Principles of Mathematics and Computer Skills

The course is aimed at providing the student with fundamentals of mathematical analysis and descriptive statistics. One major goal is to develop the ability to analyze the behavior of a real variable function, determining its graph in a Cartesian system through basic elements of differential calculation. A further important objective is to develop essential skills in experimental data processing by introducing commonly used statistical descriptors. The course is also aimed at providing knowledge in computer science particularly with reference to the fundamentals of the discipline, spreadsheets, information management and the internet and web. Furthermore, it provides the student with skills in the use of the main functionalities of spreadsheet software tools, with a focus on the use of formulae, functions and chart creation.

Through this course the student will acquire fundamentals of mathematical analysis related to the study of a real function. Particularly, she/he will understand the meaning of domain of a function, continuity of a function in an interval and derivative of a function in a point. The student will have to demonstrate that she/he has gained knowledge of the main statistical descriptors that allow an experimental data set to be interpreted. Moreover, she/he will be able to interpret the progress of a function and describe data on a statistical level. Through application of what has been learned, the student will also manage to interpret the trend of variables that are the subject of her/his research.
Regarding computer science, the student will acquire fundamentals of the discipline and knowledge of spreadsheets, information management as well as the internet and web. Particularly, this knowledge will have to cover the historical foundations of computer science, structure and organization of computers, information coding, units of measurement of information, definition of algorithm and software, digital representation of text, audio and video contents, classification of software tools, security issues and risks related to the use of digital technologies, definition and structure of spreadsheet, calculation functions in Microsoft Excel, definition of data and information, databases, statistical functions and chart creation in Microsoft Excel, databases, relational database model, database systems, similarities and differences between spreadsheets and relational databases, database languages, query composition, web databases, basics of computer networks, standard and protocols of computer networks, history and structure of the internet, web architecture, HTML language, design and structure of search engines. Along with knowledge of the above-mentioned topics, the student will acquire skills in organizing data, dragging and dropping formulae and formatting cells in a spreadsheet as well as using general and statistical functions and creating charts in Microsoft Excel.