CSE 2321 — Foundations of Computer Science I — Autumn 2015 MWF 12:40 p.m. – 1:35 p.m., DL 369 Instructor K. Supowit; office hours MWF 10:30 – 11:20 a.m., or by appointment, Dreese 679, e-mail [email protected]. Grader Chaoyue Liu, e-mail [email protected]. Midterm 1: Wednesday, September 30, 8 p.m. – 9:45 p.m., room to be announced. Midterm 2: Wednesday, November 4, 8 p.m. – 9:45 p.m., room to be announced. Final exam: Monday, December 14, 8 p.m. – 9:45 p.m., Baker Systems Engineering 120. Prerequisites Basically, you need some programming and a semester of calculus. Here’s the official story: (1) CSE 1232, 1233, or 2221, and (2) Math 1551 or the equivalent. Course summary Propositional logic, Boolean algebra, first-order logic, sets, functions, graphs and trees, analysis of algorithms, asymptotic analysis, combinatorics, graph algorithms. Course Objectives After taking this course, the student should * better understand the topics in the course summary, * have greater mathematical maturity, * write and think more clearly, * be a better programmer. Textbook Introduction to Algorithms, 3rd edition, by Cormen, Leiserson, Rivest, and Stein. This book is huge; we’ll cover about 15% of it. The next course in this sequence (CSE 2331 – Foundations of Computer Science II) will cover another 25% of it or so. If you make a career in computer science, you’ll probably benefit from keeping it as a reference. Required readings 1. “Advice for Students,” posted on Carmen. 2. From the MIT open courseware: “Logic.” This, too, is posted on Carmen. 3. From some lecture notes used at Cornell: “Counting.” It’s also on Carmen. 4. From the (Cormen, et al) textbook: Appendices A, B, C.1, and D.1; Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, and 22. Supplemental readings Among the many good books that contain introductory material on logic and discrete mathematics are: Discrete Mathematics with Applications, by Susanna Epp, andDiscrete Mathematics and Its Applications, by Kenneth Rosen. Both of these books should be available in the library; any of their numerous editions would be equally helpful. They are loaded with interesting exercises, some of which are worked out. There are also discrete math books available on-line through the OSU library website. Grading policy (tentative) Grades will be based on two midterm exams (20% each), a final exam (30%), homework, and class participation (including pop quizzes). It is important that you attend class and participate in class discussions regularly. Lateness Policy A penalty of 15 percent is assessed for the first calendar day (not class day) a homework is late, after which a penalty of 50 percent will be applied for up to three calendar days. Homeworks are due at the beginning of class on the due date. Do not collaborate on