Instructor: H. B. Enderton
hbe@math.ucla.edu MS 7905. Office hours Monday and Wednesday, 2:00-3:30. Also we have our "virtual office hours."Teaching Assistant: John W. Kittrell.
kittrell@math.ucla.edu Office MS 2961. Office hours Tuesday 4-5 (also April 12, 1-2).Enrollment: If this course fills up, I suggest getting on the waiting list, if possible. And if worse comes to worst, note that we offer this course every quarter.
Meetings: Lectures (MWF 12) are in Franz 2258A. Discussion sections meet in MS 5117 (Section 1A on Tuesday, Section 1B on Thursday).
Topics: Calculus is "continuous" mathematics, based on the real number system, convergence, and limits. "Discrete" mathematics is everything else; the objects in discrete structures are not the limits of nearby objects. Some of the topics we study are relations, induction, graphs, trees, permutations, and combinations. These topics are intended to give the mathematical background relevant to theoretical computer science. For more details, see the Mathematics Department's description of this course, and their course outline (which I do not follow closely).
Prerequisites: This is a mathematics course. You will be asked to understand abstract concepts, and to do some proofs. (The prerequisites stated in the catalog are not enforced.)
Textbook: Discrete Mathematics, sixth edition, by R. Johnsonbaugh. We will cover selected parts of Chapters 2-9. There are some errata in the book.
Homework: The homework is not an optional "extra credit" activity; it is a necessary part of learning the material. Although the homework problem sets account for only a small part of the course grade, you should definitely do them. Besides, every little bit helps, especially if the tests do not all go well. Late homework will normally not be graded.
Tests: There will be a first midterm exam on Wednesday, April 25, and a second midterm on Friday, May 25. (Note that this is the Friday before the Memorial Day weekend.) The final exam is on Wednesday, June 13, 8:00-11:00 a.m. (exam code 5). Like the homework, the tests will include both computational problems and proofs; the tests may also ask for definitions.
Grading: The final exam constitutes a large part of the grade. The two midterms together constitute another large part. The homework accounts for a small part. ("Large" means 40-50%. "Small" means no more than 10%.) To get an Incomplete grade, you must be doing passing work when struck by unforeseen external disaster.
Student Math Center: The Mathematics Department has a "Student Math Center" (SMC) in MS 3974. The hours are 10 to 3, Monday through Thursday. It provides free tutoring on a drop-in basis (no appointment needed) for this and other lower-division math courses.