The primary goal of this five-week module is to introduce students with minimal mathematical background to the formal tools used in the first-year Principles of Economics module and the Data Skills module as well as the second-year modules of Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. To achieve this goal, we begin by getting up to speed with the bare-bones basics of set theory, mathematical logic, and the concept of functions. Next, we examine the most common functional forms used in economics and analysing their behaviour using conventional graphs. We then move on to the basics of differential calculus, focusing on the rules of differentiation and the ways derivatives are used in unconstrained and constrained optimisation. Throughout the module, we emphasize applications of the mathematical tools we learn to economic models and data. 

By the end of the course students should be able to:

• Be familiar with the basic terms, rules, and notation of mathematical logic and set theory;
  
• Understand the concept of a function;
• Illustrate the behaviour of (real-valued) functions (of one or two real arguments) using graphs;
  
• Analyse the behaviour of (real-valued) functions (of a one or more real arguments) using derivatives, and in particular: 
• Find the local and global maxima of (well-behaved) functions
• Understand and apply the basic principles of constrained optimisation;
  
• Solve basic economic models and analyse their "comparative statics".