Introduction to Combinatorics and Graph Theory (Math 4707)

Instructor: Igor Pak
pak@umn (put Math 4707 in the subject line), x5-3855

Class schedule: MW 3:35 - 5:30, VinH 206

Office Hours: MW 2-3:30, room VinH 258

Grader: TBA

Textbook: J. Matousek, J. Nesetril (MN), Invitation to Discrete Mathematics, Oxford Univ Press, 1998.

Additional reading will be handed out in class if necessary.

Grading: Homeworks: 40%, two midterms 15% each, Final 30%

Difficulty: This is an introductory course in Combinatorics and Graph Theory. The students are expected to learn the theory and solve problems on the homeworks.

Other expectations: I would guess that the average student should spend about 8 hours per week outside of class to get a decent grade. Much of this time should be spent on the homeworks, but some should be spent on reading the book and absorbing the class material.

Content

We will cover most of the book except section 8 and parts of section 11. Some additional material will be presented in class, so class participation is very important.

Home Assignments

The weekly home assignments will be given on Wednesdays to be returned also on Wednesdays, starting Sep 12 (due Sep 19). No assignment will be given over Thanksgiving break or on the weeks before midterms. The assignments will be posted here (on the course web page) in .ps and .pdf format.

Homework 1. Download .pdf file.

Homework 2. Download .pdf file.

Homework 3. Download .pdf file.

Homework 4. Download .pdf file.

Homework 5. Download .pdf file.

Homework 6. Download .pdf file.

Homework 7. Download .pdf file. Check out this YouTube video.

Midterm and Final Exams

There will be two in-class midterms and one final. The schedule is: Oct. 8, Nov 12 and during the Finals week.

Collaboration Policy

For the homeworks, you can form discussion groups of up to 5 people each. You can discuss problems but have to write your own separate solutions. You should write the list of people in you group on top of each HW.


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Last updated 9/4/2007