Teaching and assessment for Mathematical Biology BSc (Hons)

This module addresses the structures and biochemical properties of key biological molecules such as nucleic acids, lipids, carbohydrates and proteins. You will discover how enzymes work and look at their importance in the catalysis of biological reactions. The module also considers the origin of cells, and examines their main components.

You will continue to develop the research skills introduced during the previous semester. Undertaking a short independent research project will help you practice and extend your technical capabilities. You will gain understanding and practical experience of techniques such as PCR and agarose gel electrophoresis for DNA analysis.

The module addresses the cell cycle and cell replication, and the transfer of information from DNA to protein. It considers physiological systems and the specialisation and organisation of cells into the major organ systems. It develops an evolutionary perspective by considering the above processes and structures in diverse organisms.

This module explores vector calculus, which is an area of mathematics that combines 3D geometry with calculus. Vector calculus is concerned with differentiation and integration of functions in 3D space. It can apply to either scalar-valued functions or vector-valued functions.

This module examines analysis, which is an area of pure mathematics forming the foundation for other areas of maths. The concept of convergence is also covered, which forms part of the framework used by computers to solve complicated equations for mathematical models in physics, biology, and economics.

Scientific computing offers tools, techniques, and theories that enable computer-assisted solutions to complex problems.

This introductory module explores numerical linear algebra and how computations work in practice. You will use MATLAB to develop algorithms for the numerical solution of important scientific problems.

This module explores calculus, specifically to find derivatives of functions. Ordinary Differential Equations (ODEs) are equations involving derivative terms.

Very few ODEs can be solved exactly, so methods have been developed to find approximate solutions. In this module, you will learn the basic numerical methods for calculating these approximate solutions.

Graph theory is an area of pure mathematics that can be applied to networks and structures.

This module will introduce you to the key properties of graphs and allow you to use theory of graphs to solve real-world problems.