Discrete Mathematics
MATH 262.01
MWF 11:30-12:20, Tu 12:30-1:20 Bagby 120
Spring 2008

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Instructor

Professor Tom Valente
Office: Bagby 123, ext 6210
Email: tvalente

Office hours:
MWR 2:30PM-4:00PM
and other times when my office door is opened.

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Textbook

Discrete Mathematics with Applications, 3rd Ed , by Susanna S. Epp

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Course Description

"Discrete" Mathematics, unlike Calculus, concerns itself with the study of discrete objects and functions whose domains consist of discrete objects (for example, the integers). By "discrete" we mean objects that can be thought of as disconnected or separated from one another, and therefore do not form a continuum. Thus we will not study intervals of real numbers per se as we would in Calculus. Not surprisingly, a vast variety of topics may be studied in a discrete mathematics course. At the forefront is logic, for it is important to reason clearly about mathematical arguments in discrete mathematics. In truth table logic, for instance, the functions that are studied have domain consisting of two objects, namely "true" and "false". Since this logic forms the basis of computer circuits, we see already one specific reason why discrete mathematics is almost universally required for computer science majors. Other discrete math topics important in computer science include discrete probability, number theory, mathematical induction, mathematical sequences and series, graph theory (in particular, binary trees), finite automata, and formal language theory. In the past, this course has covered the first nine chapters of your textbook. I'd like to suggest that this semester, we address the needs of this particular student population by covering chapters 1-5, and then 7,9, and part of chapter 10 (where we can study the RSA cipher). Finally, since the class meets 4 times per week, I'd like to suggest that the Tuesday meetings be different than the other meetings. On Tuesdays, you and I (mostly you) will present and work problems, perhaps even use the computer lab on occasion to gain more insight into what we are studying.

Grading

Your grade will be computed as follows:

• In-class tests (3) together will count 40%. They will be on the following Fridays: February 15th, March 21st, April 18th. You should make every conceivable effort to be present and prepared for an hour test. The only valid excuses for missing a test are serious illnesses and unavoidable emergencies which can be verified. If you foresee that you must miss a test, then you should make arrangements, before the absence, to take the test. If you miss a test for a reason that is less than compelling, you will not be allowed to take the test later.
• Homework will count 30%. Many problems will be suggested and a smaller number of them submitted for a grade. Solutions must be neatly written and at an appropriate level of rigor for a course like this. (The textbook will have many examples of solved problems).
• Classwork will count 10%. You must attend every class and present problems when asked to.
• The final exam will count 20% and will be comprehensive.

The grades are then assigned according to the following scale, with plus and minus assigned appropriately: 90%-100%: A; 80%-90% B; 70%-80% C; 60%-70% D; 0-60% F.

Attendance

Each of you is a large percentage of the class so it is imperative that you attend each class.

Links

Click here for a simulator that allows us to construct circuits like those in section 1.4.

Click here for my Caesar Cipher web page.

Click here for my Caesar Block Cipher web page.

Click here for a page at which you can encode letters of the alphabet into numbers.