JHR's MA275 page

MA275 Discrete and Combinatorial Algebra

MTRF 6 G317
John Rickert, Associate Professor of Mathematics
Office: G-215A, Crapo Hall
Phone: (812) 877-8473

e-mail: rickert@rose-hulman.edu

Office hours week: MTRF 7, or make an appointment, or drop in. Here's my schedule

The final exam takes place Monday, November 12 1:00PM-5:00PM in G222.

Moodle
To Homework ...Questions
Homework for our next class ...Today's questions
For Friday, August 31: Section 1.2 #1,7,11,14,15,17,26,31,39. Turn in these exercises on Monday.
The in-class questions to consider are available on Moodle.

For Monday September 3: Turn in the Section 1.2 exercises.
Section 1.3 #1,6,9,14,16,17,23,27,32. turn in these exercises on Friday.
For Tuesday September 4: Section 1.3 #1,6,9,14,16,17,23,27,32. turn in these exercises on Friday.
For Thursday, September 6: Section 1.4 #1,7,10,16,22,25,27.
For Friday, September 7: Turn in the Section 1.3 exercises.
Section 1.5 #1,4,7,9,11. Turn in these exercises at the beginning of class Monday.
We will have a quiz at the beginning of class. The quiz will cover through Section 1.4 (inclusive). The average score on the quiz was 25.3/30. Equivalent grades are A: 28-30 B 25-27 C 23-24 D 20-22 F <20 .

For Monday, September 10: Turn in the Section 1.5 homework.
Begin learning the Laws of Logic on pages 58 and 59 of the textbook.
For Tuesday, September 11: Section 2.1 #3,5,6,8,17.
Learn the Laws of Logic on pages 58 and 59 of the textbook.
For Thursday, September 13: Section 2.2 #1,6,9,14,15. Begin learning the Rules of Inference on page 78 of the textbook.
For Friday, September 14: Turn in the Section 2.2 homework.
Section 2.3 #5,7,11,12.

Monday, September 17: Section 2.3 #13.
Read Section 2.4 through at least example 2.36. We will discuss quantifiers on Monday.
The average score on the pop quiz was 18.8/20. Equivalent scores are A 19-20 B 18 C 16-17 D 14-15 F >14.
Tuesday, September 18: Section 2.4 #1,4,9,21.
For Thursday, September 20: Section 2.4 #8,14,16,22. Problem 14f has a typo. 14f should read $$\forall n [\lnot p(n) \rightarrow \lnot q(n)]$$.
Friday, September 21: The average score on Exam #1 was 785.5/1000. Equivalent grades are A: 900-1000 B: 780-899 C: 660-779 D: 520-659 F: <520.

For Tuesday, September 24: Section 2.5 #5,9,14,15,19,21. Turn in these exercises on Thursday.
For Thursday, September 27: Turn in the exercises assigned for Tuesday (Sec. 2.5 #5,9,14,15,19,21).
Work exercises Section 2.5 #17,23; Page 121 #15 and come to class with any questions that you have about them.
For Friday, September 28: We will have a quiz in which you will be asked to prove a mathematical statement.
Section 3.1 #1,5,8,19,23,27. Turn in these exercises on Tuesday, October 2. Learn the Laws of Set Theory listed on page 139 of the textbook.

For Monday, October 1: Section 3.2 #1,6.
Learn the Laws of Set Theory listed on page 139 of the textbook.
The average score on the quiz was 15.7/20. Equivalent grades are A 18-20 B 15-17 C 12-14 D 10-11 F <10.
For Tuesday, October 2: Turn in the Section 3.1 exercises.
Section 3.2 #4,14,16,19,20.
For Thursday, October 4: Turn in Tuesday's exercises; Section 3.2 #4,14,16,19,20.
Work Section 3.2 #9,17. Think about the rearrangements of the letters in LETTERS.
For Friday, October 5: Section 3.3 #1,4,5,6,9.
For Monday, October 8: Section 3.4 #1,5,6,9,11,14.
For Tuesday, October 9: Section 3.5 #1,4,7,9,14. Turn in these exercises on Monday, October 15.

For Monday, October 15: Turn in the Section 3.5 exercises. Section 4.1 #1.
Tuesday, October 16: Exam #2.
Thursday, October 18: Section 4.1 #2,6,8,12,16.
For Friday, October 19: Section 4.2 #1,7.

For Monday, October 22: Turn in the exam rewrite.
Section 4.2 #11,12,14,18.
For Tuesday, October 23: Section 4.3 #4,9,10,13.
For Thursday, October 25: Section 4.3 #17,21,29.
For Friday, October 26: Section 4.4 #1,4,6,12. Turn in these exercises on Monday.
For Monday, October 29: Turn in the Section 4.4 exercises from Friday (#1,4,6,12).
Section 4.4 #14,17; Section 4.5 #5,8,11,15,27.
For Tuesday, October 30: Section 4.5 #18,22; Section 5.1 #1,3,6,8,13.
For Thursday, November 1: Section 5.2 #1,5,8,14,22,27.
For Friday, November 2: Section 5.3 #1,3,10,15,18.

For Monday, November 5: Section 5.5 #9,11,14,16,20.
For Tuesday, November 6: Section 5.6 #1,3,9,12,22.
Thursday, November 8: Exam #3.
ForFriday, November 9: Review MA275.

To
the top

Questions from class

To
today's questions ...the top
Please let me know if I've missed anything.
Monday, September 3: The Maple command for the binomial coefficient n choose k is binomial(n,k)
Tuesday, September 4: A commentary about the ABC-conjecture and Mochizuki's proposed proof is at http://quomodocumque.wordpress.com/2012/09/03/mochizuki-on-abc/
Tuesday, September 18: For Extra Credit think about the Dice problem. The two conditions on the dice are
1. No ties are possible
2. Each die has an equal chance of diaplaying the highest number.
The problem disussed in the article we looked at is to come up with four twelve sided dice so that the conditions are satisfied. The open question considered is How many solutions are there?
What is the answer for two dice? How small can the dice be? With k-sided dice, how many configurations for 1,2,...2k satisfy the conditions?
What is the answer for three dice? How small can the dice be? With k-sided dice, how many configurations for 1,2,...3k satisfy the conditions?
Explore similar questions for four dice, five dice, etc.

Homework is due at the beginning of class on the day that it is due. You should turn in your homework in a pile on the desk at the front of the classroom. Homework may be turned in later but will be penalized based on just how late it is - typically
1 point off for turned in late during the class,
5% off for being turned in late the same day,
10% off per day. (weekends count for two days) i.e. 10 days later, it's too late to get a makeup homework turned in.
When writing up homework, you should circle (or otherwise clearly indicate) your answers.
It's good to work together, but you should write/type your own homework. Simply copying another person's work or Maple file is not acceptable.

You should come to class prepared. This means that I expect you to have done the homework, brought your book to class, and silenced your cell phone.
If you have a cell phone, please make sure that it does not ring audibly during class. Phone calls should, in general, not be answered during class. No texting during class.

• If you don't understand something, ASK
• If I'm going too fast, STOP ME. I enjoy mathematics. When I get on a roll, I tend to keep going.
• SHOW YOUR WORK. The correct answer will only be worth 1 point. I want to verify that you understand the process.
• If you are having problems understanding the material, see me or go to the learning center.

The final exam is 36% of the course grade. Homework, quizzes and exams constitute the other 64%.

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