Professor: John Mitchell, Amos Eaton 325, x6915, mitchj at rpi dot edu

Teaching Assistant: Linghong Hu, Amos Eaton 432, hul4 at rpi dot edu

The course meets for four hours each week, three hours with the professor and one hour with the teaching assistant. The time with the TA will typically consist of problem solving.

Class times: All sections will meet TWF 10.0-10.50, in Sage 3303. The schedule for the recitations is as follows:

Text: Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, 6th edition, by Kenneth H. Rosen. Price comparison available online. The version in the campus bookstore includes the solution manual.

MathZone Companion Website: The companion website to the text is at

This site contains extra examples and demonstration applets, as well as other material.

Schedule: We will cover approximately the first nine chapters of the text. A more detailed listing is available on the course webpage.

Homework: There will be homework assignments, generally based on the text. These homeworks will not be collected or graded. It is vital that you work these problems, and as many additional questions from the text as possible. Working problems is essential if you are to master the material.

Exams: There will be three in-class exams and one final exam. All exams are required. As you would expect, no collaboration is permitted on the exams or the final exam. Calculators are not permitted. The in-class exams will be held on September 29, October 27, and December 4.

Quizzes: A short quiz will be given at the end of many recitations. It should last about 10-15 minutes, and will usually consist of a single problem from material discussed in the prior week. No collaboration is permitted on the quizzes. Calculators are not permitted.

Makeup Exams: If you need to miss an exam because of a prior commitment, you must speak to me before the exam. If you miss an exam for an unforeseen but valid reason such as illness, you must obtain an appropriate written excuse. If you miss an exam without a written excuse, you can only take a makeup if you let me know within 24 hours; further, your score will automatically be reduced by 15 points.

Grades:
Advance grade: 90% for the in-class exams, 10% for quizzes. The score for the in-class exams will be calculated as 40% for each of your best two scores and 10% for your worst score.

Course grade: The better of:

For the purposes of Mid-Term Assessment, exam scores will be posted online, with identifying data removed.

The World Wide Web: This outline, the homeworks, and other information about the course will be available via my homepage,
      http://www.rpi.edu/~mitchj/math2800

Office hours:

Attendance: Strongly encouraged. Active engagement in class will greatly help you in understanding the material.

Cell phones: Cell phones must not disturb the class. Please ensure the ringer is turned off.

Student learning outcomes: Develop symbol manipulation skills, mathematical modeling skills, and proof skills. Develop a thorough understanding of discrete structures.

Academic integrity: Student-teacher relationships are based on mutual trust. Acts which violate this trust undermine the educational process. The Rensselaer Handbook defines various forms of academic dishonesty and procedures for responding to them. The penalties for cheating can include failure in the course, as well as harsher punishments.

Appealing grades: As with any other administrative question regarding this course, see me in the first instance. If we are unable to reach agreement, you may appeal my decision to Professor Drew.