MATHEMATICS I

PROFESSOR: ANTONIO GARCIA ROMERO, PHD

DEGREE: BACHELOR IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
ACADEMIC YEAR: 2015-16
DEGREE COURSE YEAR: FIRST SECOND THIRD FOURTH
SEMESTER: 1º SEMESTER 2º SEMESTER
CATEGORY: BASIC COMPULSORY OPTIONAL
NO. OF CREDITS (ECTS): 6 3
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH SPANISH

PREREQUISITES: BASICS ELEMENTS OF ALGEBRA (PRE-CALCULUS) SUCH AS OPERATIONS WITH

POWERS (INCLUDING NEGATIVE AND FRACTIONAL POWERS) AND FRACTIONS. FACTORIZATION,
SOLVE BASIC EQUATIONS, WORK WITH INEQUALITIES AND ABSOLUTE VALUES. IT IS ALSO
RECOMMENDABLE TO HAVE BASIC KNOWLEDGE OF ELEMENTARY FUNCTIONS (POLYNOMIAL,
RATIONAL, POWER, EXPONENTIAL AND LOGARITHMIC).

THE STUDENTS WITH A POOR LEVEL OF MATH MAY REVIEW THESE TOPICS IN THE FOLLOWING
LINK: HTTP://MULTIMEDIA.IE.EDU/PRODUCTOS/MATHEMATICS_VIDEOS/

1. SUBJECT DESCRIPTION

People often think of Mathematics as a collection of different axioms and theorems, which build a
complete theoretical system but have few connections (or no connections at all) with real life
problems. This could be partly due to the technical language used by the “classical”
mathematicians. This practice could hamper communication with people who work in applied fields.
Fortunately enough, this conception of Mathematics, or at least of what we could call “applied
mathematics in social sciences”, has changed over the last decades. This is obvious in areas like
Economy or Business Administration, where many collaborative works between mathematicians
and experts have been reported in these areas. From this new point of view, one has to think of
Mathematics, not as a subject in itself, but as a collection of tools that are needed in any rigorous
and complete analysis of an economic problem.
Students following this course will learn useful tools to analyze an economic problem. However,
there is also a second objective. They will need these tools in order to follow other courses of the
degree.

2. OBJECTIVES AND SKILLS

The objective of this course is to provide the student with part of the quantitative tools required to
analyze economic problems. Regarding its contents, this first course comprises some elementary
topics Calculus of one real variable. In brief, topics covered will include basic algebra, functions of
one variable and derivatives.
We classify the skills in two groups: specific and generic. Regarding the specific skills, the student
will be able to:

 To recognize and analyze functions of one real variable.

 To acquire ability with calculus of derivatives of functions of one real variable.

Edited by IE Publishing Department.

Last revised, August 2015

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Regarding the general skills, the student will develop:

 To address economic problems by means of abstract models.

 To solve the above formal models.
 To use the basic tools which are needed in the modern analysis of economic problems.

Throughout the course, the student should maintain:

 An inquisitive attitude when developing logical reasoning, being able to tell apart a proof from an
example.
 An entrepreneurial and imaginative attitude towards the examples studied.
 A critical attitude towards the formal results.

The course lectures will be based on combining theoretical explanations with several practical
exercises. Students should attempt to solve the exercises that will be given to them as homework
in each lecture.
Student participation is considered very important in order to acquire the skills needed to pose and
solve exercises.

3. CONTENT

TOPIC 1: INTRODUCTION

SESSIONS 1 - 3
WORKSHEET #1

SESSION 1
Course introduction and Syllabus presentation.
Topics covered: Real numbers, integer powers, basic rules of Algebra.
Recommended readings: Chapter 1 (book)

SESSION 2
Topics covered: Fractions, fractional powers, inequalities, intervals and absolute value.
Recommended readings: Chapter 1 (book)

SESSION 3
Topics covered: Equations, equations with parameters, quadratic equations, linear equations in two
unknowns, nonlinear equations.
Recommended readings: Chapter 2 (book)

LEVEL QUIZ [SESSION 4]

The quiz will comprise TEN multiple-choice questions and it will take 20 minutes. Neither graphical
nor programmable calculators are allowed for this Quiz.

TOPIC 2: FUNCTIONS OF ONE VARIABLE

SESSIONS: 4-10
WORKSHEET #2

SESSION 4
Topics covered: Concept of function, domain and range. The graph of a function. Distances and
circles.
Recommended readings: Chapter 4, sections 4.1, 4.2 & 4.3 (book).

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SESSION 5
Topics covered: Linear functions, Quadratic functions. Economic examples.
Recommended readings: Chapter 4, sections 4.4, 4.5 & 4.6 (book)

SESSION 6
Topics covered: Polynomials, rational functions, power functions, exponential and logarithmic
functions. Economic examples.
Recommended readings: Chapter 4, sections 4.7, 4.8, 4.9 & 4.10 (book)

SESSION 7
Topics covered: Shifting graphs, Compound functions, Piece-wise functions. Economic examples.
Recommended readings: Chapter 5, sections 5.1 & 5.2 (book)

SESSION 8
Topics covered: Symmetric functions. The inverse function: concept, computation and properties.
Recommended readings: Chapter 5, sections 5.3, 5.4 & 5.5 (book)

SESSION 9
Topics covered: Limits: definition, computation methods and basic rules. Infinite limits and limits at
infinity.
Recommended readings: Chapter 6, section 6.5, Chapter 7, section 7.9 (book)

SESSION 10
Topics covered: Applications of limits: asymptotes, and continuity of a function in a point. Continuity
of a function in an interval: the intermediate value theorem (Bolzano).
Recommended readings: Chapter 7, sections 7.8 & 7.10 (book)

MID-TERM EXAM [SESSION 11]

The exam will comprise THREE open questions from topics 1 and 2 and it will take 40 minutes.
Neither graphical nor programmable calculators are allowed for this Exam.

TOPIC 3: DIFERENTIATION

SESSIONS: 11-16
WORKSHEET #3

SESSION 11
Topics covered: Concept of derivative. Slopes and tangent lines. Increasing and decreasing
functions. Rates of change.
Recommended readings: Chapter 6, sections 6.1 & 6.2 (book)

SESSION 12
Topics covered: Basic rules for differentiation.
Recommended readings: Chapter 6, sections 6.3, 6.4 & 6.6. (book)

SESSION 13
Topics covered: The chain rule. Higher order derivatives.
Recommended readings: Chapter 6, sections 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10 & 6.11 (book)

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SESSION 14
Topics covered: Implicit differentiation. Differentiating the inverse function.
Recommended readings: Chapter 7, sections 7.1, & 7.3 (book)

SESSION 15
Topics covered: Linear approximations and Taylor polynomials. L’Hôpital rule.
Recommended readings: Chapter 7, sections 7.4, 7.5, 7.6 & 7.12 (book)

SESSION 16
Topics covered: Some economic applications. Elasticities
Recommended readings: Chapter 7, sections 7.7 & 7.12 (book)

TOPIC 4: OPTIMIZATION

SESSIONS: 17-19
WORKSHEET #4

SESSION 17
Topics covered: Extreme points.
Recommended readings: Chapter 8, section 8.1 (book)

SESSION 18
Topics covered: First and second order conditions. Extreme value theorem.
Recommended readings: Chapter 8, sections 8.2, 8.4 & 8.6 (book)

SESSION 19
Topics covered: Concave and convex functions. Economic examples.
Recommended readings: Chapter 8, section 8.3, 8.5 & 8.7 (book)

FINAL EXAMINATION (SESSION: 20)

The final exam will comprise FIVE open questions that will cover the whole subject. Neither
graphical nor programmable calculators are allowed.

4. METHODOLOGY AND WEIGHTING

All the material will be covered in class, so students should be present and active during the
lectures. It is important for students to take notes during the lessons, as these will be their guides to
study and support the material from the book (see Bibliography).

Every lecture will conclude with homework required for the next class. Although there will not be a
correction of every exercise, those that have posed problems for a non-negligible number of
students will be done during the course. It is highly recommended to do the exercises given as
homework during the course and not to leave them for a date close to the exam. The participation
in class will be evaluated as shown in the table in section 5.

Students are encouraged to work in groups when solving homework problems. But, as evaluation
will be strictly individual, it is highly recommended that each student try, at the same time, to solve
problems by himself.

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 TEACHING WEIGHTING ESTIMATED TIME A STUDENT
METHODOLOGY SHOULD DEDICATE TO
PREPARE FOR AND
PARTICIPATE IN:
Lectures 32% 15 hours
Exercises 64% 35 hours
Exams 4% 25 hours
TOTAL 100% 75 hours

5. EVALUATION SYSTEM (ORDINARY AND EXTRAORDINARY)

5.1. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS

In order to take the final exam, it is absolutely necessary to have attended classes at least 70%
of the attendance hours.

The level test, the mid-term exam as well as the final exam will be done without cheat
sheets. However, questions could include hints, if they were needed.

5.2. EVALUATION AND WEIGHTING CRITERIA

Your final grade in the course will be based on both individual and group work of different
characteristics that will be weighted in the following way:

A. Class participation 10%

B. Assignments 20%
C. Level quiz 10%
D. Mid-term Exam 20%
E. Final Exam 40%
TOTAL 100%

A. CLASS PARTICIPATION.
It will be worth 10% of the overall grade - students are expected to come prepared and participate
actively (and voluntarily) during lectures. Your class grade (assigned per session) will be based on
attendance, punctuality, participation, and class conduct – there may be a penalty if you create a
disruption, talk excessively, or use electronic devices. Your overall class grade will be obtained by
adding the class grades across all the sessions.

B. ASSIGNMENTS.
They will worth 20% of the overall grade. The assignments could be done both individually or
group, and some of them could require the use of mathematical software and spreadsheets.

C. LEVEL QUIZ.
It will count for 10% of the overall grade. This quiz will comprise TEN multiple-choice questions.
Neither graphical nor programmable calculators are allowed for this Quiz.

D. MIDTERM EXAM
They will count for 20% of the overall grade. This exam will consist of THREE open questions.
Neither graphical nor programmable calculators are allowed for this Quiz.

Notice that the date of the midterm exam could change. This is, the midterm exam date needs to
be considered with flexibility (around session 11). The precise date of the midterm exam will be
communicated to students at least two weeks ahead of time.

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E. FINAL EXAM
It is worth 40% of the overall grade. You need to score at least 3.5 on the final exam to pass
the overall course, even if you have already passed the course through the other course
assessments. The final exam will comprise FIVE open questions that will cover the whole subject
(i.e.: Topics 1-4). Neither graphical nor programmable calculators are allowed.

5.3. REGARDING THE LEVEL QUIZ

All the students will take a Level Quiz in the fourth session of the course. For those who pass this
quiz, their grades will be used to compute their final grades of "Mathematics I" according to the rule
stated in the above point. Regarding the students fail in passing the Level Quiz, they will be
enrolled in a supporting course on elementary Mathematics (see "Mathematics 0" Syllabus).
Nevertheless, all the students who pass the Level Quiz will have a second chance to improve their
grades at the end of the semester by taking the Final Quiz of "Mathematics 0" that it will be
approximately scheduled for the last week of the semester.

5.4. GUIDE TO JULY EXTRAORDINARY EXAMS

Those students, who fail in passing the course, can take a re-take exam in July. In order to pass
this re-take exam, it is necessary a minimum grade of 5.

RETAKE POLICY

Each student has 4 chances to pass any given course distributed in two consecutive academic
years (regular period and July period).

Students who do not comply with the 70% attendance rule will lose their 1st and 2nd chance, and go
directly to the 3rd one (they will need to enrol again in this course next academic year).

 Grading for retakes will be subject to the following rules:

o Students failing the course in the first regular period will have to do a retake in July (except
those not complying with the attendance rules, which are banned from this possibility).
o Dates and location of the July retakes will be posted in advance and will not be changed.
Please take this into consideration when planning your summer.
o The July retakes will consist on a comprehensive exam. The grade will depend only on the
performance in this exam; continuous evaluation over the semester will not be taken into
account. This exam will be designed bearing in mind that the passing grade is 5 and the
maximum grade that can be attained is 8.
o The non-July retakes (this happens in the ordinary period: students in their third attempt).
They should schedule an appointment with the professor during the first two weeks of
classes and commit to a study plan including additional assignments to make up for
attendance and participation. They will have to take the mid-term and final exams and submit
home assignments during the semester.
The grade in the retake in the ordinary period will be the highest one between the two following
options:
o 40% of the grade – course grade you earned through continuous evaluation (quizzes
included); 60% of the grade – retake exam. In order to pass, you need a minimum grade of 5
points in the retake.
o 100% of the grade of your retake exam.
o The maximum grade that a student may obtain in any type of retake will be 8 out of 10.
Students should always have clarity regarding the way they are graded and what is taken
into account when they are being evaluated. It is important to outline the weight for every
type of assessment (class participation, essay, exams).

We strongly urge you not to make any changes to the evaluation criteria once the course has
begun. If changes are necessary, try to involve the students as much as possible, ideally through
the class representatives. It is our experience that students view the course program as a de-facto
contract between professor and students, one that should not be altered unilaterally.

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6. BIBLIOGRAPHY

6.1. COMPULSORY

Title: Essential Mathematics for Economic Analysis

Author: Sydsæter, Knut and Hammond, Peter
Publisher / Edition / Year: Pearson Education Ltd./ 4th / 2012
ISBN / ISSN: 978-0-273-71324-1
Medium: PRINT ELECTRONIC

IE Library Permalink: http://ie.on.worldcat.org/courseReserves/course/id/10003920 

6.2. RECOMMENDED

Title: Mathematics for Economics and Business

Author: Jacques, Ian
Publisher / Edition / Year: Pearson Education Ltd./ 7th / 2013
ISBN / ISSN: 978-0-273-76356-7
Medium: PRINT ELECTRONIC

6.3. OTHER RESOURCES (INTERNET)

Khan Academy: www.khanacademy.org

Book website: http://global.mymathlabglobal.com
Math Studio: http://www.mathstudioapp.com/welcome/
Fooplot: http://fooplot.com/

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7. PROFESSOR’S BIO

ANTONIO GARCÍA-ROMERO

Antonio García-Romero studied Theoretical Physics at U. Granada (1986-1991) and holds a doctorate in
Economics from Autonomous University of Madrid (1997-2002). He is a permanent professor at IE University.

His professional experience is a blend of academic activity, advisory positions at public administration and,
recently, entrepreneurship. From 1998, he has been teaching Mathematics for Economics & Business at U.
Carlos III where he obtained various recognitions of teaching excellence. He also has taught at UOC (2000-
03), and U. Europea de Madrid (2007-09). In addition, he has a wide experience teaching at the graduate level
(Survey Research, Data Analysis, R&D Evaluation). He is member of the Advisory Board of the Management
of Healthcare Organizations at the IE Business School.

Research background
He has over 20 years of experience in Studies Science, Technology and Innovation. He is member of ENID
(European Network of Indicators Designers). He has published his research results in leading academic
journals, and he is referee for various national and international journals in the fields of Economics, Medicine
and Information Science.

Corporate experience
From the period 2003-13, he was the Head of the Biomedical Research Policy Unit at the Regional
Government of Madrid. In March 2013, he started his consultancy activity in the field of Science, Technology
and Innovation.

8. OFFICE HOURS; CONTACT INFORMATION

Office hours: To be announced

Contact details

 Telephone: +34 915 689 600

 e-mail: agr22@faculty.ie.edu
 LinkedIn: lnkd.in/SgKSD3

 Twitter: @Agarciarome

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9. CODE OF CONDUCT IN CLASS

1. Be on time: Students arriving more than 5 minutes late will be marked as “Absent”.
Only students that notify in advance in writing that they will be late for a specific session might be
granted an exception (to the discretion of the professor).

2. If applicable, bring your name card and strictly follow the seating chart. It helps faculty
members and fellow students learn your names.

3. Don’t leave the room during the lecture: Students are not allowed to leave the room during
the lecture. If a student leaves the room during the lecture, he/she will not be allowed to re-enter
and, therefore, will be marked as “Absent”.
Only students that notify that they have a special reason to leave the session early will be granted
an exception (to the discretion of the professor).

4. Do not engage in side conversation. As a sign of respect toward the person presenting the
lecture (the teacher as well as a fellow student), side conversations are not allowed. If you have a
question, raise your hand and ask it. It you do not want to ask it during the lecture, feel free to
approach your teacher after class.
If a student is disrupting the flow of the lecture, he/she will be asked to leave the classroom and,
consequently, will be marked as “Absent”.

5. Use your laptop for course-related purposes only. The use of laptops during the lectures
should be authorized by the professor. The use of Facebook, Twitter, or accessing any type of
content not related to the lecture is penalized. The student will be asked to leave the room and,
consequently, will be marked as “Absent”.

6. No cellular phones: IE University implements a “Phone-free Classroom” policy and, therefore,

the use of phones, tablets, etc. is forbidden inside your classroom. Failing to abide by this rule
entails expulsion from the room and will be counted as one Absence.

7. Escalation policy: 1/3/5. Items 4, 5, and 6 above entail expulsion from the classroom and the
consequent marking of the student as “Absent.” IE University implements an “escalation policy”:
The first time a students is asked to leave the room for disciplinary reasons (as per items 4, 5, and
6 above), the student will incur one absence, the second time it will count as three absences, and
from the third time onward, any expulsion from the classroom due to disciplinary issue will entail 5
absences.

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