Introduction to Discrete Structures

3460:418/518 Course Information

• Prerequisite: 3460:210 Data Structures and Algorithms I (or permission) with grade of C- or better
• Required Text
  • Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics, 5th Ed., 2003, Ralph P. Grimaldi, Addison Wesley
• Grading Policies
  Your grade will be based on 2 exams (60%), and programs and homework (40%). Homework assignments must be submitted on time to receive credit. Hopefully you will all meet the deadlines for programming assignments. However, if you find it necessary to submit a programming assignment late, your grade will be reduced by 10% each day. Since programs are submitted electronically, the date of submission will be the timestamp on the email containing the program.

  We all get upset when a program does not work the way it is supposed to, so please try to submit only reasonably correct programs! This means that you have carefully crafted and extensively tested your solution! Programs must work for any sample data provided (a minimal test suite) before submitting. Programs that do not meet these standards will not be graded and will be assessed an automatic 30% penalty. Many programs will be tested against additional "hidden" data.

  You may collaborate on homework assignments. However, all exams and programming assignments must be your own work. Devising your own solutions to problems and implementing them is the best way to learn about the topics in this course. You should follow these three rules:

  • Guard your code as if it was a trade secret. Do not show your code to anyone else.
  • Sting operations are often used to trap spies in industry. Do not read someone else's code.
  • Discussions among classmates about the general nature of a solution can be beneficial. Beware that these discussions do not become too detailed, or revert to a foreign language such as C, C++, Java, Pascal, FORTRAN, BASIC, Assembly, or Pseudocode.

  If you need help with your programs, please see me. Duplicate or similar programs, plagiarism, cheating, undue collaboration, or other forms of academic dishonesty may be reported to the Student Disciplinary Office.

• Grading scale:
  • A   90-100    B   80- 89    C   70- 79    D   60- 69    F    0- 59
  • (+/- grades awarded at my discretion)
• Final Exam:
  There are just 2 exams for this class 
• Last day to drop this class: June 18 (You do not need your instructor's signature to drop by this date; you may need an advisor's signature. In general, instructors will not sign drop forms.)
• Special Notice:  Students whose names do not appear on the university’s class list by May 29 will not be permitted to participate (attend class, take exams, or receive credit.)

Course Topics

These are in the process of being revised - it is possible that some sections in these chapters will not be covered and additional topics may be added.

• Principles of Counting, Fundamentals of Logic, and Set Theory (chapters 1-3)
• Mathematical Induction (chapter 4)
• Relations and Functions (chapter 5)
• Languages and Finite State Machines (chapter 6)
• Partial Orders, Equivalence Relations, and Partitions (chapter 7)
• Principle of Inclusion-Exclusion (chapter 8)
• Recurrence Relations (chapter 10)
• Graph Theory, Trees and Optimization (chapters 11-13)
• Boolean Algebra and Switching Functions (chapter 15)

Course Index
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