Differential Calculus

Objective

This course is part of the Introduction to Power Engineering module.

The key objectives of differential calculus are to.
- understand the concept of a derivative based on its definition
- know how to derive functions using tables or a calculator
- understand and be able to apply derivation as a tool for problem solving.

Content

Introduction to the derivative, definition of the derivative and calculations of the derivative. The derivative as a rate of change, studying the growth of a function, extreme values of the function, optimization and other applications.

Schedule

The course will be held from 12th January to 20th February 2026. Lessons take place twice a week on HAMK’s Valkeakoski campus, primarily on Wednesdays and Fridays. Detailed lesson schedules and session times are available in the student's personal timetable (lukkarit.hamk.fi, Tuudo, Pakki, or Moodle).

All practice assignments must be completed and submitted by 20th February 2026, the final day of the course.

The course assessment is based on practice assignments completed in Moodle as well as on midterm exams or a final exam.

The course includes two midterm exams, which will be organized on the Valkeakoski campus:
1st midterm exam: Friday 30th January 2026
2nd midterm exam or final exam: Friday 20th February 2026

Students may choose either to complete two midterm exams or only the final exam.

Retake Opportunities:

A passed exam may be retaken once to improve the grade.
A failed exam may be retaken twice.
Retake exams will be scheduled after the second midterm exam, and the exact dates will be announced in Moodle.
If a student fails to pass the course after two retake attempts, the entire course must be retaken, including all associated assignments.

Teaching methods

This course is meant for first-year students in the Electrical and Automation Engineering Degree Programme. A maximum of 10 seats are reserved for students from the Open University of Applied Sciences (Open UAS).

Lessons are delivered as in-person teaching on the Valkeakoski campus. There will be no remote lectures or recorded sessions. Classes are held twice a week. During the lessons, the lecturer will guide students through key example problems, after which students will work independently and/or collaboratively with peers on related practice exercises. The instructor will provide support as needed during the lessons.

Large amount of the practice assignments are automatically assessed STACK exercises, available through the Moodle learning platform. These STACK exercises form a part of the course assessment and must be completed and submitted by the end of the course.

The course follows a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) policy. Students are required to bring their own laptops to access course materials during lessons. Additionally, students should bring writing tools for taking notes and solving exercises.

Learning material

All materials required for the course are provided through HAMK’s Moodle learning platform (learn.hamk.fi). No separate course textbook is used.

All learning materials and assignments will be distributed via Moodle. Therefore, students must have their own laptops available during lessons, following the BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) principle.

The course requires the use of the wxMaxima computation software. You can download the software for free to your computer from the following link: https://wxmaxima-developers.github.io/wxmaxima/download.html

Class schedule

This course is equivalent to 2 ECTS credits, corresponding to approximately 54 hours of student work (1 ECTS credit = 27 hours).

Approximately 35 hours of instruction will be provided through in-person lessons on campus. The remaining workload consists of independent study, including solving practice exercises and reviewing course materials.

While some exercises will be completed during lessons, a portion must be solved independently outside of lesson hours. Therefore, students are expected to dedicate a few hours each week to studying outside of scheduled lessons.

The workload estimates provided above are indicative and may vary depending on the individual student's work habits and schedule.

Additional info

HAMK degree students register via the Pakki system.

Please note, that enrolling for open studies requires a Finnish personal identity number. A maximum of 10 seats are reserved for Open UAS students. All students must register for the course within the designated registration period.

The Open UAS study fee is 15 euros per credit (ECTS), payable at the time of registration.
More information about Open UAS registration, fees, and studies is available at: https://www.hamk.fi/open-uas/

Lessons are given only in HAMK’s Valkeakoski campus. Lecture materials are provided in Moodle. There are no remote lessons or recorded sessions.
Schedules can be found in the timetable system at https://lukkarit.hamk.fi. You can search by the group code mentioned in the course description (e.g., BEEAP25A7) or by the course name.

The course's Moodle learning platform at learn.hamk.fi will open at the start of the implementation. Registered students will automatically gain access to the platform.

Give course feedback at the end of the course / module in Pakki. For more information, please visit the student feedback page: https://www.hamk.fi/en/student-pages/student-feedback/

Open University of Applied Sciences students can provide course feedback via a browser at https://pakki.hamk.fi/spark.

Evaluation criteria

1-5