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- Description
About this Course
About the Course
In this course, Professor Keith Ball (University of Warwick) gives an introduction to graphs, covering topics A8-A10 in the Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Mathematics (1MA1) Specification for Foundation Tier. In the first mini-lecture, we provide motivation for why studying graphs is useful and give an overview of what we will learn in the course. In the second mini-lecture, we explore the coordinate plane, discuss how to identify points on a graph, and introduce the four quadrants that make up the coordinate plane (Topic A8). In the third mini-lecture, we explore straight-line graphs and compare lines with various steepnesses (Topic A9). In the fourth mini-lecture, we explore the equation of a straight line (y = mx + c) and relate the numbers m and c to properties of the graph, where we see that m is the gradient and c is the y-intercept (Topic A10). In the fifth mini-lecture, we consider equations of lines written in forms other than y = mx + c, such as the equations of horizontal and vertical lines (Topic A9, A10). In the sixth mini-lecture, we explore how to find equations of lines given various properties, such as a point on the line and the gradient or two points on the line (Topic A9). Finally, in the seventh mini-lecture, we discuss parallel lines and see how to find lines that are parallel to a given line (Topic 9).
About the Lecturer
Keith Ball is a Professor of Mathematics and the University of Warwick. His research interests are in functional analysis, high-dimensional and discrete geometry, and information theory. From 2010-14, Professor Ball served as the scientific director of the International Centre for Mathematical Sciences (ICMS) based in Edinburgh. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society in 2013 and awarded the Whitehead Prize by the London Mathematical Society in 1992. Professor Ball is the author of Strange Curves, Counting Rabbits, and other Mathematical Explorations (2006), a recreational maths book aimed at those familiar with basic calculus.