Text: Discrete Mathematics, Dossey, Otto, Spence, and VandenEynden
Instructor: Dave Rusin, rusin@math.niu.edu, 753-6738
Class Hours: Mon Wed Thurs Fri, 2:00-2:50pm, DuSable 318. There is no class Monday Sept 7, and the exam on Monday Nov 23 will be our only meeting of that week.
Office Hours: I will be in my office (Watson Hall 338) in the hour before class each day.
Course description: Math 206. Introductory Discrete Mathematics (3 credit-hours). Introduction to sets, algorithms, induction, recursion, relations, graphs, trees, and algebraic structure, with applications, many of which are in computer science. Not used in major or minor GPA calculation for mathematical sciences majors or minors. PRQ: MATH 110 or satisfactory performance on the Mathematics Placement Examination.
You should consult with an advisor in your department to determine whether this course can be used to fulfill any requirements for any other major or minor that you are pursuing.
Special General Education note: Completion of this course with a grade of C or higher will fulfill the university Core Competency requirement in mathematics (required for every NIU bachelors' degree). MATH 206 cannot be used for any of the Distributive Area requirements of the General Education program. For more information about the goals and requirements of the General Education program please visit http://www.math.niu.edu/programs/ugrad/gened.html
The course topics shown above permit us considerable latitude to pick material for the course. If your interest in something is piqued by something you read or hear about, please let me know and I can see whether we can include it in the course. Since Math 206 is not used as a pre-requisite for any other math class, we can be somewhat free in deciding which of the many topics to cover.
Course grading: You will earn up to 600 points from quizzes and tests
Exam 1 ( 9/21): 100 pts Exam 2 (10/26): 100 pts Exam 3 (11/23): 100 pts Quiz Total: 100 pts Final Exam: 200 ptsThe ten 10-point quizzes will be held Friday Aug 28, Friday Sept 4, and then on Mondays 9/14, 9/28, 10/5, 10/12, 10/19, 11/2, 11/9, 11/16. The quiz questions will typically be drawn from the homework; the test questions will be somewhat deeper.
At the end of the semester these will be converted to a letter grade which will be at least as good as promised from the table below:
500-600: A
420-499: B
360-419: C
300-360: D
0-299: F
Note that,
in principle, you can pass the course even if you have amassed only
100 points (out of 400 possible) on the three exams and the quizzes.
But I cannot emphasize strongly enough that hoping for a miracle to
occur on the final is a very poor strategy. Come to class, do the
homework, and prepare well for the quizzes and tests, and then you
will be learning what you should learn and will do well in the class.
WITHDRAWAL: The last day for undergraduates to withdraw from a full-session course is Friday, October 16, 2009.
There is a long list of expectations which instructors are supposed to include in their printed syllabi. Please consult some other NIU course for precise wording, and allow me to summarize: