difficulty of maths required for commerce foundation units (1 Viewer)

[craxyfox]

Hi guys, I was wondering what the maths is like for ACST101, ECON111 and the two accounting units?
I'm studying B Arts atm, however I'm thinking of transferring next year into either B arts & commerce or the new B Commerce with B Arts-Psychology

I didn't study maths for my HSC , but I want to major in commercial law anyway (which can also be a major for B Arts), so I would only really need to get through the maths involved in the foundation units

 

[MrBean1561]

Well this is my opinion on the difficulty of the maths for those units, and I wasn't that good in maths.

ACST101 - not too hard or anything, stay on top of all revision and make sure to practice
ACCG106 - the maths isn't hard at all
ECON111 - this unit doesn't involve much maths and it isn't difficult

 

[craxyfox]

thanks! the handbook suggested taking MATH123 but then I would be overloading & wouldn't really need it for further studies anyway

 

[MrBean1561]

thanks! the handbook suggested taking MATH123 but then I would be overloading & wouldn't really need it for further studies anyway

Yea don't take that unit, it would be a waste of time and it wouldn't really help you for any of those units. At least that's what others have told me.

 

[craxyfox]

also, if I decided to major or minor in economics, would the maths still be manageable without taking extra math units?

 

[Flying]

Well this is my opinion on the difficulty of the maths for those units, and I wasn't that good in maths.

ACST101 - not too hard or anything, stay on top of all revision and make sure to practice
ACCG106 - the maths isn't hard at all
ECON111 - this unit doesn't involve much maths and it isn't difficult

What's the difference between ACCG100 and ACCG106? How do you know which one to choose?

 

[MrBean1561]

What's the difference between ACCG100 and ACCG106? How do you know which one to choose?

ACCG100 aka Accounting 1A is for the accounting majors, while 106 is for non-accounting students. So 106 is easier as you don't go into as much depth as 100.

My academic advisor during enrollment last year advised me to take 106.

 

[VIPPER]

I'm not sure about macquarie but I recently completed a unit similar to econ111.

At most, you'll have to know how to:
- find the area of a triangle (DWL, CS, PS)
- draw graphs (let x = 0 to get y; let y = 0 to get x)
- differentiate total cost and total revenue to obtain marginal cost and marginal revenue respectively* (first principles differentiation)
- rearrange equations and have a solid knowledge of basic algebra

Thankfully I got decent marks for this unit despite being totally clueless at drawing graphs. I'd seriously recommend brushing up on algebra and learning differentiation in the holidays (you only need to know the basic rules, e.g. 3x = 3, 3 = 0, 3x^2 = 6x, 3x^3 = 9x^2). I did this before semester 1 and I'm glad I did - I was absolutely petrified at the thought of sitting in lectures not understanding what was going on.

 

[rayy_bann]

Hi!

It's my first sem, and out of the subjects you mentioned, I only done ECON111. From my experience, I can confidently say that for most people, the math is very minimal in this subject. I believe calculations only truly come into play when you are finding elasticity (if I recall). However, there are several graphs to understand and some concepts can be confusing. Which is why some people find it challenging.

I don't know if you have done HSC Economics, but in comparison to Yr 11/12 Economics work, I found it to be different in some aspects (except for the basic demand/supply and elasticity) . Overall, I found Microeconomics to be an enjoyable subject!

 

[MrBean1561]

Hi!

It's my first sem, and out of the subjects you mentioned, I only done ECON111. From my experience, I can confidently say that for most people, the math is very minimal in this subject. I believe calculations only truly come into play when you are finding elasticity (if I recall). However, there are several graphs to understand and some concepts can be confusing. Which is why some people find it challenging.

I don't know if you have done HSC Economics, but in comparison to Yr 11/12 Economics work, I found it to be different in some aspects (except for the basic demand/supply and elasticity) . Overall, I found Microeconomics to be an enjoyable subject!

Did you have Prashan as your lecturer by any chance?

 

[rayy_bann]

Did you have Prashan as your lecturer by any chance?

Nah, I had Andrea Chareunsy. She is realllly good!

 

[Azure]

Prashan is one of the best lecturers I've ever had at MQ. Still friends with him.

@OP: I didn't study maths in the HSC either, so I understand your dilemma.

ACST101 is pretty straight forward but sometimes some small things can stump somebody who hasn't done maths before. In that case, PAL is an excellent way to get through these issues. Alternatively, the numeracy centre can help. Most of the maths really consists of substituting things into formulas and it can be picked up as you go along. They require you to complete a maths quiz before you're allowed to begin the formal assessments for the unit. The math quiz is done online and covers all the maths you'll need throughout the unit. If you can get through it, you'll be fine.

ECON111 doesn't have much maths at all. You'll be required to draw a lot of models/diagrams. I think the hardest maths in the unit is finding the slope of a curve (Change in X / Change in Y type of difficulty). You're taught how to do it anyway and you'll literally pick it up in 30 seconds, even if you didn't study maths in the HSC. Don't worry too much.

Regarding the accounting units, if you can add, divide, subtract and multiply you can do them. A lot of people think that accounting is all about maths, but it's actually not. This actually applies to the entire accounting major and also the Professional Accounting degree.

 

[MrBean1561]

Nah, I had Andrea Chareunsy. She is realllly good!

Ah ok, I had Michael Dobbie back when I did the unit last year. He was okay, but he normally didn't get around to finishing the last few slides.

The one time I did have Prashan because my normal lecturer was away, I actually enjoyed that lecture haha

 

[craxyfox]

thanks for the help & input guys!