Course Syllabus
Math 355 - Combinatorics
Spring 2015
Book: Applied Combinatorics 2nd Edition by Roberts and Tesman
The Course: Combinatorics is the study of counting or enumeration problems arising with sets, graphs and other discrete structures in mathematics. Topics include permutations, combinations, pigeonhole principle, inclusion/exclusion principle, generating functions, partitions, recurrence and possible graphs. Combinatorics is currently one of the most active disciplines in mathematics with subfields focusing on graph theory, algebraic combinatorics and the theory of algorithms. The field has important applications in virtually all areas of mathematics as well as natural sciences and computer science. This class will deal with both theory and application. The homework will involve both proof and computations.
Reading: Reading your textbook is essential to success in this class. Reading assignments will be included with homework assignments and must be completed before the lecture on that topic. Read slowly with a pencil and paper in hand. Try to fill in missing steps as you read. Always try to work out examples before you read text solutions. You will be expected to be ready to discuss the material you read in class, and this will be part of the participation portion of your grade.
Participation: Each student is expected to be a productive member of the class. This means you should expect to attend each class period and be prepared to discuss the material. Excessive absence or unpreparedness will result in deduction of points in this area. Occasionally students will present homework solutions to the rest of the class and also each student will be responsible for presenting one topic or proof during the course. This presentation will be part of your participation grade. Participation will be worth 40 points of your final grade.
Homework: You will be assigned homework to be turned in most class periods. You are allowed and indeed encouraged to work on your homework with other people, however what you turn in should be your own understanding of how to do the problems and should not just be a copy of someone else's work. Your homework must follow the homework guidelines given in class. The homework for the course will be worth 150 points of your total grade.
Quizzes: Most weeks that do not include an exam will have a short quiz. The quiz will cover the most recent material from the class and should take no longer than 10-15 minutes. Although these quizzes cannot be made up except in extreme circumstances, one quiz will be dropped so missing one quiz will not greatly affect your grade. The quizzes will each be worth 20 points towards your final grade.
Exams:
There will be two period-long exams which will be given on
Mar. 5 and Apr. 16.
The material they will cover will be announced on the
website and in class at least a week ahead of time. Make-up exams will
not be given. If you have a legitimate excuse you may use your final
exam score to make up for missing exam scores.
The exams will each be worth 100 points.
There will be a comprehensive 2 hour
final given on Thursday, May 14 at 8 AM.
The final is worth 150 points.
Learning Outcomes: Upon completion of this class students should be able to:
Disability: For accommodations due to a disability please contact me within the first 2 weeks.
Academic Honesty: Cheating and plagiarism are in violation of USD's academic integrity policy and are taken very seriously. Make sure you are aware of this policy.
Have a Good Semester!