INFO 150: A Mathematical Foundation for Informatics

David Mix Barrington

Fall, 2017

This is the home page for INFO 150. INFO 150 is an introductory undergraduate course in discrete mathematics and the mathematical method. I have developed it for use in a new degree program in the College of Information and Computer Sciences called "Informatics", a program that will teach computational thinking at a less technical level than the Computer Science majors. The intended audience for this course is students who intend to pursue computing, perhaps in programming courses for majors like CMPSCI 121 and 187, but could use more exposure to mathematical thinking first.

Instructor Contact Info: David Mix Barrington, 210 CMPSCI building, 545-4329, office hours for Fall 2017 Tue 11-12, Thu 3-4, Fri 2:30-3:30.

I generally answer my email fairly reliably.

TA Contact Info: There is no TA for this course but we have an undergraduate course assistant yet to be named.

The material of the course does not overlap much with that of the conventional pre-calculus and calculus courses, but it will demand some basic skill in calculation. There is no formal prerequisite, but an average high-school math background will be useful (e.g., the University's R1 gen-ed requirement). (This course does not carry gen-ed credit itself, though I expect that future versions will be R2 courses.)

On the opposite end of the spectrum, someone who has taken MATH 132 or CMPSCI 187 probably has too much mathematical maturity to be in the appropriate audience for this course.

The textbook for the course is Discrete Mathematics: Mathematical Reasoning and Proof with Puzzles, Patterns, and Games by Douglas E. Ensley and J Winston Crawley. The UMass Amazon virtual bookstore has been informed about the book. It's pretty expensive, but there is the cheaper options of buying it used (I didn't see options of renting it or getting the e-book on the Amazon site, but they may exist). Do not buy the paperback "solutions manual" in place of the hardcover textbook. We'll work through most of the book, with specific sections as specified on the syllabus.

The course will meet for three lecture meetings a week, MWF 11:15-12:05 in room 15 of Marston Hall. There will be graded activity in every class section, so attendance is required.

• Course Requirements and Grading
• Homework Assignment Page (with HW#27)
• Exam Directory (with second midterm and solution)
• Syllabus (Lecture-by-Lecture Schedule)
• Notes for Non-Book Lectures

Announcements (25 November 2017):

• (25 Nov) I have posted the second midterm and its solution. The scores for the 19 people who took the exam were 86, 79, 78, 74, 71, 69, 68, 67, 64, 61, 60, 57, 57, 55, 54, 54, 44, 33, 33. I put the scale at A = 81, B = 67.5, C = 54, D = 40.5, since this was clearly more difficult than last year's second midterm. I still owe you notes for the non-book lecture on simulation.
• (22 Oct) I am hoping to have the first midterm and its solution posted tonight. The scores for the 19 people who took the exam were 97, 96, 89, 89, 87, 86, 85, 81, 79, 78, 75, 71, 64, 62, 58, 57, 46, 32, and 22. The median was 78. The scale was as advertised, A = 90, B = 75, C = 60, D = 45, F = 30.
• (14 Oct) I've put up notes for yesterday's non-book lecture. They contain the homework assignment due Monday. Note that Monday's lecture will not be covered on Monday night's evening exam.
• (28 Sept) I've put up notes for the non-book lecture on brute-force search I gave today. There will be three other non-book lectures at various times during the term, and notes for them will be available from the link above after they happen.
• (19 Sept) I will be away this Thursday and Friday, 21 and 22 September. As it says on the syllabus, there is no class Friday. The homework assigned tomorrow will be due Monday 25 September. This will be the last homework for which I will type out the problem text from the book.
• (7 Sept) I've put up the second homework assignment before the first one is due, so make sure you do the first one for tomorrow.
• (5 Sept) I have put up the syllabus and the requirements/grading page, and I am about to put up the first homework assignment, which is due Friday. I'll copy the questions for this one and perhaps one or two more, but you need to get the textbook!
• (2 Sept) We'll begin the class on Wednesday 6 September at 11:15. Please try to get the textbook as soon as possible if you don't have it already. I'll post the syllabus before the end of the weekend.
• (26 July) This is a preliminary version of the web page. This is the second offering of this course under its current number and with its current size. Last year's course web site is available here. We do have room for more students, so please email me if you would like to talk about the course and whether it is right for you. I'll have more material on this page as we get closer to term. If you have questions about the Informatics program, now being operated in cooperation with BDIC, please contact Dr. Michelle Trim, the undergraduate advisor for the program.

Last modified 25 November 2017