CS170: Discrete Methods in Computer Science (Summer 2023)
Basic information
- Lecture: MWF 2:00pm-4:05pm in GFS 118
- Instructor: Shaddin Dughmi
- Email: shaddin@usc
- Office: SAL 234
- Office Hours: Mondays and Wednesdays 4:05pm - 5:05pm
- Discussion Section: Thursdays 2:00pm-4:05pm in GFS 118
- TAs: Chandra Mukherjee (cmukherj@usc) and Neel Patel (neelpbat@usc)
- Office Hours and Location: See Piazza
- Course Producers: Ram Deo-Camo Vuong (rdeocamp@usc.edu), David Lee (dhlee@usc), Aditya Prasad (aprasad4@usc)
- Office Hours and Location: See Piazza
- Course Homepage: viterbi-web.usc.edu/~shaddin/cs170su23
Announcements
- July 31: Homework 4 is out! It will be due Tuesday, August 8, by 5pm.
- July 24: Homework 3 is out! It will be due Monday July 31.
- July 16: Homework 2 is out! It will be due Monday July 24.
- July 8: Homework 1 is out! It will be due Monday July 17.
- June 29: Course Website is up!
Schedule
This schedule is tentative and subject to change throughout the semester.
Course Description
This course covers the mathematical topics that are most important for computer science. We will be concerned with both discrete mathematics and the basics of logical reasoning (as encapsulated by proofs). Discrete mathematics, unlike continuous mathematics topics such as calculus, is concerned with disconnected, non-smooth objects such as booleans, integers, graphs, trees, etc. This is the sort of mathematics that is most relevant to computers and to algorithms. A proof is an airtight argument which starts with a set of assumptions or facts (known as axioms or premises), applies self-evident rules of logic in a clear and stepwise manner, all to establish the truth of a precise mathematical or logical statement.
Requirements and Grading
There will be 4-5 homeworks. You can expect one once per week, due about a week later. There will also be a midterm on Thursday July 20 during discussion section, and a final in-class on Monday August 7th.
Homework will count for 50% of your grade. The midterm will count for 20%, and the final for 30%.
Late Homework Policy: Since this is an accelerated summer class, there will be no late homework allowed. However, to accomodate unforeseen circumstances, I will discount your lowest homework grade by 50%. In other words, your lowest homework will count half as much as the rest of your homeworks.
Collaboration and Academic Integrity Policy: You may discuss informally with other students, but you should not write anything down during discussions. You may not refer to outside sources, on the web or otherwise. Anything that is copied directly from another student or from an outside source counts as cheating. We won't purposely look for cheating, but we will have a zero-tolerance policy if we run across it --- suspected violations of academic integrity will be referred to SJACS without exception.
References
The main textbook will be Essential Discrete Mathematics by Lewis and Zax. A useful secondary reference, for those of you interested, is Discrete Mathematics and its Applications by Kenneth Rosen.