COURSE SYLLABUS AND OUTLINE
CSE 2500 (Section 001)
INTRODUCTION TO DISCRETE SYSTEMS
Read the syllabus carefully, and save it for future reference.
| LECTURE:
WGC 200, Tue/Thur 2:00pm — 3:15pm
|
|
| INSTRUCTOR:
Jinbo Bi Phone: 486-1458 Email: jinbo@engr.uconn.edu Office hours: Thur. 3:30 pm — 4:30pm or by appointment Office: ITEB 233 |
TEACHING ASSISTANT:
Misagh Kordi Phone: Email: misagh.kordi@uconn.edu Office hours: Mon. 3:00 — 4:00pm or by appointment Office: ITEB 311 |
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
This course explores fundamental mathematical methods for characterizing and analyzing discrete systems, with an emphasis on application to the analysis of computer systems and computational structures.
PREREQUISITES:
Prerequisites: CSE 1102 (Object-Oriented Design and Programming) or equivalent. Those without such prior backgrounds should contact the instructor and get her permission to register this course.
TEXTBOOK:
The required textbook for this course is
Discrete Mathematics with Applications by Susanna S. Epp, 4th Edition, Brooks/Cole. (ISBN: 0495391328)
LECTURES:
The conceptual and theoretical course contents will be delivered primarily in the lectures, complemented by readings from the text book. You should review readings prior to attending a lecture, and review the readings again, along with any notes you took, after the lecture. Attending the lectures is not a substitute for reading the text in the book.
Some of the topics may seem difficult at first. It is therefore absolutely essential to read the text and ask questions whenever something is said which you do not understand.
You are expected to attend all lectures. If you are unable to attend a lecture because of sickness or similar reasons, make sure you get the notes from a classmate. If you are out of class for an extended period of time because of sickness, notify your instructor as soon as possible, and see your instructor immediately upon your return in order to determine how to catch up. If you have missed a significant portion of the semester due to illness, it is recommended that you resign from the course.
You are strongly encouraged to attend the lectures. Attendance will be taken in class from time to time.
GRADING:
The grade breakdown is as follows. I reserve the right to make adjustments to the breakdown if I feel it is necessary.
- Assignments (6-8): 30%
- Mid-term Examinations (2): 40%
- Final Examination (1): 30%
Assignments
Each homework contains a few questions mainly from the textbook. The purpose of these homeworks is to give you feedback on your understanding of the material, and to reinforce you the concepts discussed in class. The assignment should be handed as a paper copy in the class the day it is due, and should be printed neatly and legible. Note that assignments handed in late will not be graded.
Examinations
There will be two in-class preliminary examinations, carrying 20% and 20% respectively, together with a comprehensive final examination (30%) at the end of the term. Mid-term exams will be held on dates to be announced in lecture. The final examination will be given on a date to be specified by the University. Do not make travel plans for times during the examination period until the final examination schedule has been posted.
If you miss an examination because of sickness or other acceptable reasons, visit a physician or other related personnel and obtain a note detailing the period during which you were medically incapable of taking the exam. Notify your instructor immediately via email or telephone (voice mail) if you are going to miss an exam before the exam takes place, unless medically impossible. See your instructor as soon as you return to class.
HUSKYCT:
A HuskyCT site has been set up for the class. You can access it by logging in with your NetID and password. You should check your HuskyCT regularly for class materials, problem clarifications, changes in class schedule and other class announcements. We use the HuskyCT site to organize student grades and provide solutions to homeworks and exams as well. This course syllabus can also be found at the instructor’s course website http://jinbo-bi.uconn.edu/Spring2014_discrete_math.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY:
We will follow the University Policy on Academic Integrity. For more information, see the related Student Conduct Rules. The URL of the UConn Student Conduct Rules web page is:
http://www.dos.uconn.edu/student_code.html
All academic work must be your own. Collaboration, usually evidenced by unjustifiable similarity in assignments, is never allowed. After an appropriate informal review, if any students are found in violation of maintaining academic integrity, sanctions will be imposed, which can be as severe as failing the course for reasons of academic dishonesty. Especially flagrant violations will be considered under formal review proceedings, which can call for harsher sanctions including expulsion from the University. If you ever have any questions or concerns regarding the policy, particularly as it relates to this course, please talk to your instructor.
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity free from fraud and deception and is an educational objective of this institution. Academic dishonesty includes, but is not limited to, cheating, plagiarizing, fabricating of information or citations, facilitating acts of academic dishonesty by others, having unauthorized possession of examinations, submitting work for another person or work previously used without informing the instructor, or tampering with the academic work of other students.
INCOMPLETE GRADES:
We will follow the University Policy on Incomplete Grades. Take the time to familiarize yourself with the contents of the related pages.
Generally, incomplete (“I”) grades are not given. However, very rarely, circumstances truly beyond the student’s control prevent him or her from completing work in the course. In such cases the instructor can give a grade of “I”. The student will be given instructions and a deadline for completing the work, usually no more than 30 days past the end of the semester. University and department policy dictate that “I” grades can be given only if the following conditions are met:
- An Incomplete will only be given for missing a small part of the course.
- An Incomplete will only be given when the student misses work due to circumstances beyond his/her control.
- An Incomplete will only be given when the student is passing the course except for the missed material.
- An Incomplete is to be made up with the original course instructor within the time specified by the appropriate University regulation (see appropriate document above), and usually within the following semester.
- An Incomplete will not be given to allow the student to informally re-take the entire course, and have that grade count as the grade of the original course.
Incompletes can not be given as a shelter from poor grades. It is the student’s responsibility to make a timely resignation from the course if he or she is doing poorly for any reason. The last day to resign the course is Monday, September 10th.
DISABILITIES:
If you have a diagnosed disability (physical, learning, or psychological) that will make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, or that requires accommodations such as recruiting note-takers, readers, or extended time on exams or assignments, please advise the instructor during the first two weeks of the course so that we may review possible arrangements for reasonable accommodations.
TENTATIVE COURSE OUTLINE:
The following is a tentative outline of the major topics we will cover in the course.
- Logic
- Elementary Number Theory
- Elementary Set Theory
- Proof Strategies
- Mathematical Induction
- Recursion
- Counting Techniques
- Functions and Relations
- Probability or Elementary Graph Theory (optional)
Additional materials may be discussed in class, subject to schedule and class feedback, etc.
Jinbo Bi 2014/1-2014/5
Last revised: 1/20/2014