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<a href="http://mit.edu">MIT</a><br>
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  <a href="">6.042/18.062J<br>
   Spring 2007</a>
  

  
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<h1>Course Overview</h1>

<h2>Contents</h2>

<ul>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#intro">Introduction</a>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#prereq">Prerequisites</a>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#schedule">Course Schedule</a>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#website">Course Website</a>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#teams">Team Problem Solving</a></li>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#teams">Problem Sets</a></li>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#tutor"> Online Tutor Problems</a></li>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#collaboration">Collaboration</a>
  <li><a href="courseinfo.shtml#exams">Exams and Grades</a>
<!--  <li><a href="courseinfo#textbooks">Textbooks and Reading</a>-->


</ul>

<a name="intro"></a><h2>Introduction</h2>

<p>This is an introductory course in Discrete Mathematics oriented toward
Computer Science and Engineering.  The course divides roughly into thirds:

<ol>

<li> Fundamental concepts of Mathematics: definitions, proofs, sets,
     functions, relations.

<li> Discrete structures: modular arithmetic, graphs, state machines,
     counting.

<li> Discrete probability theory.
</ol>

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<p>The
<a href="http://student.mit.edu/@1347045.15044/catalog/search.cgi?search=6.042&style=verbatim&when=C&days_offered=*&start_time=*&duration=*&total_units=*">
catalogue description</a>
of the course also mentions recurrences and generating
functions, but these will not be covered this term. 
-->

<p>The goals of the course are summarized in a statement of 
<a href="objectives.shtml">
<b>Course Objectives and Educational Outcomes</b></a>.  A detailed
schedule of topic coverage appears in the <a href="#calendar">Course
Calendar</a>.

<a name="prereq"></a><h2>Prerequisites</h2>

<p>The prerequisite for the course is <span class="meyer">18.01</span>.
You should be familiar with sequences and series, limits, and integration
and differentiation of univariate functions.

<a name="schedule"></a><h2>Course Schedule</h2>

<ul>
<li> <h3>Lecture/Team Problem-solving Sessions</h3>

Sessions are MWF, 3:00-4:30 in room 26-152 (the original TEAL room).
Lectures will be interleaved with team problem-solving sessions and demos.
TA's and lecturers will act as coach/facilitators during problem-solving
sessions.  Lecture/Problem-solving session attendance is required.  There
are no separate recitations.

<p><li><h3>Reading & Problem Sets</h3>

Reading from Class Notes are generally assigned on Mondays.  There will be
10 problem sets.  These are assigned a week or more in advance, but not
quite in sync with the Notes because of holidays and quizzes.  See the <a
href="#calendar">Course Calendar</a> for exact schedule.  There is no
textbook.

<p><li> <h3>Short Online Problems & <a name="comments"></a>Email Comments</h3>
These are generally assigned on Monday and due Wednesdays by 1pm.
</ul>

<a name="website"></a><h2>Course Website</h2>

<p>The class has a comprehensive web site:
<p align=center>
<span class="meyer">
<a href=".">http://theory.csail.mit.edu/classes/6.042</a>
</span>

<p> Notes, problem sets, solutions, etc., will be posted in
the course <a href="#calendar">calendar</a>.

Other course information such as <a href="contact.shtml">staff contact
information</a>, <a href="contact.shtml#lists">mailing lists</a>, and <a
href="index.shtml">announcements</a> are also available on this website.  It is
<b>always worth checking the website</b> for corrections and announcements
before starting problem sets.

<a name="teams"></a><h2>Team Problem Solving</h2>

Approximately half the class meeting time will be devoted to
problem-solving in teams of 8 or 9 sitting around a table.  A TA or LA
will act as a coach.  The coach will always try to find a team member
who can explain any difficult points to the rest of the team, but will
provide hints and explanations when everyone is stuck.  We believe that
the team problem solving activity is a key learning experience.
Problem-solving participation counts for 25% of the grade and will be
graded mainly on degree of <em>active, prepared</em> participation, rather
than problem-solving success.


<a name="psets"></a><h2>Problem Sets</h2>

<p> Problem Sets are normally due at the beginning of Monday
   lecture.

<p>Doing the problem sets is, for most students, the best way to master
the course material.  <a name="pset-credit"></a>Problem sets will count
for <span class="meyer">up to 30%</span> of the final grade.  <span
class="meyer">However, there is no penalty for incorrect or omitted
problems:</span> any credit you miss on problems will be reallocated to
your quizzes and/or final.  So problem sets enable you to lock in partial
credit towards an "A", but cannot harm your grade.

<p>Solutions to the problem sets will be posted immediately after the due
date.  <b>Late problem sets will not be accepted</b>.

<p>The last page of each problem set has a <b>cover page</b> for use
when you submit the problem set.  Complete the information called for on
the cover page and attach it as the first page of your submission.  <b>Be
sure to complete the full collaboration statement</b> <a name =
"collab"></a> on the cover page:
<blockquote>
<p><font color = green>"I worked alone and only with course materials"</font>,

<p>or

<p><font color = green>"I collaborated on this assignment with</font>
(<i>students in class</i>),

<br><font color = green>got help from</font>
<i>(people other than collaborators and course staff)</i>,

<br><font color = green>and referred to</font> <i>(citations to sources
<b>other</b> than the class material from this term</i>)".</blockquote>

<p>No problem set will be given credit until it has a collaboration
statement.


<p>Submissions which are unduly hard to follow (or illegible) will get
little credit even if the solutions are ``correct.''  If you are unhappy
with the way that your homework has been graded, first see your TA.  If
you're still unhappy after that, feel free to contact the Lecturer.


<a name="tutor"></a><h2>Online Tutor Problems</h2>

<a
href="http://icampustutor.csail.mit.edu/6.042-spring07">Online Tutor
Problems</a> consist of straightforward questions about the assigned
reading and should take about 20 minutes <em>after</em> you finish the
reading.  A standard question on the reading appears every week and an
email answer is <span class="due">required</span>:

<p><a name="comments"></a>
<font color = green><blockquote>*Required* Comments for Reading: send email to 
   <center>
   <span class="email">6042-probs</span> 
   at 
   <span class="email">theory(dot)csail(dot)mit(dot)edu</span>
   </center>
citing a passage in the reading &#150; including its page number &#150;
and explaining, in at most three sentences, why you found it
<ol>
<li> most difficult, <b>or</b></li>
<li> most surprising, <b>or</b></li>
<li> poorly written or mistaken (extra credit for corrections), <b>or</b></li>
<li> would like to have discussed more fully it in the next lecture.</li>
</ol></blockquote></font>

<p> Note that comments such as "I understood everything in the reading, so
can't cite anything specific" are not considered responsive: even you
understood everything, there must, in the 10 to 25 pages assigned each
week, have been something that stood out for you.

<p>Most weeks, the Tutor Problems and Reading Comments will be due by 11am
before Wednesday class.  We try to slant the lectures in response to
student email on the reading.

<a name="collaboration"></a><h2>Collaboration and Outside Sources</h2>

<p>We encourage you to <b>collaborate on homework</b> as you do on
in-class problems.  Study groups can be an excellent means to master
course material (besides, they can be fun and a good way to make friends.)
However, you must <b>write up solutions on your own</b>, neither copying
solutions nor providing solutions to be copied.  If you do collaborate on
homework, you must <b>cite</b>, in your written solution, <b>all of your
collaborators</b>.  Also, if you use sources beyond the course materials
in one of your solutions, for example, an "expert" consultant other than
6.042 staff, or another text, be sure to <b>include a proper scholarly
citation of the source</b>.</p>

<p> The <a href=
"http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Electrical-Engineering-and-Computer-Science/6-042JFall-2005/CourseHome/index.htm">
Fall '05</a> course materials are available on OCW, as well as Spring '05
and Fall '02.  The material this term will be close to that of the Fall
'05 term, and a problem from these prior terms may occasionally be
assigned again without change.  If you look at the published solution, you
should <b>cite it, but you may not simply copy the published solution</b>.
You should instead write a critique of the published solution or offer an
improved version of your own.</p>

<p>We discourage, but do not forbid, use of materials from prior terms
other than those available on OCW.  We repeat, however, that use of
material from any previous term requires <b>a proper scholarly
citation</b>.  Omission of such citation will be taken as <em>a priori</em>
evidence of plagiarism.</p>

<p>Plagiarism, cheating, and similar anti-intellectual behavior are
serious violations of academic ethics and will be penalized.  However, you
will never be sanctioned for the <em>first</em> instance of a questionable
submission as long as you provided accurate citation and collaboration
statements -- all we'll do is tell you to stop (and maybe deny you credit
for particular submitted solutions).

Since our optional policy for problem sets reduces them as a source of
pressure, we take problem set plagiarism particularly seriously.  Of
course, we understand the academic pressures that MIT students may
experience, and we try to respond to such incidents in a balanced way.

<!--
<p>If you are concerned about a possible violation of this kind, please
talk with your TA and/or a Lecturer.  It is better if you take the
initiative to contact us in such cases, rather than vice-versa.
-->

<a name="exams"></a><h2>Exams and Grades</h2>

<h3>Weekly Mini-quizzes</h3>

Most weeks there will be a 20--30 minute Quiz, usually on Wednesdays, on
the previous week's problems.  The mini-quiz will generally consist solely
of a few parts from the previous week's online tutor, in-class, and pset
problems, so the material to study is very well defined.  (This set-up
highlights the importance of following up class work with study of the
posted solutions.)


<h3>Final</h3>

There will be a standard 3 hour final exam on Monday, May 21, 1:30--4:30,
Johnson Ice Rink.


<h3>Grades</h3>

<p>Grades for the course will be based on the following weighting:

<table>
<tr><td>Problem Sets: </td><td>0&#150;30% <sup><a
href="courseinfo.shtml#pset-credit">&dagger;</a></sup>
</td></tr>
<tr><td>Quizzes: </td><td>20&#150;35%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Class participation</td><td>25%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Final:</td><td> 20&#150;35%</td></tr>
<tr><td>Online Tutor Problems & Email: </td><td>5%</td></tr>
</table>


<!--
To understand why these percentages add to more than 100, see the section
on <a href="courseinfo#pset-credit">Problem Set credit</a>

<a name="textbooks"></a><h2>Textbooks and Reading</h2>

<p>There is no required text.  Course Notes are posted on the website each
week.  Lecture slides are also posted for most lectures.
-->


<h2>Questions, Suggestions, and Complaints</h2>

<p>You can send email to 
<center>
<tt>6042staff</tt> 
at
<tt>theory(dot)csail(dot)mit(dot)edu</tt>
</center>
or individual staff members using the addresses on the <a href="contact.shtml">staff contact page</a>.
<p class="timestamp">
This document last modified Friday, 02-Mar-2007 01:58:21 EST
</p>

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