| Class meeting | MWF 1:00–1:50 Austin 304 |
|---|---|
| Instructor | Karl Abrahamson |
| Office | Science and Technology C-113 |
| Office hours | MW 2:00–3:00 and TTh 1:30–2:30 or by appointment |
| Phone | 328-9689 |
| abrahamsonk@ecu.edu | |
| Course web page | www.cs.ecu.edu/~karl/2427/spr13/ |
| My web page | www.cs.ecu.edu/~karl/ |
| Text | Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (seventh edition) by Kenneth Rosen |
The prerequisite for this course is MATH 1065 or 1066 or equivalent mathematical experience.
This course introduces the student to theoretical and applied mathematical concepts that are relevant to computer science and that are discrete in nature (as opposed to continuous, such as the study of real numbers). It also concentrates on careful mathematical reasoning, with proofs done througout. Topics include the following.
Propositional and first order logic.
Sets, set notation and principles of sets.
Functions and properties of functions.
Relations and properties of relations.
Mathematical induction.
Permutations, combinations and counting.
Graphs and trees
After succesfully completing this course, you should be able to do the following.
Be able to critique and evaluate a mathematical proof and argue for its correctness or incorrectness.
Develop correct mathematical proofs following common patterns, including proof by induction.
Express statements in propositional or first order logic.
Evaluate the correctness of elementary statements in propositional or first order logic.
Exhibit understanding of basic operations and terminology of sets, functions and relations.
Solve elementary counting problems, including those involving permutations and combinations.
Define terminology, carry out elementary operations and develop elementary proofs concerning graphs and trees.
There will be four midterms, on February 8, March 1, April 5, April 26, plus a comprehensive final exam from 11:00–1:30 on Monday, May 6 in the regular classroom.
Each of the four midterms will count for 11% of the grade and the final exam will count for 25%, Additionally, there will be homework that will count a total of 21% of the grade. Attendance will count for the remaining 10%.
Tentative cutoffs for grades will tentatively be as follows. These cutoffs will not be raised.
| A | 93% | |
| A– | 90% | |
| B+ | 87% | |
| B | 83% | |
| B– | 80% | |
| C+ | 77% | |
| C | 73% | |
| C– | 70% | |
| D+ | 67% | |
| D | 63% | |
| D– | 60% |
Attendance is 10% of your grade. I will take off 2 points out of 10 for each unexcused absence.
You are expected to attend class. You are responsible for announcements and assignments given in class. If you miss a class, it is up to you to obtain notes and any other information that was provided in the class. Excuses that you did not know about something because you did not come to class and did not obtain the information will not count for anything at all.
Those who choose not to attend class can count on doing poorly in this course. If you choose not to attend class, then you must live with the consequences of that decision, however bad they are.
There will be no makeups for missed midterms. If you miss one midterm with a valid excuse then your score on that midterm will be set to the average of your scores on the other three midterms. That only applies to the first missed midterm. Otherwise your score on the missed midterm will be 0.
No incompletes will be issued in this course except for extraordinary circumstances, and even then only if you are nearly done already, and have done work of acceptable quality so that it is realistic that you can pass the course.
Attend class. Arrive on time.
Avoid distractions during class. Do not send or receive text messages, read your email, play games, etc. If you think that you can learn without paying attention, you can count on getting a low grade.
Do not rely solely on attending lectures. Read your notes and relevant chapters of the book twice. Take a break (like a whole day) in between. You will learn much more that way. Rather than continuing to read again and again, it will help more if you make cards with key concepts and definitions on them. Quiz yourself to see whether you know them. Try organizing them on a table to understand the relationships between them. Go through proofs and make sure that you understand why they are correct. Be critical.
Do not allow yourself to fall behind. Work on the homework early. Do not wait until just before the deadline.
Schedule time to work outside of class.
If you are having trouble, seek help soon. Do not wait until it is too late. The last day of classes is not the time to begin looking for help.
Get adequate sleep. Sleep is important both before and after you learn new concepts. Sleep before enables you to concentrate, and sleep afterwards is critical for moving new information into permanent memory.
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