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Many thanks to David Mix Barrington for allowing me to base these web pages on the ones he produced for last semester's version of this course.
What is this course about? CMPSCI 250 is the undergraduate core course in discrete mathematics. You will study the following mathematical structures and concepts that are essential for much of computer science: logic, proof techniques, basic structures, elementary number theory, combinatorics, discrete probability, graphs and trees. Although we require calculus as a prerequisite, and you do need that experience, you will find that most of the material in this course is quite different from what you learned in calculus. You will learn how to use logic in formulating mathematical questions and for proving theorems; you will learn a collection of useful mathematical structures; and---we hope---you will learn how to think mathematically about a wide range of problems. Unlike most computer science courses, use of a computer is not required (though might be helpful on occasion).
Lectures: Tuesday & Thursday 9:30-10:45, Place: LGRC A301
Discussion Sections:
Discussion Section 1: Monday 9:05-9:55, Place: LGRC A203
Discussion Section 2: Wednesday 9:05-9:55, Place: LGRC A203
These will consist of students solving specific problems alone or in groups and handing answers in, so missing a discussion section will incur a grade penalty. You have registered for one of these. I may ask for volunteers to switch sections if the numbers come out too unbalanced.
Instructor Contact Info: Andrew Barto, 272 CMPSCI Building, barto@cs.umass.edu, 545-2109, office hours: Tues and Thurs 11:00-12:00
Teaching Assistant Contact Info: Pippin Wolfe, pippin@cs.umass.edu, office and office hours: T220 (LGRC tower TA advising room) Mon 3:00-5:00, Wed 10:00-11:00 T220
Prerequisites: The course is primarily intended for undergraduate majors in computer science and related majors such as mathematics and computer engineering. Prerequisite: CMPSCI 187 (programming with data structures) or ECE 242, MATH 131/135 (Calculus I). Corequisite: MATH 132/136 (Calculus II) or equivalent.
Required book: Kenneth H. Rosen, Discrete Mathematics and its Applications, Fifth Edition, McGraw Hill (2003). Note that you need the 5th edition. There is a new 6th edition, but I decided to use the old 5th edition to keep your expenses down and since the new edition didn't come out until late this summer. You should be able to find a used copy, but be sure it is the 5th edition. The Textbook Annex is going to try to get as many used copies as they can. If you want to purchase the new 6th edition instead, please let me know. If enough of you want to do this, I can try to specify assignments for both editions (though I would rather not...)
How to succeed in this course: Come to every lecture and one discussion each week! Read the assigned reading for each lecture BEFORE the lecture. Ask me and the TA questions. Ask yourself questions. Feel free to ask questions about the homework, readings, and lectures, early and often! This will help everyone. Do all the homework assignments! You will need to understand the problems and their solutions to do well in the course. Read the problems and think about them as soon as you get them. And study your graded homeworks and exams after they are handed back: understand why you didn't get full credit. (I have often given the same question more than once if lots of people missed it the first time.) Don't be shy about using my office hours or those of the TA. Discuss problems with your classmates (but see the Academic Honesty Policy using the link below). If you get to feeling really lost, please talk to me right away. Although I can't promise that you will succeed if you do all these things, I know from experience that they will help immensely.
Important Course Material: