MATH/COMP 22: Section 2
Discrete Mathematics
FALL 2009

Announcements

11/10 Prof Cowen's weekly office hours are MOVING for the rest of the semester. They will now be from 2-3pm on Mondays starting Monday, November 16. NO OFFICE HOUR this Friday (Nov 13). As always, happy to schedule additional times via email.

10/26 Sam McCauley's office hours for Tues, October 27th ARE MOVED to Thurs, October 29th. Same time 4:30-5:30pm, same place.

As requested here are Selected solutions to HW4

10/2 EXAM 1 will be held on Tuesday, Oct 13th in class (TUFTS ON A MONDAY SCHEDULE). It will cover Chapters 1 and 2 of your text (excluding sections 1.3 and 2.3, neither of which we covered). TA Sam McCauley will be running a review session for the exam on Friday, October 9th at 2pm, Room TBA

9/21 We have new (better) locations for TA office hours starting this week! See below for the rooms

9/17 YES! I know HW2 is hard! Don't be freaked out if it is hard for you. It is hard for everyone in the class. My strategy is hard homeworks, and easier exams. The exams will be much easier than the hws. Thinking about hard homework problems is the best training for the easier exams. You can get an A+ in this class without getting all the homework problems right. They are HARD BY DESIGN. If you are stuck, and it is past office hours, feel free to email me with questions! But don't think you are doing terribly in the class just because the homeworks are hard. Your neighbor in the class thinks the homeworks are hard too.

9/14: HW2 has been updated! If you downloaded it before today, please re-download-- there are two additional problems!

Also: TA office hours are now announced. They will be held in Halligan Hall on Tuesday and Wednesday at 4:30-5:30pm!

Instructor: Lenore Cowen
Office: Halligan 238; 7-5134; cowen@cs.tufts.edu;
Office Hours: Mondays, 2-3pm and by appointment
Lectures: MW 10:30-11:45, Anderson 112

TA: Sam McCauley
Samuel.McCauley@tufts.edu
Office hours Tues, 4:30-5:30pm, Halligan 127; Wed, 4:30-5:30pm, Halligan 108.

Description: This class covers foundations of discrete mathematics and introduction to proofs. Topics include Propositional Logic, Sets, Relations and Functions, Counting, Graph Theory, and a little bit of Probability and Number Theory.

Textbook: We are using A Discrete Transition to Advanced Mathematics by Bettina Richmond and Thomas Richmond, American Mathematics Society Press, 2004.

Grading: Your grade is based on 3 exams plus a final, plus your hw as follows. Your grade is based on e1+e2+e3+f+f+h, except you get to drop the lowest of the 6 scores (final is 2 scores).

HW assignments are due at the beginning of class on the day they are assigned, but can be handed in up to 9am the next morning in the instructor's mailbox in Halligan Hall rm 102 without penalty. Except for this short grace period you must get permission 48 hours in advance due to illness or extraordinary circumstance to hand in late hw without penalty. HW handed in late but not arranged in advance will be subject to a a stiff lateness penalty and/or graded only at the discretion of the instructor and the TA.

HW collaboration policy: It is ok to talk to the Instructor, TA or other students about HW problems, but the final form that you turn in for grading should be written by you alone using your own words. You should not be looking up hw solutions on the Internet. If you have substantially collaborated with other students on a problem, please acknowledge this at the top of your HW sheet, i.e. "I worked with Alex and Robin on problem 10". The write up still needs to be your own. In addition, proofs require careful english explanations-- no credit for correct answers with no justification.

Rough syllabus: (subject to change)

• Week 0 (Sept 9): Introduction/Propositional Logic
• Week 1 (Sept 14 and 16): More Logic/Sets
• Week 2 (Sept 21 and 23): Logic begin Proof
• Week 3 (Sept 28 and 30): NO CLASS Sept 28 (Yom Kippur); Mathematical Proof/Begin Induction
• Week 4 (Oct 5 and Oct 7): Induction
• Week 5 (Oct 13 and Oct 14) NO CLASS Oct 12, Exam 1 (Oct 13) (Tufts on a Monday Schedule) / start Relations
• Week 6 (Oct 19 nd Oct 21): Relations and Functions
• Week 7 (Oct 26 and Oct 28): Functions and Begin Counting
• Week 8 (Nov 2 and Nov 4): Combinatorics
• Week 9 (Nov 9 and Nov 11): Combinatorics/ Exam 2 (Nov 11)
• Week 11 (Nov 16 and Nov 18): Graph Theory
• Week 12 (Nov 23 and Nov 25 NO CLASS): Begin number theory
• Week 13 (Nov 30 and Dec 2:) More Number Theory
• Week 14 (Dec 7): Exam 3 (Dec 7)

Final Exam is Wednesday, December 16th from 3:30-5:30pm. Homeworks: