COURSE INFORMATION


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Office Hours:
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Prerequisites: M 171, Calculus I, and one of the following:

Meeting times and place: Mon, Wed & Fri 3:00-3:50, S&E 106

Texts

What is in this course?

This course will give you a toolbox of structures and techniques for working with problems that frequently appear in computer science. We'll explore a mixture of mathematical topics to improve your mathematical reasoning and problem solving skills. The material in this course will be needed in future courses such as Data Structures, Design & Analysis of Algorithms, Requirements and Specifications (SE majors), and Theory of Computation (CS majors). Topics include: propositional and predicate logic; proof techniques; properties of functions, relations, sequences and sets; basic counting techniques including counting permutations and combinations; recursion; and graph theory.

Grading

Activity Percentage
Exams There will be 3 exams during the semester and a final exam at the end. The final exam score will count twice, giving you 5 exam scores in all. The lowest exam score will be dropped. All together, the remaining 4 exams scores will count as 90% of your grade (22.5% each).
Zybook participation and challenge activities 10%

Practice Exercises

The material in this course builds on itself. For this reason it is important that you keep up with the material. Not understanding one topic will make the next topic harder to learn. Luckily, you will have many chances to practice solving problems in this class:

  1. Participation activities within each zyBook section. Take the time to work the problems carefully before clicking to see if your answer is correct. Make a note of any answers which you miss, so you are clear about where your misunderstanding lies, and you will not make that mistake again.
  2. zyBook challenge questions. These will be automatically graded, similar to the other questions within the zyBook.
  3. Additional exercises in our zyBook at the end of each section. The solutions to many of these problems will be made available to you. You will learn the most if you solve the problem carefully before looking at the solution. (If a problem does not have the solutions shown, and you would like the solution shown, let me know.
  4. Class/homework exercises. These will be from the zyBook additional exercises or from the Rosen text. I will furnish typed copies of these problems so that you can start them in class and you don't need to bring the Rosen text to lectures.
  5. Rosen exercises. The Rosen text contains many exercises. Answers to the odd questions are given at the back of the book. Completely worked out solutions are in the solutions manual. A copy of the solutions manual is in the Math CS office. You can borrow it and use it in the lab. You are not to take the text out of the lab.

Multiple sections of the zyBook are associated with each lecture period. Complete these BEFORE the class period. This way you can come to class understanding some of the material and with questions on what you don't understand. This allows less lecturing, and more class time spent solving problems.

I'll bring typed problems to class. In some cases, you will be able to finish these in class. In most cases these will be homework problems. Solutions will be posted to these exercises. These will not be collected.

Exam questions will be similar to the class exercises.

For the exams, proofs must be written out in their entirety. That is, begin with a statement of what you are proving and end with a statement that makes it clear that you have completed the proof. Use complete sentences in proofs. Practice writing out proofs in this way when doing the homework exercises so that you will be prepared for exams. Feel free to ask me to grade your work so that you know how I will be grading on exams.

Catalog description of the course

Course includes those mathematical topics which will help students in future courses. It refines problem solving skills by providing a vocabulary, structures and techniques for working with problems. Topics include logic, theorem proving, properties of sets, functions, relations, and sequences, counting techniques, recursion, and graph theory. Prerequisite: (CSCI 112, CSCI 114, CSCI 117 or CSCI 135) and M 171. (1st)

Expected skills students have coming into the course

Expected outcomes from taking this course

Related ABET student outcomes

Software Engineering (EAC) Computer Science (CAC)