MATH 247-01
Discrete Mathematics
Syllabus for Fall 2015
Mon, Wed, & Fri, 1:00 – 1:50pm
325 Gildemeister
Hall
Instructor: Dr. Eric Errthum Winona Email Username: eerrthum Office: 205 Gildemeister Hall Office Hours: See homepage. Or by appointment on any day.
Text: “Applied Discrete
Structures” by Al Doerr and Ken Levasseur.
A pdf of the book can be
downloaded from: http://faculty.uml.edu/klevasseur/ads2/
Other
materials will also be available on D2L Brightspace.
Calculator: You are allowed at most times to use a
calculator, but you must show work. At times you will be prohibited from doing
specific calculations on your calculator.
You are not allowed to use your cell phone, laptop, or any other device capable
of electronic communication in place of a calculator.
Prerequisite: MATH140 – Applied Calculus or MATH212 – Calculus I. (Though you can probably get by with a strong Pre-Calc background.)
Course Website: http://course1.winona.edu/eerrthum/math247
About This Course: This course is designed to fill students in on the side of mathematics that they missed out on as they worked toward calculus. In contrast to Calculus where it is essential that the real numbers have the property of being arbitrarily close, the objects studied in this course – such as integers, graphs, and statements in logic – do not vary smoothly in this way, but have distinct, separated values. Areas of application included digital circuits, operations research, etc.
Expectations: Students who complete this course with a passing grade are expected to be able to demonstrate the following skills: (i) Mastery of prerequisite material (mostly basic algebra), (ii) Compute in a variety of discrete systems including logic, sets, sequences, modular arithmetic, graphs, and trees, (iii) Solve recursion equations, (iv) Find optimal solutions on graphs and trees, (v) Communicate mathematical reasoning clearly.
Grading: Oral
Homework (scaled as needed) 100
points------ 16.7%
Written Homework
(scaled as needed) 150
points------ 25.0%
Midterms (2 @ 100
points) 200
points------ 33.3%
Final 150
points------ 25.0%
--------
600
points total
Grades: A = 90% (540 pts), B = 80% (480 pts), C = 70% (420 pts), D = 60% (360 pts). There will be no curving of individual assessments.
Homework: Homework will be completed in two ways. Oral Homework: According to the schedule below, on Homework Days students will be chosen randomly to present solutions to problems from the oral homework. Students will be graded a 0, 1, or 2 out of 2 corresponding to their level of preparedness (not necessarily correctness). When presenting a solution, you should be prepared to answer questions clarifying your work. It is not acceptable to write out a whole solution, but then when asked about a particular step to say “I don’t know.” To me this indicates you copied the homework from someone else without understanding it. Written Homework: The written portion of the homework is due the period after an Homework Day. This work should be written nicely or typed, stapled, and presented in order. Each readable problem will be graded out of 2 corresponding to its level of correctness and clarity.
Exams: There will be three in-class exams and one comprehensive final
exam. Exam dates are tentative until officially announced in class. The final
exam is tentatively scheduled for Monday,
December 7, 1:00pm – 3:00pm. The final exam may or may not include an oral
exam to be scheduled during finals week and/or a take-home portion to be handed
in during finals week.
Resources: Please stop by my office during office
hours to ask questions. Alternatively, you can try the Mathematics Achievement
Center (MAC) which is located in 313 Tau Center on West Campus and offers free
tutoring. More information available at: The MAC Website.
D2L Brightspace: Many course materials can be found on D2L Brightspace including homework solutions, exam solutions, and approximate grades. If at any point during the semester you would like to know your exact grade, please email the instructor.
Late/Missed Work: Late homework or missed exams will result in a score of zero. Make-up exams before the time of the normal exam will be given at the discretion of the instructor. If you miss class, it is your responsibility to obtain notes and assignments from fellow students. If you have an unavoidable absence, please inform the instructor beforehand.
Academic Dishonesty: Any type of academic dishonesty (cheating, copying, using a solutions manual to do homework, finding solutions online, etc.) will result in failure and will be reported to school authorities. If you are having trouble with an assignment, please see the instructor first.
Study Groups: Students are allowed to form study groups for the course. However, students are strongly encouraged to work on the homework individually first. All students must put homework solutions into their own words.
Note: This syllabus is subject to change if deemed necessary by the instructor.
Tentative Schedule of Events – Math 247
(subject to change)
|
Week Beginning |
Monday |
Wednesday |
Friday |
|
8/24 |
Introductions 1.1 |
1.1 1.2 HW: (pg 14) 1 – 5 |
1.5 Summation Notation HW: (pg 27) 1, 2bcd, 4, 8, 9, 10 |
|
8/31 |
Homework Day |
Written HW 1 Due 3.1 Logic Propositions and Operations 3.2 Truth Tables HW: (pg 51) 2, 3 |
3.2, cont. 3.3 Equivalence and
Implication Laws of Logic HW: (pg 53) 2 |
|
9/7 |
No Class |
1.3 Binary Representation HW: (pg 22) 2, 4, 6 HW: (pg 25) 2, 4, 6, 8 |
Homework Day |
|
9/14 |
Written HW 2 Due 3.X Digital Logic Gates and Circuits HW: Finish Handout |
4.1 HW: (pg 83) 1, 2, 4 |
Homework Day |
|
9/21 |
3.6 HW: (pg 65) 2, 4 |
3.8 Quantifiers HW: (pg 72) 2, 4, 6, 8 |
Homework Day |
|
9/28 |
Written HW 3 Due Review |
Exam I |
8.2 Sequences HW: (Handout) 13, 15, 16, 17, 18, 24, 25-32 |
|
10/5 |
8.1 Recursion |
3.7 Mathematical Induction HW: (pg 70) 1 – 5 |
Homework Day |
|
10/12 |
Written HW 4 Due 8.3 Recurrence Relations |
8.3 cont. HW: (pg 152) 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 14cd |
8.3, cont 8.X Finite Difference Methods |
|
10/19 |
Homework Day |
Written HW 5 Due X.1 Intro to Number Theory HW: Handout (also in D2L) |
Reading: AoPS Modular Arithmetic X.2 |
|
10/26 |
Homework Day |
Review |
Exam II |
|
11/2 |
6.1 Relations Graphs of Relations HW: (pg 108) 1-4 (pg 111) 1-6 |
6.3 Properties of Relations HW: (pg 115) 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10bc |
Homework Day |
|
11/9 |
Written HW 6 Due 9.1 Graph Theory Intro HW: 247OralGraphIntro (found in D2L) |
No Class Veteran’s Day |
9.4 Eulerian and Hamiltonian Circuits HW: (pg 205) 2, 4, 6 |
|
11/16 |
9.5 Max Flow – Min Cuts / Ford-Fulkerson Algorithm HW: Handout
(Written HW 7) |
Homework Day |
Written HW 7 Due 9.X Shortest Paths / Dijkstra’s Algorithm 10.1 Trees Intro HW: 247WrittenHWPaths (found in D2L) HW: 247OralTrees (found in D2L) |
|
11/23 |
10.X HW: 247WrittenHWMinTrees (found in D2L) |
No Class |
|
|
11/30 |
10.X Oral HW: Planar
(found in D2L) |
Homework Day |
Last Written HW due Review |
Final Exam (Exam III + Comprehensive)
Monday, December 7
1:00pm – 3:00pm
Welcome to
college math!
If this is your first math class taken in college, there are some important things you need to know. College math classes are run very differently from high school math classes. On the surface it may seem they are similar as you listen to the lecture and take notes, but there are significant underlying differences. Knowing these ahead of time can help you make the most of this coming semester.
#1: College math classes generally stay on the schedule in the syllabus. If there is one day allotted to the topic that is probably all of the class time that will be spent on it, even if “most” of the students “don’t get it.”
#2: It is expected that you will read the text and do the problems in order to learn the material, even if no one checks up on you. The instructor might never collect the homework, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t affect your grade.
#3: You will sometimes be responsible for material in the textbook that is not covered in class. If there is a text reading and/or homework problems covering a concept that was not discussed in class, you are still expected to learn it. If you don’t understand it, make an appointment with your instructor for help.
#4: Some material is covered only in class, is not in the textbook, and may not have any homework problems on it. If you miss class, you may miss content that you are responsible to know. If you have an unavoidable absence, be sure to get the notes and any announcements from a classmate.
#5: There will be test questions that don’t look “just like the homework.” In college, you are expected to focus on learning the concepts, not just memorizing how to do certain types of problems. These concepts can – and will – appear in very different forms on tests and quizzes.
#6: At times you will be expected to be able to explain why a problem is done a certain way in addition to being expected to do the problem. As you work on problems in class and on homework, don’t be satisfied with getting the correct answer; ask yourself why that method is logical, and how you could explain that logic to someone else.
#7: Most importantly, you are responsible for your own learning. If you attend class faithfully, get the notes and announcements if you have an unavoidable absence, read the text, do the homework and question yourself (as in #6), and still don’t understand something, it is up to you to get the extra help you need. Visit the instructor during office hours or make a special appointment to ask questions, form a study group, etc. There are many resources and people willing and happy to help, but you need to take the initiative and seek out the help you need.
Good luck on a happy and successful semester!
Commitment to Inclusive Excellence
WSU recognizes that our individual differences can deepen our understanding of one another and the world around us, rather than divide us. In this class, people of all ethnicities, genders and gender identities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, disabilities, socioeconomic backgrounds, regions, and nationalities are strongly encouraged to share their rich array of perspectives and experiences. If you feel your differences may in some way isolate you from WSU’s community or if you have a need of any specific accommodations, please speak with the instructor early in the semester about your concerns and what we can do together to help you become an active and engaged member of our class and community.
Campus Resources
- Student Support Services, Krueger Library 219, 457-5465 www.winona.edu/studentsupportservices/
- Inclusion and Diversity Office, Kryzsko Commons Room 236, 457-5595 www.winona.edu/inclusion-diversity/
- Access Services, Maxwell 314, 457-5878 www.winona.edu/accessservices/
- Counseling and Wellness Services, Integrated Wellness Complex 222, 457-5330 www.winona.edu/counselingcenter/
- GLBTA Advocate, contact Counseling and Wellness Services for name and number of the current Advocate
- Advising Services, Maxwell 314, 457-5878 www.winona.edu/advising/
- Tutoring Services, Krueger Library 220, 457-5680 http://www.winona.edu/tutoring/
- Writing Center, Minné Hall 348, 457-5505 www.winona.edu/writingcenter/
- Math Achievement Center, Tau 313, 457-5370 http://www.winona.edu/mathematics/mac/
Details about Campus Resources
- Two good places to help you find resources of all kinds on campus are Student Support/Campus Services and the Inclusion and Diversity Office. Both offices are dedicated to helping students of all races, ethnicities, economic backgrounds, nationalities, and sexual orientations. They can facilitate tutoring and point you to a wide range of resources.
- If you have a disability, the Access Services office can document it for your professors and facilitate accommodations. If you have a documented disability that requires accommodation, please contact Access Services as soon as possible.
- College can be very stressful. Counseling offices on both campuses are here to help you with a wide range of difficulties, ranging from sexual assault, depression, and grief after the loss of a loved one to stress management, anxiety, general adjustment to college, and many others.
- The GLBTA Advocate can direct people to GLBT resources on and off campus. In addition, the advocate is responsible for documenting homophobic and transphobic incidents on campus and working with the appropriate channels to get these incidents resolved.
- To find out about web registration, placement tests, program requirements and support tools to help students succeed, visit the Advising Services office and website for answers to all your questions!
- On the Rochester campus, the UCR Learning Center provides help with both the development and the writing of papers.
- On the Winona campus, for help with understanding the concepts of a particular class or understanding the requirements of an assignment, Tutoring Services offers three types of tutoring: drop-in appointments, 1-on-1 tutoring, and group sessions. You can visit them in the Library (220) or go on-line and use TutorTrac to schedule a session.
- For help specifically with writing and the development of papers, the English department has a Writing Center that is staffed by trained graduate students pursuing their Master’s degree in English. The Writing Center is located in Minné Hall 348. You can make an appointment on the sign-up sheet on the door or call 457-5505.
- For help specifically with understanding math concepts and solving math problems, the Math Achievement Center (MAC) is staffed with friendly undergraduate tutors who will help you work through difficult material. The MAC is located in Tau 313 and provides free tutoring for all students in math, statistics, or math education courses. The center is open Mon-Fri, and Sunday evening.
The Standard Disclaimer
applies.
© Eric Errthum, November 2015, all rights reserved.