Lectures: MWF
12:30 to 1:20 pm, Room:
RCH 302
Tutorials: Monday
2:30 to 4:20 pm, Rooms:
MC 4041, MC 4058, 4063
Office hours: check
here
RSS feed | Lectures | Homework | Quizzes | Exams | Marks |
Announcement
Sept. 3: If you wish to review your final exam, I am also available Thu. Sept. 11, from 5 -- 6 pm. You are encouraged to read the solutions before coming for a review.
August 30: The statistics for the course grades are on the marks page. Solutions and the grading scheme for the final exam are available on the exams page. If you wish to review your exam, they are available with your instructor on Tue. Sep. 2, from 3 -- 4 pm. You are encouraged to read the solutions before coming for a review.
August 14: Marks for all graded components except the final exam have been posted on the Marks page; please check for any discrepancies.
Past announcements are available here.
Instructor
Ashwin Nayak | anayak [at] uwaterloo | MC 4034 | x36601 |
Teaching Assistants
Tut 101 | Ashkan Aazami | aaazami [at] uwaterloo | MC 5172 | x36674 |
Tut 102 | Mohammad Derakhshani | mderakhshani [at] uwaterloo | MC 5136A | x36895 |
Tut 103 | Kayo Yoshida | k2yoshida [at] uwaterloo | MC 4018A | x37037 |
Office hours | Pu (Jane) Gao | p3gao [at] uwaterloo | MC 5043 | x33922 |
Outline
This course introduces first year engineering students to basic elements of discrete mathematics. The idea is to gain familiarity with concepts of fundamental importance to computer science on a mathematically rigorous footing.
List of topics:
Text
Discrete Mathematics for Engineers: Course
Notes for ECE 103
Department of Combinatorics and Optimization,
University of Waterloo
Spring 2008 edition
This is available through Campus Copy locations, e.g., in MC 2018, and costs $20.07 + tax.
The text should not be treated as a substitute for the lectures. The lectures may present the material covered in the text in a different manner, or deviate from it entirely. You should take your own notes in class.
Homework problems will be assigned from the exercises
in the text. If you use an earlier edition of the course notes,
please ensure that you solve the questions as in the Spring 2008
edition.
Evaluation
The final mark in the course will be based on homework, quizzes conducted during the tutorials, one midterm, and the final exam. The weight given to the different components is
Homework
There will be nine graded homework assignments in all. The best seven of these will be counted towards your final mark in the course.
A homework is due every Monday, except on May 19, June 16, and June 30. It will be posted on the web at least five days in advance. The homework will be based on the material covered in class until the preceding Wednesday. Each assignment will consist of four to five questions. You are required to attempt all of them. The homework will be collected by your TA at the end of the tutorial on the due date. Graded homework will be returned to you in the next tutorial.
You should be able to solve most of the problems in the homework on
your own if you have understood the lectures. However you can expect an
odd question that will require additional thought. You may work on the
homework in small groups (and are encouraged to do so, in case of difficulty).
You may also consult your TA or the instructor during their office hours
and tutorials.
However, you should write up the solutions on your own and mention all
sources of help. Solutions will be posted on the web after the due
date.
Tutorials
From May 12, there will be a tutorial every Monday (except on university holidays, May 19 and June 30) at 2:30 pm running for roughly two hours.
The first hour and twenty minutes of the tutorials will be open for a discussion of the homework and a review of the lectures. You are encouraged to approach the TAs with any difficulty you face in the lectures and homework during this time.
During the last half hour of the tutorial, there
will be a quiz (except on June 16),
which each of you is required to complete on your own,
possibly with our help. The problems assigned in the quiz will be of similar
difficulty to the ones in the homework, and will test the same material.
You are free to consult the text, your notes, or us for the quiz. However,
you are not allowed to discuss the problems with your classmates.
The homework and quiz
will be collected at the end of the tutorial and returned to you in the
next tutorial, after grading.
Solutions to the quizzes will be posted on this web
page on the next day.
There will be nine quizzes in all: one in every
tutorial except on June 16. The best seven of these will be
counted towards your final mark in the course.
Office hours
The instructor and one TA will make themselves available to help you with the
course every week (check here).
You are advised to see us during that time (or during the tutorial) if
you have any difficulty with the lectures, homework, or any other aspect
of the course. Please use email only in special circumstances. We may not
be able to answer all your email queries individually.
Feedback
Please pass on your comments, criticism, and opinions on the course
to us; these are always welcome. You may choose to do this through your
class representatives, or write directly to us.
Note on Academic Offenses
Students are expected to know what
constitutes academic integrity, to avoid committing academic offenses,
and to take responsibility for their actions. Students who are unsure
whether an action constitutes an offense, or who need help in learning
how to avoid offenses (e.g., plagiarism, cheating) or about "rules" for
group work / collaboration should seek guidance from the course
instructor, TA, academic advisor, or the Director of first year
engineering.
For information on categories of offenses and types of penalties,
students should refer to Policy #71, Student
Academic Discipline.
Students who
believe that they have been wrongfully or unjustly penalized have the
right to grieve; refer to Policy #70,
Student
Grievance.
Note for students with disabilities
The Office for Persons with
Disabilities (OPD), located in Needles Hall, Room 1132, collaborates
with
all academic departments to arrange appropriate accommodations for
students with disabilities without compromising the academic integrity
of
the curriculum. If you require academic accommodations to lessen the
impact of your disability, please register with the OPD at the
beginning
of each academic term.