Syllabus: CSE 2813 Discrete Structures, Fall 2009

Instructor

Dr. J. Edward Swan II <jes256@msstate.edu>

Semester

Fall 2009

Course Time and Location

Mon, Wed, Fri; 10:00 am–10:50 am; 100 Butler Hall

Office Hours and Location

Mon, Wed; 3:15 pm–4:15 pm; 321 Butler Hall

Course Prerequisites

CSE 1284, Introduction to Computer Programming, with a grade of C or better and MA1313, College Algebra, or equivalent.

Catalog Description

Three hours lecture.  Propositional and predicate logic, set theory, concepts of algorithms, proofs, induction, recursion, combinatorics, recurrence, relations, and graph theory.

Course Objectives

• To develop students' mathematical reasoning, including formal logic and proofs.
• To provide students with the basic tools to compare relative efficiency of algorithms.
• To develop the basis for combinatorial analysis.
• To develop students' ability to manipulate abstract structures such as sets, graphs, trees, relations and functions.
• To introduce the mathematics of recurrences.  

Required Text

Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, 6th edition, Kenneth H. Rosen, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 2007.  Amazon: $141.38 (new); $85.00 (used)

Helpful Text (Not Required)

Student Solutions Guide to accompany Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (6th edition), Kenneth H. Rosen, Jerrold Grossman, McGraw Hill, 2007.  Amazon: $47.72 (new); $40.06 (used)

Grading Scale

Graded Activities

Exams: There will be three in-class exams during the semester.  The lowest exam grade counts half as much as the other two; the lowest exam counts 8% and the other two exams count 16%.

Quizzes: Approximately 9 in-class quizzes will be given.  They will be based upon homework problems that are assigned for the week. 

Final Exam: The final exam will be comprehensive, and will be given during the scheduled final exam time.

Class Participation: The participation grade largely depends upon attendance, attentiveness in class, willingness to ask/answer questions, preparation for class, and overall attitude.  Misuse of laptops could affect the participation grade.

Honors Credit

Enrollment: Students taking the class for honors credit will have to enroll in one of the honors sections.  After the last day to add a class, a student enrolled in an honors section cannot change to a non-honors section and vice-versa.

Honors Project: Honors students will complete a programming project in addition to the regular class work.  Details about the honors projects will be announced early in the semester.

Honors Grading: For the honors students, the honors project will count for 10% of the overall grade, while the remaining 90% of the grade will be calculated as described above.  Note that failing to submit an honors project will result in a grade of 0 for the honors portion of the grade, which will drop the overall average by a letter grade.

Class Conduct

Students should conduct themselves in a professional manner.

Laptops: Laptops should only be used for class purposes.  If a student uses the laptop for some other purpose and distracts others, the student's participation grade could be affected.

Personal Electronic Devices: Students must respect their fellow students and not disrupt class. Therefore, cell phones, pagers, other such alarms, or personal conversations which disturb the lecture are not allowed.

Class Attendance

Attendance is required in this class, and can affect the Class Participation grade.  I will take roll, and I will list absences on midterm and final grade reports.  Students who miss class are still responsible for the material covered and for any assignments distributed. 

Students who are auditing the course must attend at least 75% of the class meetings in order to receive a passing grade.

Missed Exams

Occasionally students miss exams. Sometimes the student knows about these absences in advance, and sometimes they happen unexpectedly.  If you know in advance that you will be absent and you wish to have the absence considered excused, then you must meet with me before the date of the exam, and I will let you know whether or not the absence will be excused.  If the absence is excused, I will make arrangements for you to take the exam early.

If you miss an exam unexpectedly and wish to have the absence considered excused, then you must meet with the me at the earliest opportunity possible after the absence, and provide documentation to support your claim that the absence should be considered excused.  If the absence is excused, then I will substitute the average number of points of your other exams for the missed exam.

For unexcused absences from examinations you will unfortunately receive a score of zero points.

Grading and Appeals

I will be working with a grader this semester.  If you disagree with a grade, you need to provide me with a written appeal.  Although you can discuss a grade with me, I generally won't make a decision regarding the grade based on a discussion, but only on a written appeal.   

Academic Honesty and Misconduct

In this course, students are expected to uphold the Mississippi State University Honor Code:

"As a Mississippi State University student I will conduct myself with honor and integrity at all times. I will not lie, cheat, or steal, nor will I accept the actions of those who do."

Upon accepting admission to Mississippi State University, a student immediately assumes a commitment to uphold the Honor Code, to accept responsibility for learning, and to follow the philosophy and rules of the Honor Code.  Students will be required to state their commitment on examinations, research papers, and other academic work.  Ignorance of the rules does not exclude any member of the MSU community from the requirements or the processes of the Honor Code.

Students are also expected to maintain the standards of academic honesty that are described in the CSE Department's Undergraduate Studies Academic Honesty Policy.

• Do not cheat on a quiz or exam. 
• Do not turn in someone else's work, on a programming assignment or any other type of assignment, as if it were your own. 

This are important policies.  Not only will violators fail to learn the course material, but violators will receive an "XF" in this course, and will otherwise be handled according the CSE Department's Undergraduate or Graduate Studies Academic Honesty Policies, as well as the Academic Operating Policy and Procedure of Mississippi State University.

As a professor at Mississippi State University, I am required to report all incidents of academic misconduct.

Additional Policies

Grade of Incomplete (I): Following MSU policy, incomplete grades will only be given in extreme circumstances, such as illness, death in a student's immediate family, or similar circumstances beyond a student's control.

No Food or Drinks in Class: It is the CSE department's policy that you can't eat or dink in Butler hall classrooms.

Email: When I send class-related email, I will use your student_netid@msstate.edu email address. 

Drop / Add Policy: This class follows Mississippi State University's Official Drop/Add Policy:

 A.   Add/Drop without penalty - A student has through the fifth class day into the semester to drop a course and through the sixth class day to add a course without being assessed a fee or academic penalty.

B.   Drop after the fifth class day through the 30th class day into the semester - A student who elects to drop a course during this period must receive the approval of his/her advisor, will be assigned a W on his/her academic record, and be assessed a fee.  The advisor who permits the drop will specify its effective date. 

C.   Drop after the 30th class day into the semester – A student cannot drop courses after this period except in documented cases of serious illness, extreme hardship, or failure of the instructor to provide significant assessment of his/her performance.   A request to drop a course during this period must be approved by the student’s advisor and academic dean.  The dean who permits the drop will specify its effective date.  A student receiving permission to drop will receive a W on his/her academic record and be assessed a fee.

D.  Faculty are expected to provide a student with significant evidence or assessment of his/her class performance within the first 30 class days of the semester.