Syllabus

Deadlines for Registration/Add/Drop/Credit Change

Discrete math is the mathematics of computing. "The mathematics of modern computer science is built almost entirely on discrete math, in particular combinatorics and graph theory. This means that in order to learn the fundamental algorithms used by computer programmers, students will need a solid background in these subjects." From the boolean logic of the bits to the algorithms of internet search and the representations of online friendships, discrete mathematics is an integral part of computing. in this course, you will learn these mathematical foundations.

Textbooks

Course Topics

Lecture Notes

Class Web-info

Homework

Programming Projects

Exams

Grades

How To Get The Most Out Of This Course

Textbooks:

· Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications (7th ed.) by Kenneth Rosen

There is a whole bunch of good discrete math and data structures texts that you may want to look at; it sometimes helps to have another voice say the same things a different way.

Course Topics:

· Logic and Proofs.

· Sets, Functions, Sequences, Sums, and Matrices.

· Number Theory and Cryptography.

· Induction and Recursion

· Combinatorics.

· Runtime Analysis

· Relations and Graphs

Lecture Notes:

The slides that will be available on the course website are a good starting point for the class' lecture notes. They do not include everything that I say in class or what the book covers. Hopefully, the books, the slides, my lectures, and the office hours will cover the concepts.

Class Web-info:

The class homepage is http://www.cs.uic.edu/CS151/WebHome.
For assignment, solutions, project submissions, and grades we will use UIC Blackboard system.

Most handouts and important information will be posted there ( here). Consequently, it is important that you become comfortable immediately using some WWW browser and familiarize yourself with Blackboard. See the TA for help in the event that this is all new to you.

Homework:

There will be problem sets every week, usually released on a Friday, and due by the beginning of class the following Friday. Late assignments will be accepted, and given a 20% deduction if submitted within 24 hours after the due date, and 100% deduction if submitted after.

You can submit your homeworks by email, to the TA teaching your your discussion class, in word, pdf or a ps file.

Cheating will not be tolerated.

Not only is cheating a violation of the campus code of integrity, which might incur a reduced grade, expulsion from the class or university, it is also a slight against the other students in the class who will give you dirty looks. Refer to the UIC Student Conduct Process for guidlines and policy on student integrity and possible reprocussions.

Please read the Guidelines for Written Homeworks before doing the first assignment.

Exams:

There will be one midterm and one final exam. The midterm exam will be scheduled in class. You will be responsible for all material covered in lectures, homeworks, and assigned readings.

The time and location for the final (2 hour) exam isdecided by the university based on the meeting time of the class. The final will be Tue, May 5, 8:00 - 10:00 am.

All exams will be closed book, closed notes, closed neighbor, no calculators, just a writing implement and your mind.

Grades:

Tentative weighting scheme (the instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to these weights based on her a posteriori evaluation of the relative difficulty and fairness of the exams and homeworks). The final grade is computed as follows:
(average of the homeworks) * .50 + midterm*.1 + final *.4

Grades will be posted online on the UIC Blackboad system.

If you have a question or complaint about the way a homework or exam problem was graded, then, within one week of the date the assignment is returned, you should either explain what it is on a separate piece of paper and give it to the TA along with the assignment or, better yet, come into office hours and get it straightened out then. We want everyone happy and satisfied, but we can't do much in the couple of minutes before and after class.

How To Get The Most Out Of This Course:

· Attend lectures.

· Read the books.

· If you have trouble solving a homework problem, try doing some easier related problems first.

· Go over the printed solutions when they become available, and make sure you understand them.

· Go to the TA or instructor to discuss any misunderstandings you may have.

· Think! A big part of this class is being clever, but in just the right way.

If you do the homeworks, understand them and the solutions, implement the projects, then you will probably do well on the exams and do well in the class. Your life will be beautiful and fulfilled, you'll be forever happy and there will be peace on Earth.

(adapted from Lenny Pitt andJeff Erickson)