CIT 592 Course Overview (Fall 2014)


Course Objectives

The mathematics of modern computer science is built almost entirely on discrete math, in particular combinatorics and graph theory. This means that in order to learn the fundamental algorithms used by computer programmers, you will need a solid background in these subjects. CIT 592 is designed to give you a strong fundamental knowledge of these discrete math concepts.

This course also prepares you to take the more advanced theoretical computer science courses such as CIS502 (algorithms)

 

Class Meeting Times

Tue/Thurs 1:30-3:00pm, Towne 313

Recitation on Tuesday 4:30-6pm, Towne 311

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Textbooks

In terms of actual physical textbook for this class, it is tough to find something that works really well for MCIT students. The chosen book is Discrete Mathematics with Applications by Susanna Epp. You should also be able to find copies of this online as a pdf.

I will scan the relevant pieces of that textbook and place them on canvas, so I would not recommend buying it unless you find a decent price. If you come to class and pay attention, the book should serve mostly as a great place for examples and exercises.

We will also be using an online interactive textbook (Zybook) for some of our exercises. This text is mandatory

  1. Sign up at zybooks.zyante.com
  2. Enter zyBook code: UPennCIT592DiscMathFall14
  3. Subscribe using any credit card
The online nature of the textbook encourages you to try things out and gives you immediate feedback. Part of every homework will be to do some/all of the exercises from the interactive text. Since the online text has all the answers available to you, we just want you to do them and develop the understanding. If the book's solution and explanation do not make sense, we expect you to be asking us questions. We will not be following the exact order of topics as presented in the zybook but for every topic we cover, if there are examples/questions in the zybook, we expect you to do them.


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Piazza

Please use the following link to sign up for the piazza discussion for this class piazza

Grading

Note that these are only guidelines, but final course grades will likely be based on the following:

  • Midterm exam 1 (15%)
    • This will be scheduled for sometime at the end of the first month. 2nd of October is the tentative date.
  • Midterm exam 2 (15%)
    • This will be scheduled for sometime at the end of the second month. 6th of Nov is the tentative date.
  • Final exam (25%)
    • This is scheduled by the university registrar and currently is scheduled for Dec 17.
    • The exam will be comprehensive, but there will be more questions on the portions that have not been covered in either midterm
  • Homework assignments (40%)
    • The best way to learn math is to solve a lot of problems.
    • Expect a homework assignment every week with about 10 questions. Tentatively, assignments will be handed out every Tuesday and will be due at the start of next Tuesday's class.
    • Homework has to be submitted online on canvas and we prefer to see pdf submissions
  • Participation (5%) This component is mainly to make sure of 3 things.
    • Everyone does the relevant sections of the zybook.
    • The majority of Piazza posts get read by everyone. The ideal case is a good amount of discussion on Piazza, but I recognize that students can be extremely shy.
    • Attendance at recitations.

Important: 

Credit for work will be recorded only as reported by the TA in the Gradebook on Canvas. It is your responsibility to make sure that your work has been properly recorded in the Gradebook.

Make sure you notify the TA of any problems regarding missing records or incorrectly entered scores; the grade entries on the Canvas will be considered permanent one week subsequent to their posting.

Our TAs will be responsible for adjudicating problems related to grading; the instructor will only be involved as a possible court of last appeal in case there is some truly difficult decision to make (i.e., in most cases, I will not be willing to second guess the TAs' decisions). To submit a request to the TA for a regrade of an assignment, email the TA stating the nature of the problem and the remedy you desire. You must submit this adjustment request within one week of the return of the material in question. The TAs will not consider any requests for grade adjustments that are submitted later than this one week grace period.


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Academic Integrity

Do not cheat. Please note that searching for solutions online is the same as cheating.

If you ask your classmates for help, it has to be at the conceptual level and not the actual question on the HW. Also, you HAVE to tell us who helped you out.

Note: When in doubt always ask the instructor or TA first, to avoid any potential collabration that can lead to academic dishonesty.

You can further read Penn's Code of Academic Integrity page on this subject matter, as well as the SEAS Graduate Student guidelines on the code of ethics.


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Homework turn-in procedure

Homework has to be submitted online on canvas. Each homework will have a deadline that canvas will be keep track of. No hand-written submissions will be accepted. We really want to encourage usage of electronic submissions. While scanning a hand written solution and submitting the pdf is fine, please do this only if you are really really pressed for time.

Submissions after the deadline are subject to a 10% per day penalty, up to seven days, after which the submission will not be accepted.

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