ECTS
4 credits
Training structure
Faculty of Science
List of courses
Choose 1 out of 4
Calculus for PCSI
4 credits36hThe Earth and its resources
4 creditsElectronics 1
4 creditsMathematical Tools 2
4 credits
Calculus for PCSI
Level of education
Bachelor's degree +1
ECTS
4 credits
Training structure
Faculty of Science
Hours per week
36h
This course is intended for first-year students who have chosen the PCSI track. It presents the basic rules of calculation that will enable you to better follow the more formal courses, complete the tutorials, read and understand the books in the university library, etc. It complements the Mathematical Tools 1 and 2 courses. This course is mainly based on calculation practice through exercises. Course reviews are generally brief, and the emphasis is on acquiring certain automatic skills designed to master, accelerate, and streamline the most commonly used mathematical operations in science (at the first-year level). The chapters covered are: elementary calculations and operations, trigonometry (particularly geometric), complex numbers, vectors and coordinate systems, elementary geometry, basics of polynomials, and basics of statistics and probability.
The Earth and its resources
Level of education
Bachelor's degree +1
ECTS
4 credits
Training structure
Faculty of Science
Time of year
Autumn
This course unit aims to raise awareness among first-year students about issues relating to the use, exploitation, and management of the Earth's natural resources.
By way of introduction, an overview identifying the different types of resources (energy, minerals, water) and the major issues associated with them (economic and environmental) will be presented.
Different types of resources will then be presented in three stages:
- The concept of mineral resources will be explored in depth by presenting the journey of chemical elements, from their creation in the universe to their storage in the minerals that make up rocks and their uses in everyday technologies. This aspect will introduce basic concepts in solid-state chemistry and mineralogy, illustrated by mineralogy tutorials and practicals.
- The issues and functioning of geological reservoirs that trap natural resources will be addressed, focusing on conventional energy resources (hydrocarbons) and future resources (underground storage of resources, geothermal energy).
- Finally, the major challenges relating to water resources around the world will be explored in depth. The global water cycle on Earth will be presented and the key concepts needed to understand the major current issues will be identified (definitions of an aquifer and a hydrosystem and the main types encountered, chemical interactions between water and rocks, and an illustration of the processes involved in the chemistry of mineral and thermal waters).
Hourly volumes:
CM: 18
TD: 12
TP: 6
Electronics 1
ECTS
4 credits
Training structure
Faculty of Science
Time of year
Autumn
Mathematical Tools 2
ECTS
4 credits
Training structure
Faculty of Science
Time of year
Autumn
This course unit is an introduction to differential calculus of functions of several variables. It is intended for first-year PCSI students and provides an introduction to the mathematical tools used in thermodynamics, among other fields.