BNU1501

1 Welcome Dear Student We are pleased to welcome you to the Department of Decision Sciences and specifically to the module, BNU1501: Basic Numeracy. 2 What next? • You need a computer or laptop or tablet and internet access. • Join the myUnisa website directly. Go to . Click on the Claim UNISA Login at the top of the screen. You will then be prompted to give your student number in order to claim your initial myUnisa details and your myLife email login details. • Ensure that you are able to access your myLife email account. You have to access your myLife email account regularly or forward all your myLife emails to an email account you use daily. (If you do not know how to forward your myLife emails, google the instructions.) • Make sure that your cell phone number is correct on the system as Unisa sends announcements to you by SMS. Go to myUnisa, click on MyAdmin, Biographical Details and then Update Contact Details. • Check whether your examination centre is correct. Go to myUnisa, click on MyAdmin, Biographical Details and then Update Examination Centre. 3 Contact details Lecturer • The name and contact details of the lecturer responsible for this module will be announced on the BNU1501 module site on myUnisa. Write the name and contact details of the lecturer in the space below, for your convenience. • The BNU1501 lecturer will assist you in solving any problems you may experience with the contents of the study material (NOT with administrative matters). Contact the lecturer by e-mail or telephone. • Contact the lecturer in advance to make an appointment if you wish to see him or her in person. Your lecturer is not available on a full-time basis. • Always have your module code and student number at hand when you contact your lecturers. Department of Decision Sciences Tel: E-mail: 3 University To contact the University, follow the instructions on the Unisa website at under Contact us. Quote your student number when you contact the University. 4 Library The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources. For detailed information about the Unisa Library go to 5 Student support services • The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa at This brochure contains all the tips and information you need to succeed at distance learning and, specifically, at Unisa. • Information about services that are available to students living with disabilities can be obtained from Select form ARCSW:DO1 Visual impaired students should contact the lecturer as soon as possible after registration. 6 How to study online Studying fully online is different • It is imperative that you make use of myUnisa. The lecturer relies on it and posts important information on it. All the study material is posted under Official Study Material and Additional Resources on the BNU1501 module site. • Read your myLife emails regularly for important information. • All your assignments must be submitted online on myUnisa. Do NOT post your assignments to Unisa via the South African Post Office. • All communication between you and the University happens online, by email or by sms or by using the tools on the BNU1501 module site. Study plan This is a semester module and study time is limited. In this short time, you have to work through the study material and prepare for the examination. Therefore, start to study immediately! Follow the time management instructions below: • Plan your day. Draw up a study schedule that suits your personal circumstances, and stick to it. Discuss this with your family and friends so that they know and respect the fact that you are serious about your studies and that you will not be available at certain hours of the day. Allow yourself enough time to sleep. Self-discipline is the key to success when you are studying at a distance. 4 BNU1501/101 • Learn the content in the Study Guide chapter by chapter. Do not leave anything out. Work through the first chapter, thoroughly as if you are studying for the examination. Do all the examples and exercises. Do not proceed to the next exercise or chapter before you are sure that you have mastered the current one. If you study each chapter in this manner, you will have much more time for revision before the examination. • Study unit to be covered Study time Chapter 1: Unit 1.1 - 1.3 Week 1 Chapter 2: Unit 2.1 - 2.5 Week 2 Chapter 3: Unit 3.1 - 3.2 Week 3 Chapter 3: Unit 3.2 - 3.5 Week 4 Chapter 4: Unit 4.1 - 4.3 Week 5 Chapter 4: Unit 4.4 - 4.5 Week 6 Chapter 5: Unit 5.1 - 5.2 Week 7 Chapter 5: Unit 5.3 & Chapter 6 Week 8 Chapter 7: Unit 7.1 - 7.2.1 Week 9 Chapter 7: Unit 7.2.2 - 7.3 Week 10 Revision & Exam preparation Week 11 & 12 Semester 1 week 1 is 8 February 2021 - 14 February 2021 Semester 2 week 1 is 19 July 2021 - 25 July 2021 • The closing dates for the assignments are an indication of how much time you can spend on a chapter. Master the first three chapters for the first two assignments. The next four chapters have to be studied before the third and fourth assignment is attempted. • A semester is much shorter than you think. Start studying immediately to ensure that you have enough time for proper revision and repetition to ensure that you can answer the questions in the examination. Face-to-face tutors • Face-to-face contact sessions between the students and the tutor in a classroom setup, are offered at designated Unisa Regional Learning Centres. Face-to-face tutors are qualified to assist students. • To join these face-to-face tutorials, you have to go to the Unisa Regional Learning Centre nearest to you. Note that the regional manager will only arrange that UNISA appoints a tutor for that region if enough students enroll for a specific module at a certain centre. E-tutors • An e-tutor supports students online. E-tutors are qualified to assist students. • To get assistance from the e-tutors, log on to myUnisa, and get onto the BNU1501 site. Click on the Discussions tab on your left hand side. There will be a forum for all seven chapters and all four assignments of the module. Create a topic under your forum of interest, then post your question under your topic, example: under forum “Assignment 2” create a topic titled “Question 6” then post your question/uncertainty regarding question 6 of assignment 2. The e-tutor will then reply to your post. 5 7 The study material There will be no hard copy study guide, tutorial letters or assignments dispatched to students. We therefore urge students to download them online. The following will be available on the BNU1501 module site on myUnisa • One study guide • Tutorial Letter 101 (this tutorial letter) • The Assignment questions The rest of the study material The following will be available on the BNU1501 module site on myUnisa: • The assignment questions • The Workbook for extra examples and exercises • The solutions to the assignments (posted after the respective assignment has been closed for submission.) • Other tutorial letters, if necessary • Some old examination papers (The solutions to old examination papers are not available. Contact us if you get stuck with a question.) • There is no prescribed book for this module. The Prescribed Financial Calculator • You must purchase the prescribed SHARP EL 738FB Financial Calculator. • Unisa does not provide it. 8 Assessment Assessment plan • There are FOUR compulsory assignments for this module. They are posted on the BNU1501 module site on myUnisa. • You must submit your assignment answers online via the module site. Semester mark • All the assignments in a semester contribute to your semester mark. Submit assignments on time, as late assignments will not be marked. • The due date of an assignment is the last date on which the assignment should be submitted via myUnisa. No extension can be granted because the solutions are published shortly after the due dates. • The solutions to the four compulsory assignments will be posted on the module site on myUnisa, after the respective due dates. No hard copies of the solutions will be sent to students. • Each assignment’s mark will contribute 25% to your semester mark. • If you obtain the subminimum of 40% for the examination paper, your semester mark will contribute 20% and the examination mark 80% to your final mark. Therefore, final mark = 0,2 × semester mark + 0,8 × examination mark. • If you obtain less than 40% for the examination paper your semester mark will not count towards 6 BNU1501/101 your final mark. Assignment due dates Semester 1 Assignment 01 Assignment 02 Assignment 03 Assignment 04 Due date 1 March 2021 15 March 2021 29 March 2021 12 April 2021 Unique number Chapters 1, 2 & 3 1, 2, & 3 4 & 5 6 & 7 Semester 2 Assignment 01 Assignment 02 Assignment 03 Assignment 04 Due date 6 August 2021 20 August 2021 3 September 2021 17 September 2021 Unique number Chapters 1, 2 & 3 1, 2, & 3 4 & 5 6 & 7 IMPORTANT NOTE: EXAMINATION ADMISSION In order to gain examination admission, you must submit at least one assignment by 5 April 2021 for Semester 1 students, or by 30 August 2021 for Semester 2 students. That means, if you have not submitted Assignment 01 on time, you will have to submit Assignment 02 on time, to ensure that you are not disqualified to write the examination. 9 What is the module about? Students must acquire the following skills in BNU1501: • The skills to use mathematical operations like addition, subtraction, etc., and concepts like ratios and percentages. • The skills to use measurement concepts like the perimeter, area and volume of rectangles, squares, triangles, circles, prisms and cylinders. • The skills to use equations, formulas and graphs. These involve solving equations in one variable, manipulating formulas with more than one variable and finding the equations of graphs of linear functions in two variables. • The skills to solve every day numerical problems related to purchasing, home improvement, etc. in order to make a meaningful decision. This involves basic numerical operations to solve every day numerical problems. • The skills to solve financial problems to understand the impact on one’s future financial position. This involves basic financial calculations with respect to investment, asset financing and improvement, and retirement provision. 10 Examination • Students registered for the first semester write the BNU1501 examination in May/June 2021, and those of you registered for the second semester write the examination in October/November 2021. • Your personal examination timetable will be made available on myUnisa, under myAdmin. • Given the uncertainties surrounding the global pandemic (Covid-19) and the national lockdown regulations that need to be adhered to, there is a possibility of the exam NOT to be venue-based. If this 7 is the case, the exam will be written online and the instructions and exam link will be shared in good time. • If for some serious reason, like illness, you cannot write the examination, send an email to . • Information about the examination paper: – The duration of the examination is two hours. – The examination paper consists of multiple-choice questions only. – You mark the answers with an HB pencil on a mark-reading sheet. (See example and instructions below.) Make sure you have an HB pencil, an eraser and a sharpener with you. – A formula sheet will be attached to the examination paper. Formulas will not be labelled. – The blank pages in the examination paper can be used for rough work. These will not be marked. – The examination paper covers the whole study guide. – The use of a financial calculator is allowed in the examination.