as applications of the mathematical
concepts covered in class, examples and motivation will be drawn from important topics in economics.
Some key topics, roughly in order of their appearance in the course, include:
– multivariable functions;
– extrema and Lagrange multipliers;
– linear systems;
– matrix algebra;
– Riemann integral;
– integration techniques;
– differential equations.
By the end of Math for Economics II, students will have a complete understanding of optimization and
will be able to apply the Lagrange multipliers approach to constrained optimization problems. They will
also know how to solve systems of equations using linear algebra, and how to manipulate matrices. In
addition, they will be familiar with integration and various integration techniques. They will also under-
stand the basic concepts of differential equation and be able to find solutions of elementary differential
equations.
• RESOURCES AND PLATFORMS
– Books
∗ Required. Essential Calculus: Early Transcendentals (2nd ed.) by James Stewart. An electronic
version is included with WebAssign (see below), and you do not need to purchase a hard copy.
· Your course is participating in the Follett Access program. This is an NYU Bookstore initia-
tive that delivers required course materials at the lowest possible price. The required book
for this course, Essential Calculus by Stewart, will be delivered to you digitally through the
WebAssign platform. The cost of the platform & book is $108.00, which will be added
as a “book charge” to your bursar bill.
If you choose to find your course materials elsewhere, you must login here to the student
portal and opt out of the program by September 20th. If you do not opt out by this date,
you will be charged. *Please note - if you have paid for WebAssign & the Calculus
book through ACCESS in a previous semester you do not have to opt out, you will not
be charged.
∗ Recommended. Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis (4th or 5th ed.), Sydsaeter & al.
– WebAssign
The class will use WebAssign for weekly assignments. WebAssign is an online platform that provides
computational exercises with immediate feedback. It can be accessed via Brightspace. WebAssign
requires a subscription that you can pay via the link on Brightspace. The subscription includes the
e-book. You can purchase an access code from the bookstore. By buying from the bookstore, you
can bill to your student account and use financial aid. You have three options: pay for one term,
pay for multi-term (if you intend to take MFE III), or pay for Cengage Unlimited, which is unlimited
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access to all of Cengage’s texts. You will have a 2-week grace period to purchase and activate a
WebAssign license. If you already have a multi-term subscription from MFE I, you should be able
to use it.
– Campuswire
All communications will be handled through Brightspace and Campuswire. Announcements and
information on assignments will be posted there, so make sure to check both very regularly. You
should also ask any question regarding the class there (this can be anonymous). Your professor
and TA will periodically offer some input, but it should first and foremost remain a platform for you
and your classmates. For personal questions, you can send your professor or your TA a DM there.
Please allow up to two workdays for responses. Campuswire is accessible through Brightspace. You
will first need the code which is available by the Campuswire link on Brightspace.
– Gradescope
All assignments and some assessments will be administered through Gradescope. You will be able
to see your graded assignments and comments from the grader there. Gradescope is available
through Brightspace: you should use your NYU email address to register.
– Communication
The syllabus, course calendar, homework problem sets, and solutions will be uploaded to Brightspace.
All other communications will be handled through Campuswire, so make sure to check it very reg-
ularly. You should also ask any question regarding the class there (this can be anonymous). Your
professor and TA will periodically offer some input, but it should first and foremost remain a plat-
form for you and your classmates. For personal questions, send your TA or your professor a DM
there. As a general practice, please check your email a couple of times a day. For our course, make
sure you check Campuswire regularly, to make sure that your question hadn’t been answered there.
When messaging, please practice professional etiquette, including complete sentences and correct
grammar.
• GRADING POLICY
– Grading Scale1
Grade Score Range
A 93–100%
A– 90–92.99%
B+ 87–89.99%
B 83–86.99%
B– 80–82.99%
C+ 75–79.99%
C 65–74.99%
D 50–64.99%
F 0–49.99%
– Grade Distribution (Quick Reference)
1Incomplete Grades: University policy states that an incomplete grade may be awarded if the student is unable to complete their
work on time due to circumstances beyond their control. Please refer to the academic policies page for more information.
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Part Weight
Attendance and Participation 10%
WebAssign 10%
Written HW 10%
Quizzes 10%
Midterm Exams 30%
Final Exam 30%
– Grade Distribution (Details)
∗ Attendance & Participation (10%)
Attendance is expected and required during lecture. This will be assessed sporadically in
lecture via real-time polls that will constitute 5% of your final grade. Those will be graded
mostly on effort and completion, and on correctness wherever applicable. More information
will be provided in lecture on the first day, but you cannot get the grade for those unless you
are present and active at the time when they are administered. However, there will be plenty of
opportunities to earn full points on this, even if you must skip class when one is administered.
In case of an impending health problems, personal issues, or religious observances, you may
skip class. You do not need to message me every time you skip class, but the total number of
absences that will not affect your attendance and participation score is 6.
In recitation, attendance is expected and required. Your TA will take attendance via a tradi-
tional sign-up sheet. You are allowed 3 free recitation absences without penalty. Every absence
after the 3rd one will result in a 0.5% deduction. No additional considerations will be made
so please use your absences wisely.
∗ WebAssign (10%)
There will be weekly WebAssign assignments for the sections of the textbook covered in lecture,
due by midnight on days indicated on the schedule. These exercises are usually computational,
and to be done after attending lecture and/or watching the available optional videos. You only
need to submit one answer, and you get feedback immediately. There are at least 3 attempts
for each question, and the lowest WebAssign grade will be dropped. No further extensions or
considerations are given, no exceptions.
∗ Written HW (10%)
There will be a total of 6 weekly written homework assignments with deadlines posted on the
course schedule, typically midnight on some Mondays. You can find the assigned exercises
and due dates on Brightspace. Please upload the HW by the deadline via Gradescope. Late
assignments will be accepted based on the policy stated on the cover page of each HW (the
same for every Written HW, but not for WebAssigns). In addition, the lowest Written HW grade
will be dropped. No further exceptions are made. See the HW guidelines at the end of this
document.
∗ Quizzes (10%)
You will take weekly quizzes (generally timed for 30 minutes) due by midnight on Sundays as
indicated on the schedule. Your lowest 2 quiz grades will be dropped. No further extensions
or considerations, no exceptions.
∗ Midterm and Final Exams (60%)
There are 2 exams and a final in the course. Since the learning goals are different and slightly
unrelated, the weights are as follows: 15% for Midterm I, 15% for Midterm II and 30% for the
non-cumulative Final.