BNU1501/101/3/2020

Tutorial Letter 101/3/2020

Basic Numeracy
BNU1501

Semesters 1 and 2

Department of Decision Sciences

Important information
• Read this letter carefully.
• Register on myUnisa, activate and make use of your myLife email
address, and, make sure you have regular access to this module’s web-
site, BNU1501-20-S1 or BNU1501-20-S2.

Bar code
Contents

1 Welcome 3

2 What next? 3

3 Contact details 3

4 Library 4

5 Student support services 4

6 How to study online 4

7 The study material 5

8 Assessment 6

9 What is the module about? 7

10 Examination 7

11 The Sharp El-738FB calculator 10

12 Let’s start. 10

2
 BNU1501/101

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 https://my.unisa.ac.za. 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 Cen-
tre.

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: 012 433-4684
E-mail: qm@unisa.ac.za

3
University
To contact the University, follow the instructions on the Unisa website at https://unisa.ac.za 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 http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library.

5 Student support services

• The Study @ Unisa brochure is available on myUnisa at www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies.

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
https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Apply-for-admission/Students-with-disabiliti
Select form ARCSW:DO1
http://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Register-to-study-through-Unisa/Forms-&-codes
http://libguides.unisa.ac.za/disability
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.
• 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.
• You will be grouped and allocated to an e-tutor after the registration process has ended. You will
receive a system-generated myLife e-mail notification, informing you that you have been allocated
to a specific e-tutor. To contact your tutor, log on to myUnisa and click on an additional tab for
example BNU1501-20-S1-1E or BNU1501-20-S2-2E, etc. Communicate with your e-tutor via the
Discussion Forum on this e-tutor group site.

7 The study material

The Despatch Department

The Despatch Department should supply you with hard copies of the following:
• One study guide
• Tutorial Letter 101 (this tutorial letter)
The above will be despatched to you as soon as possible. However, we recommend strongly that you make
use of the study material that is posted on the BNU1501 module site on myUnisa.

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 submis-
sion.)
• Other tutorial letters, if necessary

5
 • 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
your final mark.

Assignment due dates

Semester 1
Assignment 01 Assignment 02 Assignment 03 Assignment 04
Due date 20 February 2020 5 March 2020 20 March 2020 6 April 2020
Unique number 823796 806598 532525 847163
Chapters 1, 2 & 3 1, 2, & 3 4, 5, 6 & 7 4, 5, 6 & 7
Semester 2
Assignment 01 Assignment 02 Assignment 03 Assignment 04
Due date 7 August 2020 21 August 2020 2 September 2020 16 September 2020
Unique number 788360 816280 858213 815191
Chapters 1, 2 and 3 1, 2 and 3 4, 5, 6 and 7 4, 5, 6 and 7

6
 BNU1501/101

IMPORTANT NOTE: EXAMINATION ADMISSION

In order to gain examination admission, you must submit at least one assignment by 5 April 2020 for
Semester 1 students, or by 30 August 2020 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 2020, and
those of you registered for the second semester write the examination in October/November 2020.
• Your personal examination timetable will be made available on myUnisa, under myAdmin.
• If for some serious reason, like illness, you cannot write the examination, send an email to
exams@unisa.ac.za.
• 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.

7
8
BNU1501/101

9
11 The Sharp El-738FB calculator

You must purchase the SHARP EL-738, the SHARP EL-738F or the SHARP EL-738FB (newest version)
calculator. This calculator can do basic calculations and financial calculations.

Display screen

Key operation
keys
Power ON/OFF

{
and clear key

Cursor keys

Mode key

Numerical and
arithmetic keys

Important:
Study the notes on the use of the prescribed financial calculator that are posted under
Additional Resources on the module site. They include detailed examples.

12 Let’s start.

Enjoy the journey!

Your BNU1501 lecturer

10