Massachusetts Institute of Technology Handout 1
6.042J/18.062J: Mathematics for Computer Science February 3, 1998
Professor Albert R. Meyer

Course Organization

Prerequisites

The only prerequisite for this course is 18.01. (The MIT catalogue mistakenly lists 18.02 as the official prerequisite.) Students should be familiar with sequences and series, limits, and integration and differentiation of one-variable functions. Most students will already be familiar with logical notation, elementary set theory, and elementary facts about numbers. To ensure sufficient familiarity with this material, each student should read sections 1.1--1.5 and 2.3 of the course text Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications during the first week of the course.

Students who have taken 18.063, 18.310, or 6.046 should not take this course. To learn probability, we recommend these students instead take 6.041, 18.440, 18.313, or 18.05. Students can substitute 18.063 for 6.042 in the EECS department M.Eng. and S.B. requirements.

Lectures and Recitations

Lectures will be held Tuesdays and Thursdays from 2:30--4:00pm in Room 4-370.

Students will be assigned to a two-hour recitation meeting every Friday. Each recitation will consist of approximately twelve students, offering a good opportunity to ask questions and to interact with the TA and sectionmates. The emphasis of the recitations is on techniques for solving problems, although new material will occasionally be presented. During the second half of recitation, students will be organized in groups to solve assigned problems and present the solutions. Recitation performance counts for 25% of your grade. Attendance will be taken in recitation.

Handouts and Course Webpage

The class web site is

http://theory.lcs.mit.edu/classes/6.042
and is worth checking regularly before starting problem sets and recitations. Course announcements, problem sets, lecture notes, handouts, and corrections will be linked to the page. Extra copies of class handouts in dead tree form will also be available in a file cabinet outside room NE43-309.

Books and Notes

The main reference for the course will be lecture and recitation notes. There are also two required textbooks:

The texts will be available at The Coop under the heading "18.062". The lecture notes will be little changed from those used in Fall 97

Exams

There will be one quiz from 7pm to 9pm on the evening of Wednesday, March 18. The Registrar will schedule a three hour final exam during the Final Exam Period.

Problem Sets

Problem sets will be assigned on a weekly basis. They will usually be issued in lecture on Tuesday and due in lecture on Tuesday the following week.

Please clearly mark your problem sets with (1) your name, (2) the date, (3) problem numbers, and (4) the name of your TA. Your name should appear on every page. Try to be as clear and precise as possible in your written solutions; unclear answers will receive fewer points even if they are correct. Do not write in red -- our color for grading. Turn in your problem set by dropping it in the box labelled with your recitation instructor's name; these boxes will be available in the lecture room on Tuesday. Since solutions will be posted on the web shortly after problem sets are due, late problem sets will not be accepted. Your TA will grade your problem sets and you should first discuss grading concerns with your TA. In particular, if you are unable to complete a homework by the date assigned, please talk to your TA -- the further in advance of the due date the better. You are welcome to appeal to the Lecturers if you disagree with your TA.

We encourage you to collaborate with classmates on problem sets, but be sure to acknowledge your collaborators and anyone else who helped you on the problem sets.

Collaboration

Study groups can be an excellent means to master course material. We encourage you to collaborate in solving homework and recitation problems; no collaboration will be allowed on exams. However, you must write up solutions on your own, neither copying solutions nor providing solutions to be copied. If you do collaborate on homeworks, you must cite, in your written solution, all of your collaborators. Also, if you use sources beyond the course materials in one of your solutions, e.g., another text, or an item in the archives of a prior term, be sure to include a proper scholarly citation of the source.

Plagiarism, cheating, and similar anti-intellectual behavior are serious violations of academic ethics and will be correspondingly penalized. If you are concerned about a possible violation of this kind, please talk with your TA and/or Professor Meyer. It is far better if you contact us in such cases, rather than vice-versa. We understand the pressure that you may experience while at MIT, and we will try to help you as best as we can.

Grading

Your grade in the course will be based on your performance in recitations, problem sets, and exams, approximately as follows:

Note that these percentages are approximate, and we do not follow a rigid formula. For example, stellar performance on the final will likely lead to an A; improved performance in the later part of the course will be given extra weight to compensate for a slow start.

Questions, Suggestions, and Complaints

will be welcomed individually by the course staff and collectively by email: 6042-staff@theory.lcs.mit.edu.