MS240--Discrete Mathematics--Spring 2012
Tuesday, Thursday, Period L (8-9:15 AM)
Room 121





The Textbook


Course Description


Course Objectives


Course Policies


Grading System


Course Schedule
         

Prof. Thomas A. Easton


Photo of Professor Easton
        
OFFICE: Rm. 108

OFFICE HOURS: 12-3 PM MW, 11-12 AM TTh

OFFICE PHONE: 859-1331

HOME PHONE: 338-1074

CANCELLATION PHONE NUMBER: 859-1140

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THE TEXTBOOK

Discrete Mathematical Structures, 6th Edition
Kolman, Busby, & Ross
Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009 (ISBN 978-0-13-229751-6)


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COURSE DESCRIPTION


This course is designed to help students think effectively and analyze issues logically. Basic strategies of thought and analyses are emphasized. These strategies are designed to help students deal with real-life situations. Topics include: set theory, logic, algorithms, number theory, probability, and graph theory.

See "Course policies" below for details on testing and grading.

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COURSE OBJECTIVES


Upon completion of this course, students will be able to:
  1. Understand and manipulate logical statements.
  2. Prove logical and mathematical propositions.
  3. Understand sets, functions, relations, groups, basic number theory, probability, Boolean algebra, and finite-state automata.
  4. Analyze graphs and trees.
Assessment will be by means of homework assignments, two exams, and a final as specified below.

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COURSE POLICIES


Students should always come to class prepared to work on the material assigned. Each student may be absent twice without penalty. Each additional two absences without a medical excuse (no others are acceptable) will cost the student three points on the course grade.

The syllabus lists exercises assigned for each class, to be handed in at the next class. NOTE: Exact dates of assignments will depend on how rapidly we move through the material. Assignments will not be accepted if handed in late. Twenty percent of the student's grade depends upon this!

There will be two hour-long exams, each one counting for twenty percent of the course grade. The final will count forty percent. Exam questions will reflect the material covered by the date of the exam. The Course Schedule below indicates the planned coverage.
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GRADING SYSTEM

A (94 - 100)      A- (90 - 93)
B+ (87 - 89)     B (83 - 86)    B- (80 - 82)
C+ (77 - 79)     C (73 - 76)     C- (70 - 72)
D+ (67 - 69)     D (63 - 66)    D- (60 - 62)
F (below 60)



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COURSE SCHEDULE

CAUTION: COURSE SCHEDULE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT WARNING!

DATETOPICASSIGNMENT
  
Tues Jan 10 Sets Chapter 1, Sections 1.1, 1.2
  p. 4, Exercises 2-10 (evens only); p. 11, Exercises 2-20 (evens only) -- note that you can check your understanding by doing some of the odd-numbered exercises, whose answers are in the back of the book.
    
Thurs Jan 12 SequencesChapter 1, Section 1.3
   p. 19, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Tues Jan 17 Properties of IntegersChapter 1, Sections 1.4
   p. 31, Exercises 2-20 (evens only)
 
Thurs Jan 19 Matrices and Mathematical StructuresChapter 1, Sections 1.5, 1.6
   p. 39, Exercises 2-20 (evens only)
Tues Jan 24Mathematical Structures
Thurs Jan 26 Propositions and Logical Operations Chapter 2, Section 2.1
   p. 55, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Tues Jan 31 Conditional Statements Chapter 2, Section 2.2
   p. 60, Exercises 2-14 (evens only)
 
Thurs Feb 2 Methods of Proof and Mathematical Induction Chapter 2, Sections 2.3, 2.4
   p. 67, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
p. 73, Exercises 2-16 (evens only)
 
Tues Feb 7 Mathematical Statements Chapter 2, Section 2.5
   p. 78, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Thurs Feb 9 Permutations and CombinationsChapter 3, Sections 3.1, 3.2
   p. 95, Exercises 2-20 (evens only)
p. 99, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Tues Feb 11 Pigeonhole Principle and ProbabilityChapter 3, Sections 3.3, 3.4
 Exercises: p. 103, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
p. 110, Exercises 2-12 (evens only)
 
Thurs Feb 16 Recurrence RelationsChapter 3, Section 3.5
  p. 117, Exercises 2-22 (evens only)
Mon Feb 20 - Fri Feb 24 WINTER BREAK
    
Tues Feb 29 Exam #1 Chapters 1-3
    
Thurs Mar 1 Product Sets and Partitions Chapter 4, Section 4.1
   p. 126, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Tues Mar 6 Relations and Digraphs Chapter 4, Sections 4.2, 4.3
   p. 134, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
p. 140, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Thurs Mar 8 Properties of Relations Chapter 4, Section 4.4
   p. 146, Exercises 2-12 (evens only)
    
Tues Mar 13Equivalence Relations Chapter 4, Section 4.5
   p. 151, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
    
Thurs Mar 15 Functions Chapter 5, Sections 5.1, 5.2
   p. 188, Exercises 2-12 (evens only)
p. 197, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
  Drop Date:  After Mar 16 you cannot drop the course without getting a grade. 
No W or L!
     
Tues Mar 20 Growth of Functions Chapter 5, Section 5.3
   p. 204, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
    
Thurs Mar 22 Partially Ordered Sets Chapter 6, Sections 6.1, 6.2
   p. 226, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
p. 232, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
    
Mon Mar 26 - Fri Mar 30 SPRING BREAK
    
Tues Apr 3 Posets 6.2, exx 2-10 p. 232
SHIFTED: Lattices		Chapter 6, Section 6.3
  p. 241, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
    
Thurs Apr 5 Lattices, 6.3, exx 2-10 p. 241
DROPPED: Boolean Algebras		Chapter 6, Sections 6.4, 6.5
   p. 248, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
p. 253, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
    
Tues Apr 10 Exam #2 Chapters 4-6
 
Thurs Apr 12 Trees Chapter 7, Sections 7.1, 7.2
   p. 274, Exercises 2-20 (evens only)
p. 279, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Tues Apr 17 Tree Searching Chapter 7, Section 7.3
   p. 286, Exercises 2-18 (evens only)
 
Thurs Apr 19 Graphs and Euler Paths Chapter 8, Sections 8.1, 8.2
   p. 310, Exercises 2-20 (evens only)
p. 316, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Tues Apr 24 Graphs and Hamiltonian Paths Chapter 8, Section 8.3
   p. 320, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Thurs Apr 26 Transport Networks Chapter 8, Section 8.4
   p. 328, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
DROPPED:
Thurs Apr 26 Semigroups Chapter 9, Sections 9.1, 9.2
   p. 348, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
p. 354, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
DROPPED:
Thurs Apr 26 Groups Chapter 9, Section 9.4
   p. 371, Exercises 2-10 (evens only)
 
Mon Apr 30 FINAL EXAMS BEGIN
 
EXAM DAY FINAL EXAM
 




Syllabus last modified March 22, 2012.