Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Kenneth H. Rosen, 6th Ed., McGraw-Hill.

There will be three midterm exams and, on those weeks there are no exams, there will be quizzes based completely on the homework.

• Homework will be collected each day. The homework will be graded more on completeness than on correctness.


• All homework assignments will be posted on the course assignment's web page.


• Late homework is rarely accepted, and never without prior arrangement with the instructor. Starting assignments early will assure you have at least some work to submit for grading.


• Homework is to be written neatly using one side of 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper. Do not use paper from a spiral notebook unless you can tear off the ragged edge. All papers are to be stapled.


• Use English. If you can't read your solutions aloud as fluently as if you were reading your textbook, try using nouns and verbs in your write ups! Give references for theorems or propositions you use from the text and class.

Before each class you are expected to have the sections in the book as outlined on the course's assignment web page. To encourage you to do this and to get as much out of the reading as possible, I will ask you to blog about the reading. In particular, for each reading assignment I will ask you to answer the following three questions:

1. What is the hardest material to be covered in class tomorrow?
2. What is the most interesting material to be covered in class tomorrow?
3. Does any of the material to be covered tomorrow relate to other classes you've taken?

The posts should be done by the midnight before class. For the first couple of times we'll try it out. I'll post good examples of posts to the course's blog.

On the first day of class, I'll give you details about how I'd like you to set up your blogs.

The course grade will be based upon the scores on the midterm exam, homework, quizzes, participation and the final exam as follows:

On Homework: Students are encouraged to work together to do homework problems. What is important is a student's eventual understanding of homework problems, and not how that is achieved. The honor principle applies to homework in the following way. What a student turns in as a homework solution is to be his or her own understanding of how to do the problem. Students must state what sources they have consulted, with whom they have collaborated, and from whom they have received help. Students are discouraged from using solutions to problems that may be posted on the web, and as just stated, must reference them if they use them. The solutions you submit must be written by you alone. Any copying (electronic or otherwise) of another person's solutions, in whole or in part, is not permitted.

Moreover, if in working with someone they have provided you with an important idea or approach, they should be explicitly given credit in your writeup. Hints I give in office hours need not be cited. Note: It is not sufficient to annotate your paper with a phrase like ``I worked with Joe on all the problems.'' Individual ideas are to be credited at each instance; they represent intellectual property.

On Exams: Students may not receive assistance of any kind from any source (living, published, electronic, etc), except the professor, and may not give assistance to anyone. Matters of clarification are to be left to the professor.

Students with special needs who will be taking this course and may need disability-related classroom accommodations are encouraged to make an appointment to see their instructor as soon as possible, certainly within the first two weeks of the course.

Nathan C. Ryan
Email: nathanDOTryanATbucknellDOTedu

Last updated 10-01-01
Webpage layout from Tom Shemanske