updated 1/3/22
Welcome to CSE21!
This course will cover mathematical concepts used to model and analyze algorithms and computer systems. Topics include counting techniques (inclusion-exclusion; recursive counting; permutations and combinations), data representations, analysis of algorithms (order notation; time complexities; loop invariants), recurrence relations, graphs, trees (data structure representations; basic graph algorithms; special classes of graphs), and basic probability and its applications.
The main prerequisite is CSE 20 or MATH 15A. It is sufficient to know basic propositional and predicate logic, basic proof techniques (including mathematical induction), basic mathematics (algebra, geometry, trigonometry, and calculus), a basic understanding of computer programming,
Winter 2022 will start with a two-week period of fully remote teaching. We will keep a close eye on university policies and will inform the class whenever there is a change to our class policy.
After the two-week period of fully remote teaching (Jan 3-Jan 14), I personally will be returning to campus to teach in-person. I will continue to offer remote support throughout the rest of the quarter. Throughout the quarter, the "in-person" lectures will be live-streamed through zoom and recorded via "podcast.ucsd.edu". The exams will be offered "in-person" or "remote" and each student can choose which type of exam they prefer.
First and foremost is the health and safety of everyone. Please do not come to class if you are sick or even think you might be sick. Once the classes are back to "in-person", it is likely that the university will be requiring masks and "symptom screeners" and/or "covid tests". We expect all students to follow these rules. With all of this in mind, we expect all students to come to class when they can, but will also provide as much of the class materials as we can in a remotely viewable format. The lectures are designed to engage students in real time with opportunities for questions and discussions between instructor and students and also between students and other students. We will also have some ways for students who participate remotely to engage in discussions with the instructors and other students, but cannot guarantee the full experience for remote students.
(Personal note: Last quarter (FALL 2021), I ran my classes in a similar way. I was hopeful to expect that Winter quarter would be fully in person but it is clear that Covid-19 is still a concern. I have decided to continue offering the remote option for Winter 2022 mainly due to the fact that I do not know what the future will hold. There are many things about teaching remotely that I found to be great and I will try to incorporate some lessons learned from my remote teaching experience. That being said, I am excited and hopeful to teach "in-person" after the two-week remote period. I will try my best to bring a classroom experience that is the best of both worlds.
-Miles Jones)
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For information about office hours, see below.
https://calendar.google.com/calendar/u/1?cid=Y19idWFuODdqcHRncmEydXRhY250amZrMHNrMEBncm91cC5jYWxlbmRhci5nb29nbGUuY29t
To make an appointment for a 1-on-1 with a TA/tutor, follow the instructions in this spreadsheet:
Piazza Signup Link: piazza.com/ucsd/winter2022/cse21
Gradescope Signup Code: 3Y3J3D
The main resource for this class will be the lecture slides. The textbook is a great resource to accompany the course but the course will not be following the textbook chronologically so be warned.
The textbook for this course is
Kenneth Rosen Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, Kenneth Rosen, McGraw Hill, 7th edition.
The textbook's companion website has extra practice problems and resources. In particular, the Self Assessments and the Extra Examples for each chapter are great practice materials. Access the companion website here. Earlier editions contain almost all of the material we will reference, and can be bought used often quite reasonably. Just be sure to double-check locations for references because we will use the chapter and page numbers for 7th edition.
You may also wish to look at the following textbook as a supplementary resource.
Jenkyns, Stephenson Fundamentals of Discrete Math for Computer Science: A Problem-Solving Primer
The full pdf of this book is available for free download from a UCSD internet connection at:
http://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-4471-4069-6
Another helpful book is: Daniel Solow's
How to Read and Do Proofs: An Introduction to Mathematical Thought Processes
While primarily for mathematics majors, it also is a general reference that can be used by anyone reading or doing proofs.
All submitted homework for this class must be typed. Diagrams may be hand-drawn and scanned and included in the typed document. You can use a word processing editor if you like (Microsoft Word, Open Office, Notepad, Vim, Google Docs, etc.) but you might find it useful to take this opportunity to learn LaTeX. LaTeX is a markup language used widely in computer science and mathematics. The homework assignments are typed using LaTeX and you can use the source files as templates for typesetting your solutions.
If you have never used LaTeX, we recommend cloud resources that don't require you to download and install LaTeX on your local machine. A good example is Overleaf (Links to an external site.), which has lots of documentation (Links to an external site.). Overleaf works similar to Google Docs in that all members can edit the file in parallel and changes are updated in real time. There is a way to directly invite group members to your document, but the free version of Overleaf only allows two people to work at the same time. To get around this, turn on link sharing: Click on “Share” in the top right, Click “Turn on link sharing”, Copy the displayed link and share it with your group members. To export your work, click on the “Download PDF” button on the right-hand side If you want to export the raw source files, click on the “Menu” button in the top-left, then click on “Source”
This open source LaTeX reference (Links to an external site.) can be helpful when getting started, and you can use the .tex source of all the files we use in class as templates.
Alternatively, you can use Google Docs, which is available through your @ucsd.edu account. You can create documents and then share them with your group members with manual invites or a shareable link. Google Docs has a LaTex add-on that lets you type formulas in a math typesetting environment: search for "Auto-LaTeX Equations" if you want to try this option. You'll need to use the display environment (start and end with $) for all the portions you want rendered with LaTeX.
You will be deducted 1 point per handwritten question.
| Date |
Day |
Time | |
| Lecture | Tu/Th | 12:30-1:50pm (A00 Miles Jones) |
WLH 2001
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| Discussion Section |
Wednesdays
|
|
CENTR 105
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| Final Exam |
Tuesday, March 15 |
Scheduled for 11:30am-2:29pm Details to come |
TBD |
Your grade will be based on the following:
Homeworks can be downloaded from the content calendar.
Homework should be done in groups of 1-4 people. So you may do them on your own if you prefer not to work in a group. You are free to change group member at any time throughout the quarter. Problems should be solved together, not divided up between partners.
We will drop the lowest homework score.
Homework solutions should be typed (NOT HANDWRITTEN) and turned in through Gradescope by 11:59pm on the due date. No late homework will be accepted. You will be able to look at your scanned work before submitting it. Please ensure that your submission is legible or your homework may not be graded. You may resubmit updated versions of your homework up until the deadline. Only your most recent Gradescope submission will be graded.
Standards for evaluation
Your assignments in this class will be evaluated not only on the correctness of your answers, but on your ability to present your ideas clearly and logically. You should always explain how you arrived at your conclusions, using mathematically sound reasoning. Whether you use formal proof techniques or write a more informal argument for why something is true, your answers should always be well-supported. Your goal should be to convince the reader that your results and methods are sound. This means that unless it says: "no justification necessary" then we expect a written justification.
Collaboration Guidelines for Homework
Students are encouraged to collaborate on homework assignments. You may work in groups of up to four students. Your group will submit one assignment and Gradescope will give you the opportunity to add all of your group members to the assignment. Groups do not have to be the same people for every assignment. You can change group members at any time.
If you are discussing problems with students outside of your group, please only share hints and basic techniques. DO NOT share your answers or allow other students to copy your written work. The bottom line is to submit YOUR OWN work. If we find that your work is too similar to another group's then you may be suspected of an academic integrity violation. All students whose names are on the assignment must have participated in answering all questions, at the minimum by carefully proof-reading the submitted answers. If there is a member of your group that did not participate, you cannot list them as a group member for this assignment. If some other student or teaching staff gave you a tip that was particularly useful, please give them an acknowledgement in the assignment. That will help us avoid unnecessary accusations of academic integrity violations.
You may not collaborate with anyone outside of the class. You are not permitted to ask homework questions to message boards or websites such as Chegg.
You may use some materials not from class, such as other textbooks, notes from previous sections of the class, Khan Academy videos or something similar, but with some caution. If an outside source has something relevant to a particular homework or exam problem, you must give the source a reference when you submit your assignment. We will review how similar the reference is to your answer. If it is too similar, you may lose some points for the assignment, but as long as you give the reference, it will not be an Academic Integrity issue.
There will be a review quiz for every lecture.
This adds up to 19 total review quizzes.
You will have until the following Sunday to complete the review quizzes of the preceding week.
You will have unlimited attempts on each quiz.
Each review quiz is worth 1 point. You will get whatever fraction of 1 based on how well you did on the review quiz.
In order to get the full 5% points for review quizzes, you must earn 16 points.
Each point less than XX, the percentage will go down by 1 percent:
16+: 5%
15: 4%
14: 3%
13: 2%
12: 1%
11-: 0%
The tests will be administered on Canvas. The questions are randomly selected from a question bank. You will have 80 minutes to complete the test during the day of the test (24 hour window.) After the test results have been posted, you will have the option of doing a "re-test" where you can earn up to 1/3 the points you missed from the original test. You may openly ask for help for the "re-test" and you will have unlimited attempts throughout the weekend.
There will be one midterm.
It will be 15% of your grade.
The midterm will be administered during the scheduled classtime (80 minutes). You have the option of doing the midterm in person or remotely. The midterm is open-notes but it is forbidden to discuss the midterm while it is happening. There will not be a "re-midterm"
The final examination will be held at the date and time stated in the course calendar. It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have a schedule conflict involving the final examination. I will enable a remote exam for students unable to physically come to the exam room, but this will be only available during the exam time.
Course grades will be computed using the following:
Grading option 1:
Review quizzes. 5%
Homework 0: 1%
Other HW: 30% (best 6 of 7)
Test 1: 10%
Test 2: 10%
Midterm: 15%
Final: 29%
Grade Scale: Your final grade will be based on the following scale. (You will earn the grade in the table based on your numerical score or higher.)
A+ A A- B+ B B- C+ C C-
98 94 90 86 82 78 74 70 64
In this course we expect students to adhere to the UC San Diego Integrity of Scholarship Policy. This means that you will complete your work honestly, with integrity, and support an environment of integrity within the class for which you are tutoring. Some examples of specific ways this policy applies to CSE 21 include:
For homework collaboration policy, see the paragraph above.
For the exams, you are not permitted to collaborate with anyone else (including people from outside of the class like message boards or Chegg). We will give you the opportunity to ask questions to the teaching staff during exams.
Please be prompt (three days) in reporting to your TA any errors in the grading of your work, or in the recording of your grade. All grades become permanent three days after they are recorded. Regrade requests for homework assignments must be made on Gradescope. Please note that by requesting a regrade for a problem, it will be completely regraded and your grade may go up or down. When you make a regrade request, you should specify exactly what the mistake in grading is, i.e., the wrong rubric item was selected or the rubric itself is inaccurate. Vague requests for more partial credit will not be granted.
We will drop your lowest homework. Other than extenuating circumstances, there is no credit for late or missed assignments.
For homework assignments and for exams, you are permitted to use calculators.
Individuals are not permitted to approach students to offer services of any kind in exchange for pay, including tutoring services. This is considered solicitation for business and is strictly prohibited by University policy.
We provide many office hours and 1-1 sessions. Please use them. This class can be challenging if you don't engage with the teaching staff.
The IDEA Engineering Student Center, located just off the lobby of Jacobs Hall, is a hub for student engagement, academic enrichment, personal/professional development, leadership, community involvement, and a respectful learning environment for all. The Center offers a variety of programs, listed on the IDEA Center Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/ucsdidea/ (you are welcome to Like this page!) and the Center website at http://idea.ucsd.edu/ . The IDEA Center programs support both undergraduate students and graduate students.
We are committed to fostering a learning environment for this course that supports a diversity of thoughts, perspectives, and experiences, and respects your identities (including race, ethnicity, heritage, gender, sex, class, sexuality, religion, ability, age, educational background, etc.). Our goal is to create a diverse and inclusive learning environment where all students feel comfortable and can thrive.
Our instructional staff will make a concerted effort to be welcoming and inclusive to the wide diversity of students in this course. If there is a way we can make you feel more included please let one of the course staff know, either in person, via email/discussion board, or even in a note under the door. Our learning about diverse perspectives and identities is an ongoing process, and we welcome your perspectives and input.
We also expect that you, as a student in this course, will honor and respect your classmates, abiding by the UCSD Principles of Community ( https://ucsd.edu/about/principles.html ). Please understand that others’ backgrounds, perspectives, and experiences may be different than your own, and help us to build an environment where everyone is respected and feels comfortable.
If you experience any sort of harassment or discrimination, please contact an instructor as soon as possible. If you prefer to speak with someone outside of the course, please contact the Office of Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination: https://ophd.ucsd.edu/ .
We aim to create an environment in which all students can succeed in this course. If you have a disability, please contact the Office for Students with Disability (OSD), which is located in University Center 202 behind Center Hall, to discuss appropriate accommodations right away. We will work to provide you with the accommodations you need, but you must first provide a current Authorization for Accommodation (AFA) letter issued by the OSD. You are required to present their AFA letters to Faculty (please make arrangements to contact me privately) and to the OSD Liaison in the department in advance so that accommodations may be arranged.
If you are experiencing any basic needs insecurities (food, housing, financial resources), there are resources available on campus to help, including The Hub and the Triton Food Pantry. Please visit http://thehub.ucsd.edu/ for more information.