CS 311 — Discrete Structures
Spring 2008

Contact Information

Instructor:
Bruce MacLennan
Phone: 974-5067
Office: Claxton Complex 217
Hours: TR 2:00–3:30 or make an appointment
Email: maclennan@cs.utk.edu

Teaching Assistant:
Kristy Van Hornweder
Phone: 974-6433
Office: Claxton 122C
Hours: TBA or make an appointment
Email: kvanhorn AT eecs.utk.edu

Classes: TR 3:40–4:55, Claxton 206

This page: http://www.cs.utk.edu/~mclennan/Classes/311/

Catalog Description

Topics covered include equivalence relations, partial orderings, combinations, permutations, analysis of algorithms, finite automata and regular languages.

Prerequisites

CS 140, CS 160, MAT 300.

Math 300 is the most important prerequisite for this course, since it teaches the proof techniques that you will be using throughout this semester.

Text

Ralph P. Grimaldi: Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics: An Applied Introduction (5th ed.).

Topics

SUBJECT TO CHANGE! We will cover topics in chapters in Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics, 5th Ed., by Grimaldi in this order:

Chap. 1 Counting
Chap. 2 Logic
Chap. 3 Sets (omitting 3.4)
Chap. 4 Induction
Chap. 5 Relations and Functions
Chap. 6 Finite State Automata
Chap. 7 Relations again

As time permits:
Chap. 11 Graph Theory
Chap. 12 Trees
Chap. 16 Groups and Coding Theory
Chap. 9 Generating Functions
Chap. 10 Recurrence Relations

Final Exam

We will not cover every topic in all these chapters, and we will have a few additional definitions and results such as the connection between finite state automata and regular grammars. We will emphasize fundamentals (elementary counting, sets, relations, functions, proofs in discrete math) and introduce some important applications in CS, which include Chaps. 6–7 (finite automata as simple but powerful mathematical models of sequence recognizers). There is a large number of mathematical definitions and concepts to deal with.

Quizes and Homework

There will be a short (approximately 15 min.) quiz at the beginning or end of class each Thursday. This is to help you keep up with the material. If you are satisfied with your quiz average, you will not have to take the final exam.

Except under special circumstances (e.g. death in the family), there will be no makeup quizzes and you will be given a 0 for any quiz that you miss. However, I will drop the lowest quiz grade for every student.

At this time I do not anticipate that there will be any graded homework. However, as will be explained in class, you should do as many of the problems in the book as you are able; this is the only way to hone your skills. Note that the answers to the odd-numbered exercises are in the back of the book, so you can check your work. You can also give your practice exercises to us for checking. Also, most of the quiz and exam questions will be taken from the book exercises or be similar to them. See Handouts (below) for more on practice exercises.

Exams and Grading

SUBJECT TO CHANGE! It is anticipated that your grade will be 50% quizzes and 50% final exam. However, if you are satisfied with your quiz average, you will not have to take the final exam. As I mentioned above, I will drop your lowest quiz grade before computing the quiz average.

The Final Exam will be Tuesday, May 6, 2:45–4:45. The Final Exam will be two hours worth of questions similar in difficulty to those on the quizzes (the equivalent of 6–8 quizzes).

Additional information: If you do better on the Final than your quiz average, then I will use the final for most of your grade (> 90%); if you do the same or worse, it will count 50%, as described above. In the last week of class I will tell you the maximum grade division points, so that you will know the worst your grade could be if you don't take the final. You can come to take the final at the time mentioned above, and if you look at it and decide not to take it, your grade will be based on your quizzes. If you do take it, it will be counted as described in this paragraph.

For Students with Disabilities

The Office of Disability Services and the Campus Disability Monitors have asked us to pass this statement along in our syllabi:

Students who have a disability that require accommodation(s) should make an appointment with the Office of Disability Services (974-6087) to discuss their specific needs as well as schedule an appointment with me during my office hours.