MATH 3170-001: Combinatorics

Fall 2019

MWF 11:00-11:50 am, ECCR 110

Syllabus

Text: A Walk Through Combinatorics: An Introduction to Enumeration and Graph Theory by Miklós Bóna (4th edition).

Course description: Covers basic methods and results in combinatorial theory. Includes enumeration methods, elementary properties of functions and relations, and graph theory. Emphasizes applications.

Prerequisites: MATH 2001 or MATH 2002.

Homework and Quizzes: There will be regularly assigned homework and quizzes. As a rule, quizzes will take place in the last 10 minutes of Monday lectures, and homework will be due on Wednesdays (by the beginning of the lecture). No late homework will be accepted. The two lowest homework scores and quiz scores won't count towards the final grade. No make-up will be given for homework or quizzes.

Exams: There will be one mid-term exam:

October 18 (Fri), 11:00-11:50 am (in class),

and a final exam

Dec 15 (Sun), 1:30-4:00 pm.

Make-up for the midterm will only be given for unavoidable and documented absences.

No make-up will be given for a missed final exam. If you miss the final for reasons that are beyond your control, and you have a passing grade for the rest of the course (i.e., for homework, quizzes, and midterm), then you may request a grade of `Incomplete'. The eligibility criteria are described in the University Catalog.

If the final exam is cancelled in response to inclement weather or other emergencies that result in a campus closure, then in accordance with the Final Examination Policy, course grades will be assigned based on graded work completed up to the end of the term (i.e., homework, quizzes, and the midterm).

Limits of Collaboration: I recommend that you first attempt to solve the homework problems alone, using only your textbooks and your notes. If you need more help, you may consult other books or persons (including me). However, I require that you write your homework solutions unaided.

All outside sources (e.g., books other than the text for the course, collaboration with classmates, consultation with other persons, information found on the internet) used in homework solutions have to be acknowledged.
No student is allowed to see another's written work before that work has been graded.
No collaboration of any type is permitted on exams and quizzes.

Grading: You will be graded on your written work, which will be judged on the basis of correctness, completeness, and legibility. Some of the problems will ask you to justify your answer or give a proof. In these cases strings of formulas or diagrams without explanation will not be accepted.

Your final grade will be determined by the scores of your homework, quizzes, mid-term exam, and final exam. To combine these items the following weights will be used:

Homework: 25%
Quizzes: 25%
Midterm exam: 20%
Final exam: 30%.

There will be no extra credit assignments.

Getting Help: Don't wait until it is too late if you need help.

Ask questions!

I am available during my office hours and many other times. If you can't see me during office hours, then make an appointment with me to see me at a different time.

Campus Policies: On the web page of Required Syllabus Statements you will find details about

the honor code,
the campus policies on classroom behavior, on accommodating students with disabilities, and on observance of religious holidays, and
the campus policies on sexual misconduct, discrimination, harassment and/or related retaliation.

If you need any special accommodation due to medical disability or observance of a religious holiday, please inform me as soon as possible (preferably within the first two weeks of class), and provide documentation.