Instructor: Harold B. Reiter
Office: Fretwell, 345A
Office Hours: see homepage
Phone: office 687-4561; home 364-5699
Email: hbreiter@email.uncc.edu;
fax: 687-6415
Text: Discrete
Mathematics, by Richard Johnsonbaugh.
You'll find more good links at
his personal book website.
There will be two pre-final tests, contributing 20% each to the final grade. There will be 25 or so homework sets (about 1.2% each), for a total of 30% and a final exam which counts at least 30% of the final grade (see organization below for more on this). The homework grade must be correlated to the test scores within 20% in order to count towards the final grade. The tests are cumulative. That is, each test will include some questions on material covered in previous tests. The final exam, also cumulative, will count for at least 30% of the final grade. Grades will be determined as follows: A, 85%;B, 70% to 85%; C, 55% to 70%; D, 40% to 55%.
Although I will make every effort to update the assignment page to reflect any changes in tests and dues dates for homework, it is possible that such changes will not appear until after the fact. Thus, each student it responsible for any changes that take place as a result of discussions that take place during class.
Tests will be made up only under the following
circumstances:
1, the student has called the instructor at 704-687-4561 (office) or 704
3645699 (home) before the test to indicate the need to miss the test or
has sent e-mail to
hbreiter@email.uncc.edu dated before the test and
2, the student provides a valid excuse for missing the test. Makeup tests
will generally be oral exams.
Late homework will not be graded.
Most homework assignments will be collected, and should be done either individually or in a group. If you work in a group, you must provide the names of your partners in the group. Group work is encouraged. A list of students with phone numbers will be provided for the purpose of facilitating the formations of study groups. Homework assignments appear on a separate sheet which may be found here. Not all problems are taken from the notes/text. You should work all the problems assigned each week and not wait until the day before the test. On the first attempt, you should expect to find that some of the problems require thinking and practice, i.e., they require time to do properly. You should plan to work the problems in Schaum's as well as those at the back of some lectures even though they will not be collected.
Short quizzes may be given during the last 15-20 minutes on certain days without prior warning. The quiz grade will contribute to the homework grade. Material covered or assigned through the end of the previous lecture will be on the quizzes so you are encouraged to keep up to date. Missed quizzes will not be made up. If a valid excuse is provided, your average quiz score will be used to replaced the missed quiz.
You the student has the
responsibility to know and observe the requirements of The UNCC Code of
Student Academic Integrity (Catalog p. 24). This code forbids cheating,
fabrication or falsification of information, multiple submission
of academic work, plagiarism, abuse of academic materials, and complicity in
academic dishonesty. Any special requirements or permission regarding academic
integrity in this course will be stated by the instructor and are binding on
the students. Academic evaluations in this course include a judgment that the
student's work is free from academic dishonesty of any type; and grades in this
course therefore should be and will be adversely affected by academic
dishonesty. Students who violate the code can be expelled from UNCC. The normal
penalty for a first offense is zero credit on the work involving dishonesty and
further substantial reduction of the course grade. In almost all cases the
course grade is reduced to F. Copies of the code can be obtained from the Dean
of Students Office. Standards of academic integrity will be enforced in this
course. Students are expected to report cases of academic dishonesty to the
course instructor. See UNCC Code of Student
Academic Integrity
You are expected to make academic progress of two types in this course. First, you are expected to develop certain skills and to develop an understanding of the concepts of discrete mathematics, and to gain the confidence and mathematical maturity to use these concepts in new settings. You should not expect to pass the course without making significant progress in the latter. It is also quite possible that some test problems will seem new to some students. To explain the difference between a skill and the mastering of a concept, consider that certain homework problems may considered exercises and others may be considered problems. Exercises are designed to help you learn and practice routine skills. There is generally no doubt about how to do these problems. They may be tedious, but you do not have to consider what strategy to use. Problems, on the other hand are often much more challenging. Here the main hurdle is to decide on the strategy. Often such a problem is easy once you see how to do it, but gaining that insight may require considerable time and effort. You can see copies of old tests here. Tests in the course are cumulative. That is to say, each test covers all the material encountered since the course began. The reason for this is that each topic after the first test is built on material discussed earlier.
Tutorial services offers regular
one-on-one and group tutorials for this course. Ask about this in the
Video tapes covering each aspect of this course are available for your
viewing in both the
You should plan to read about each topic in the text before hearing a lecture on it. If you find this impossible, not all is lost, because...
The lectures in our section are designed to help you to READ the text. They are not intended to enable you to avoid reading the text.
A. To win you over to the intellectual enterprise. That is, I hope to help you develop the confidence and maturity to take the intellectual approach to solving problems you encounter. In other words, you can solve many problems by thinking and learning, and you can change your environment for the better if you embrace the academic enterprise.
B. To help you see mathematical problem solving as an enjoyable and worthwhile activity.
C. To help you become familiar with electronic communication.
What you can expect from me:
That I will treat this course as the most important course I have ever taught,
and
A. That I will be consistently well-prepared for class,
B. That I will greet you cordially at my office and help you however I can to
learn.
C. That I will respond to your email messages on the day I receive them.
D. That I will treat you with respect.
What I expect of you:
A. That you will read the book.
B. That you will do your homework including problems of the day regularly and
on time.
C. That you will attend both lectures and recitations.
D. I expect that you will not leave class before being dismissed. If you know
that you will have to leave class before the lecture is completed, make
arrangements before the class begins and sit in a seat near the door. Leave
quietly. Failure to adhere to this policy will result in an F in the course.