CS 313K: Logic, Sets and Functions

CS 313K: Logic, Sets and Functions, Fall 2009

Home page: http://www.cs.utexas.edu/users/vl/teaching/313K.html

Time and Place: TTh 11-12:30, PAR 203

Discussion Section 54665: W 9-10, RAS 211B
Discussion Section 54670: W 10-11, UTC 4.120
Discussion Section 54675: W 11-12, UTC 3.120

Prerequisite: Credit or registration for Mathematics 408C or 408K

Instructor: Vladimir Lifschitz (vl@cs.utexas.edu)
Office Hours: TTh 1-2 and by appointment, TAY 3.150B

TA: Vinod Venkataraman (vinodv@cs.utexas.edu)
Office Hours: MW 5-6 and by appointment, ENS 31NQ, Desk 1

Proctor: Trung Vu (trungduyvu@gmail.com)

Course Description

This is a mathematically oriented course. It will introduce you to methods of reasoning that play an important role in computer science. You will learn to use these methods by doing homework problems, presenting your solutions in class at the board, and discussing solutions found by others. (This is known as the Moore method.) There will be no textbook; the necessary notation and the statements of problems will be provided in a series of handouts: It is important that you make an effort to attend every single class meeting and that you spend your time in class listening critically to your fellow students and thinking about their proposed solutions, rather than just recording what is being said.

Since all homework problems are going to be discussed in class, you are not expected to submit your homework for grading. Some of the problems are difficult, but you should make a serious effort to solve each of them. Try to figure out solutions by yourself or in collaboration with other students, but not by asking someone who already knows the answers, and not by reading books or consulting the Internet.

Three exams will be given on October 1, November 3 and December 3 (the dates are tentative) during regular class time. They will be cumulative, more heavily weighted towards material which has not yet been tested. Quizzes will be given almost every week in discussion sections; the lowest quiz score will be dropped. During exams and quizzes, you may refer to class handouts and to your notes, but you should not use any books or Internet materials, nor any notes written by others. If we have made a mistake in grading your work then you should send the TA an e-mail message describing the problem within a week after we return the graded work to the class.

To get credit for class participation, you should present a solution to at least one problem during the semester. That can be a homework problem (if you solved it by yourself, without help from others) or a quiz problem.

Your grade will be determined by the exams (25% each), the quizzes (15%), and class participation (10%).