MCS 261: Discrete Mathematics

Course Information

The information on this and related pages applies only to John Baldwin's lecture of MCS 261.

Instructor: John Baldwin
Office: 417 SEO
Office Hours: Monday 4-5 PM, Wednesday and Friday, 2-3 PM, or by appointment (Just ask me after class; I can be available almost anytime).
Phone number: (312) 413-2149
E-mail: jbaldwin@math.uic.edu
Web Page: Web Page of MSC261:www.math.uic.edu/~jbaldwin/msc261

Lecture: Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, 1:00-12:50 pm, 308 Taft Hall. You are responsible for all of the material discussed in class. If you miss a class, it is your responsibility to find out what was covered. You are expected to participate in the discussion every day, so please come to class prepared. The class will often cover the material from a very different viewpoint than the text; both viewpoints will help your understanding and may appear on exams.

Text: Discrete Mathematics with Graph Theory, (2nd edition), by Edgar G. Goodaire and Michael M. Parmenter. Reading assignments will be given in class. You will be expected to read sections of the book before they are discussed in class. This will help you understand and participate in the discussion better. There may be occasional pop quizzes based on the reading assignments.

Grading: Your course grade will be based on participation (5%), homework (20%), two hour exams (20% each), and the final exam (35%). Incompletes are given only for documented hardships that occur at the time of the final and must be made up during the Spring Semester.

Participation: You are expected to participate in the discussion every day. Participation includes asking questions about the course material, answering questions that I pose to the class, or volunteering information or in other ways. b> Daily Assignment Each day at the end of class you will turn in your answer to the following questions.

  • How many of the "pause" questions" did you answer (without peeking) as you read the book? Your answer will have the form: I answered x of the y pauses in section Z.
  • What was the most important idea discussed in today's class?
  • What is one thing we discussed today that you want to understand better?
  • How did you participate in the discussion today?
    You will receive one point each time you turn in answers to the questions, and a second point if you participated that day. It doesn't matter how many of the pause questions you answered but for the first point you must give correctly the number of pauses in the section. There will be approximately 80 points available this way. If you get 65 or more of these points, you will get the full 5% for participation. If you get fewer than 65 of these points, you will get a fraction of the 5% proportional to your score. Note that these actual values may change slightly.

    Homework: There will be a number of problems assigned each week, which will be due on Fridays at the beginning of class. They should be well thought out and written up neatly. You should explain your reasoning clearly. It is recommended that you attempt additional problems as well. You are encouraged to work together on the homework, but each of you should turn in your own version, written in your own words. You may not copy someone else's paper, or allow another student to copy yours. Your lowest homework score will be dropped at the end of the semester. Please note that any pop quiz scores will count towards your homework grade, but they cannot be dropped.

    Exams: There will be two one-hour exams given in lecture, tentatively scheduled for Friday, October 4 and Friday, November 15. There will be a comprehensive final exam on Friday, December 13, 1:00 - 3:00 PM.

    Drop Date: The last day to drop this class without penalty is Friday, September 6. You are allowed (during your career) between the 3rd and 6th week. LAS students should consult the LAS office 996-3366 for appointment or drop-in on Tuesday only from 8:30-3:30. (This semester only this privilege extends to the 9th week). An incomplete grade is given only when a student is unable to complete the course.

    Students with Disabilities: Students with disabilities who require accommodations for access and participation in this course must be registered with the Office of Disability Services (ODS). Please contact ODS at (312)413-2103 (voice) or (312)413-0123 (TTY).

    Academic Integrity: I expect you to abide by the University's academic integrity guidelines. If you violate them on an assignment, you will receive no credit for that assignment and I will report the incident to the university. You can find the University's guidelines at http://www.uic.edu:80/depts/sja/integrit.htm

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