CSE 20: Discrete Mathematics, Fall 2011

Course Webpage: http://www-cse.ucsd.edu/classes/fa11/cse20-a/ [Section ID 723207]

Course Description: Basic discrete mathematical structures: sets, relations, functions, sequences, equivalence relations, partial orders, number systems. Methods of reasoning and proofs: prepositional logic, predicate logic, induction, recursion, pigeonhole principle. Infinite sets and diagonalization. Applications will be given to digital logic design, elementary number theory, design of programs, and proofs of program correctness.

Moodle: We will be using moodle as a discussion forum, make course announcements, post and collect homework assignments, etc. Please, check if you can log in, and that cse20 is among your moodle courses. In case you are having difficulty accessing moodle, you can also access homework 1 from this webpage.

(*) Email should be used only for questions that require individual attention (e.g., exam regrades, etc.). For technical questions (e.g., about homeworks, material presented in class, etc.) please use moodle, so that everybody can benefit from the answer. If you send email to the instructor or TA please include the string CSE20 in the subject line (anywhere, possibly within a more descriptive message). Also, your email messages should be in plain text format and include valid sender and return addresses. Emails not following these rules risk to be automatically deleted by spam filtering program and never reach the instructor/TAs.

Textbooks: The main textbook for the class is Essentials of Discrete Mathematics by David J. Hunter. Either edition of the textbook is fine.

This is a math course. Still, computers can be used to explore many topics related to the course material, and reinforce your learning. For example, all mathematical objects studied in the course can be easily implemented using a high level programming language, and this allows you to write programs that operate on these mathematical objects, and experiment with them. A good reference about how to do that is the book Discrete mathematics using a computer by O'Donnell, Hall and Page, which you can access on-line through the UCSD library. (If you like the book, you can also buy it at a discount price.)

Course Schedule

Course requirements and policies

Class members are expected to do all of the following in order to satisfactorily pass this class:

• Attending lectures
• Studying relevant chapters of the textbook, as covered in class, and additional study material posted on moodle
• 6 or 7 Homework assignments
• 2 (in class) quizzes exam
• 1 final exam

Grading: Homeworks and exams will contribute to your course grade as follows: homeworks (30%), Midterms (30%) and final (40%). The lowest homework score will be dropped. Grades will be available through GradeSource. If you are enrolled in the class you will receive an email from gradesource with instructions and a secret number to access your grades. Final grades will be based roughly on the following scale: A=90%+, B=80-89.9%, C=65-79.9%, D=50-64.9%, F ≤50%. Plus and minus will be assigned to the instructor's discretion. This includes but is not limited to: improvement over the course of the quarter, class participation, and natural "breaks" in the distribution of scores.

Policies: No late homework submissions will be accepted. Dropping the lowest homework score will take care of exceptional situations under which you may miss an assignment, without being penalized. There will be no make up midterm or final exams. The midterm is during regular classroom time, and everybody is expected to attend. If you don't show up at the midterm or final, you will receive 0 grade, unless you missed the exam due to a demonstrated medical problem. You can take the textbook and 1 double sided sheet of notes to each quiz or final exam, but due to the limited amount of space in the classroom, you are not allowed to bring any other material for consultation. Also, the book and/or notes must be your own. You won't be allowed to share book/notes with other students.

Academic honesty: All students are expected to be familiar with and abide by the rules of UCSD Policy on Integrity of Scholarship as described in the UCSD General Catalog. In case of cheating, such policy will be enforced. This means an F grade in the course, and action by the Dean of your college (probation or suspension from UCSD). You are encouraged to form study groups to discuss the material presented in class and the homework assignments. However, you should write the solutions to the homeworks on your own, or in teams as directed in the homework instructions. If you collaborate with other students outside your team on the solution of the problems, you should also clearly aknowledge that, and give the names of your collaborators at the beginning of your homework solutions. (If appropriate, you should also describe the nature of the collaboration.) You can use Internet, additional textbooks, and any material you find useful as a study tool. However, the use of any such resource in the solution of homeworks assignments should be clearly aknowledged in your solutions. No form of collaboration is allowed during quizzes/midterms and final exam.

Regrade requests on any exam or assignment are only accepted within a week after the graded object has been returned. Do not modify your solutions after they are returned to you. If you alter the your solutions, you loose any right to request a regrade of that exam. Modifying the exam and then bringing it back to ask for a regrade will be treated as a violation of academic honesty rules, and so prosecuted.