Go to: Assignments Course Information Goals Schedule Grading Resources
Announcements
- The final exam will be in Gibson 414 (8:00--noon).
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at 14:44
- The hints for the supplementary problems in the gf homework are posted.
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at 06:42
- I'll have office hours on Wed. from 1:00-6:00
Tuesday, May 11, 2004 at 18:07
- See the final exam page for info. (including practice problems) about the final exam.
Monday, May 10, 2004 at 02:20
- The math. dept. email server seems to be running again, so my usual address should work.
Monday, May 10, 2004 at 02:11
- More info. about (and practice problems for) the final will be posted here later this week.
Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at 15:01
- A final exam review session (including food) will be held Monday, 10 May from 7:00-9:00 in Gibson 400A.
Wednesday, May 5, 2004 at 15:00
- The original posting of assignment 7 listed chapter 7; this should be chapter 8 instead.
Thursday, March 25, 2004 at 15:00
- I've posted assignment 7, with problems on generating functions and pattern avoiding permutations.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 18:23
- I've placed A Course in Combinatorics by J. H. van Lint and R. M. Wilson on reserve in the math. library. This may be a useful resource for some of your projects.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 18:14
- As announced in lecture, I will not be holding office hours on Thursday, 25 March, and there will be no lecture on Friday, 26 March. You might use the time to push ahead on your projects.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 18:11
- I'm still working on typing the solutions to the midterm, but will have them for you soon.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004 at 18:10
- I've posted practice problems for the midterm on the assignments page. These are generally problems and examples that we haven't covered before; you might also look over the old homework problems to make sure that you feel comfortable with them.
Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 13:11
- I'll post a list of practice problems on Saturday. I expect the exam to have 6-12 questions (the number depending in part on the computation/proof balance) and to be doable in less time than the 2 1/2 hours given for the exam. However, I do intend to have challenging problems on the exam.
Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 04:30
- I've posted comments on the HW 5 problems not solved in the text as a .pdf file.
Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 04:29
- The exam will cover the material from lectures up to and including Friday, 5 March (i.e., products of exponential generating functions). We'll do some more examples of generating function problems in class on Monday. I'll have further comments on the exam at the review session Monday night and will post those here in case you miss the review.
Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 03:29
- As noted in class, there will be a review session on Monday, 8 March, from 7:30 until 9:30 in Gibson 414. (Pizza will be delivered for the review.) Recall that the midterm is Tuesday, 9 March, from 6:30-9:00 in Gibson 310.
Saturday, March 6, 2004 at 03:29
- The standard reference on generating functions is generatingfunctionology, which you can download from Herb Wilf's homepage.
Friday, February 20, 2004 at 01:31
- There are outlines of the solutions for the exercises (but not the supplementary exercises) in the textbook. For homework problems with a solution given, I expect you to try the problem without looking at the solution; the solution that you hand in should work through the problem in more detail than the published solution.
Friday, January 16, 2004 at 01:45
- The first homework assignment is now posted. You should work in groups of two or three and turn in a single copy (although you should each have a copy of your work). If you are having trouble finding people to work with, please email me.
Friday, January 16, 2004 at 01:36
- On 10, 17, 24, and 31 March (each is a Wednesday), lecture will be in Norman Mayer 118.
Wednesday, January 14, 2004 at 23:04
- The lectures will be held in Gibson 325, a change from the original schedule.
Course Information
- Lecture
- MWF 2:00 in Gibson 325 (Note change from original listing!)
- Instructor: Dr. Aaron D. Jaggard (email)
- Office: Gibson 309 (X3642)
- Office Hours: Monday 12:00-12:50, Thursday 1:30-3:30, and by appointment
- Text
- A Walk Through Combinatorics, Miklos Bona
- (In stock in the bookstore)
Note that email is usually a good way to get in touch with me.
Course goals
This course should help you:
- Increase your understanding of combinatorics
- Feel comfortable with reading and writing mathematical proofs
- Learn how to effectively present mathematics both orally and in writing
I welcome and encourage feedback on the course, either in person or via email.
Topics and Schedule
We'll cover material from chapters 1-5 and 8, along with some or all of chapters 7 and 13-16. The scope and pace of the course may be influenced by particular interests and the background of the class.
Grading
Your grade in this course will be based on exams, homework, and quizzes. In grading these I will be interested in your approach to each problem, not just your final answer.
Notable information about the components of your grade and their relative weights are as follows.
Exams (50-60%)
There will be two exams (one midterm and the final), each worth 25-30% of your final grade. The midterm is tentatively scheduled for the evening of Tuesday, 09 March (updated per discussion in the first lecture). The final will take place on the morning of Thursday, 13 May.
Homework (20-25%)
Assignments will be posted on the web and will probably be due every one to two weeks. You should do your homework in groups of two or three (intended to be the same groups that you use for your project). I expect to spend some time in lectures having you present solutions to homework problems.
Project (20-30%)
You will be responsible for a group project on some area of combinatorics. (I'll post possible topics soon.) The main parts of the project are a written paper and an in-class presentation (taking half of a class period) during the last four lectures. You'll also need to prepare a preliminary overview of your project (probably 1 page/3-5 minutes) during the first half of the course; this should help you get started on the project and will also give you practice writing and speaking about the material before the final paper/talk.
Resources
Aaron D. Jaggard (email)
Department of Mathematics
Tulane University
New Orleans, LA 70118
Wednesday, May 12, 2004 at 14:44