Homework will be posted to this web page. The complete homework assignment will be posted at least four days before it is due. Students are responsible for checking this website for homework due dates and assignments at least weekly.
Information on this syllabus is subject to change. Any updates will be posted to this site, and the class will be notified of any major updates by email or in class announcement. (Homework assignments are not considered major updates.) In particular, any required changes in course delivery, such as transition to remote delivery only, may necessitate significant modifications to this syllabus.
| Date/Date due | Event | |
| Monday, Aug. 18 | First day of class | |
| Friday, Aug. 22 | Last day to add a course | |
| Friday, Aug. 29 | Last day to drop a course | |
| HW 1 | Friday, Aug. 29 |
Suggested practice problems (these problems need not be turned in)
Chapter 4: 1, 7, 16, 19, 21, 23, 29, 30, 33, 38 Chapter 15: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6a, 27; the mathematically inclined students may be interested in Problem 11 Graded problems (these problems should be turned in) Chapter 4: 29 Chapter 15: 5, 27(n) Homework is to be turned in in gradable condition. In particular:
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| Monday, Sep. 1 | Labor day (no class) | |
| Date TBA (tentatively Friday, Sep. 19) | First midterm exam–good luck! This exam will cover all material on HW 1–3, including the self-checked problems. You will be allowed a non-graphing calculator and a double-sided 3 inch by 5 inch card of notes. | |
| Date TBA (tentatively Friday, Oct. 24) | Second midterm exam–good luck! This exam will cover the material on HW 4–6. You will be allowed a non-graphing calculator and a double-sided 3 inch by 5 inch card of notes. | |
| Monday, Oct. 13 | Fall break (no class) | |
| Date TBA (tentatively Friday, Nov. 14) | Third midterm exam–good luck! This exam will cover the material on HW 7–9. You will be allowed a non-graphing calculator and a double-sided 3 inch by 5 inch card of notes. | |
| Friday, Nov. 14 | Last day to withdraw from a course. | |
| Friday, Nov. 14 | If you have three final exams scheduled on the same day, then under university policy you are entitled to an alternative exam date; however, you must inform me by email (aeb019@uark.edu) that you need a make-up exam on or before Nov. 14. | |
| Nov. 26–28 | Thanksgiving break (no class) | |
| HW 11 | Wednesday, Dec. 3 | |
| Last day of class | ||
| One of your fellow undergraduate students graded your homework this semester. The professors teaching combinatorics next semester would be delighted to have the math department pay someone (possibly you!) to grade homework. If you are interested, please fill out the grader application form linked to from this web page; you may email Professor Barton if you have any problems with the form. | ||
| Date TBA | Complete the online course evaluation on or before the due date. If at least 80% of the class completes the course evaluation before the deadline, I will drop your 2 lowest homework scores; otherwise, I will drop your 1 lowest homework score. | |
| HW 12 | Date on the registrar’s website (currently Monday, Dec. 8, 3:00–5:00 p.m.) |
Suggested practice problems (these problems need not be turned in): TBA
There are no graded problems on this assignment but the self-checked problems are material that will be covered on the final. |
| Final exam—Good luck! The final exam is cumulative and will cover all material seen all semester. You will be allowed a non-graphing calculator and two double-sided 3 inch by 5 inch cards of notes.
If the class as a whole does significantly worse on the final exam than I expect, then a curve will be applied. However, once the final exam has been taken, there are no further opportunities to change your grade. You may not request a grade of Incomplete or turn in make-up or extra credit work after the final exam, and I will not change your grade based on your circumstances. | ||
| Instructor | Ariel Barton (email aeb019@uark.edu, office SCEN 348) |
| Lecture | Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 3:05–3:55 p.m. Science Engineering Building (SCEN) 406 |
| Office hours | No office hours will be held during fall break (October 13–14) or Thanksgiving break (November 26–28). Office hours are currently scheduled for the following times:
If the University is closed due to inclement weather, office hours will be held over Zoom unless the instructor is without electricity or internet access. Class will either be also held over Zoom or cancelled; you will be notified of which by email as soon as possible. |
Communication: The best way to communicate with me (beyond coming to my office hours) is by email. You can expect a reply within 24 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. Students are expected to monitor their uark email address regularly and consult the course Blackboard site for important announcements.
Course Description: Basic combinatorial techniques including the study of the principle of inclusion and exclusion and generating functions. Additional topics may include modular arithmetic, algebraic coding theory, Polya’s method of enumeration, and an introduction to abstract algebraic structures.
Prerequisites: MATH 26103 (Discrete Mathematics) or MATH 28003 (Transition to Advanced Mathematics); pre- or corequisite MATH 30803 or MATH 30903 (Linear Algebra). Students should be familiar with the standard notation and properties of sets, functions, and relations, and should have working knowledge of vector spaces, dimension, and bases.
Text: Mathematics for Computer Science by Eric Lehman, F. Thomson Leighton, and Albert R. Meyer. A PDF of this book may be found here. Some supplementary material may be taken from Discrete Mathematics by Oscar Levin (PDF) or other sources to be determined.
Course grade: Here is how I plan to weigh your grades:
| Homework | 30% |
| Midterm tests | 14% each |
| Final | 28% |
Notetaking: To benefit the most from in-class attendance, careful note-taking is essential. You may not understand the material that you see in class the first time that you see it, but research shows that the act of physically writing down notes on what you see helps your brain to retain and process the new information that you are seeing. This also gives you a resource to review after class and when you are doing homework and preparing for exams. If you find yourself falling behind, feel free to ask me to pause.
Tests: There will be three midterms tests and a final exam. I plan to hold midterm exams during class time on the dates indicated in the calendar above. The final exam will occur in our regular classroom at the time indicated on the registrar’s website or the time and place indicated by Workday Student; this is the first semester in which the University is using Workday Student and students should be aware that glitches may occur.
Students may use non-graphing calculators, one index card of notes (two on the final), and portable timepieces on exams. All other electronic devices, including watches that do anything other than tell the time and date, are prohibited.
Accommodations: You may request accommodations to enhance your learning. Minor accommodations are available to any student who makes the request in a timely fashion (for example, I am happy to provide large print versions of exams to any student who would find that helpful). Major accommodations (such as extra time on exams) will be granted only in the case of a documented disability and at the request of the Center for Educational Access. See the departmental/university policy on Access and Accommodations below.
Make-up exams: Make-up exam requests require written documentation as to your conflict. Except in the case of medical or other unforeseen emergencies, make-up exam requests must be made at least one week before the exam is to be held. Make-up exams are at the instructor’s discretion; if you do not provide a documented reason why you cannot take the exam at the usual time, if your reason is considered inadequate, or if your request for a make-up exam is not made in a timely fashion, I reserve the right to refuse a make-up exam or to assess a late penalty (deduction from your score). See the departmental/university policy on excusable absences below.
Homework: Assignments will be posted to this website. The due date and time will be clearly indicated. Each week you will be assigned a number of self-checked problems and a smaller number of graded problems. You may ask anyone for help with your homework, but you must write up your solutions on your own.
Self-checked problems will not be graded and need not be turned in. It is important that you do these problems; you will learn the material much better if you practice it by doing all problems, and material covered only on self-checked problems and not on instructor-corrected problems will still appear on the midterm tests and final exam.
Graded problems should be turned in on paper during class on the due date. We expect you to turn in your homework in class.
If you cannot make it to class on the day homework is due, you may:
Late homework will not be accepted without prior permission, except in the case of a medical or other unforeseeable emergency, and documentation will be required.
I expect to have 11 assignments over the course of the semester; your lowest score (or two scores) will be dropped.
Electronic devices: Cell phones, tablets, laptops, and other electronic devices may be used in class. The expectation is that these devices will be used for taking notes, routine calculations (i.e., calculator apps), accessing course materials, and other course-related uses only. Please do not text or play games in class!
Artificial intelligence: Students may use artificial intelligence tools and other computer-based tools for to help with their writing, but not to replace their own work. Some examples of acceptable use are:
Use of generative artificial intelligence tools to produce the content of your work (rather than to refine the presentation, as above), while completing academic work that is submitted for credit, will be considered academic dishonesty in this course and reported to the Office of Academic Initiatives and Integrity. If you are uncertain as to whether a particular use of generative artificial intelligence is allowed, please consult your instructor.
Recording of Class Lectures: The lecture will be recorded on the room’s camera and recordings will be posted to Blackboard for student reference. These recordings are provided “as is” as a hopefully-useful supplement, but their availability and quality is not guaranteed and no make-up recordings or materials will be posted in the event of technical issues (such as the room’s camera recording the wrong wall).
Students who need or particularly desire high-quality reliable recordings are allowed to record lectures with their own devices for their own use.
In addition, if the University is open but the weather is severe, a Zoom meeting will be opened during class so that students may participate remotely in real time.
By attending this class, the student understands the course may be recorded and consents to being recorded for official university educational purposes. Be aware that incidental recording may also occur before and after official class times. Recordings may include personally-identifiable comments submitted to the chat stream during class.
Students are bound by the departmental/university policies on use of recordings documented below.
Grade Disputes: The instructor is committed to keeping students informed of their standing in the class. Scores on all graded items will be posted in a timely manner. Students are expected to bring any possible errors to the attention of the instructor within one week of posting. This maintains an accurate grade record throughout the semester. All scores posted before Reading Day will be deemed accurate unless a possible error is brought to the attention of the instructor before the time scheduled by the Registrar for the final exam. No opportunities for extra credit or make-up work will be available after the final class. Course grades will not be changed after the end of the semester unless a student can provide clear documentation of an error on the instructor’s part.
Incompletes: Only given in extreme circumstances, and only when the student has satisfactorily completed all but a small portion of the work in the course. Students must make prior arrangements with the professor well before the end of the semester. In particular, under no circumstances will a request for an Incomplete made after the student has taken the final be granted.
Inclement weather policy: The instructor is committed to following the University’s policies on inclement weather (Academic Policy 1858.10 and Fayetteville Policies and Procedures 210.0) and to ensuring that students can learn safely.
If the University is closed due to inclement weather, office hours will be held over Zoom unless the instructor is without electricity or internet access. Class will either be also held over Zoom or cancelled; you will be notified of which by email as soon as possible.
Students will not be penalized for being absent on those days when the University is open but the Fayetteville Public Schools are closed due to the weather. On such days the instructor will be present but will broadcast class to Zoom, and students off campus are encouraged to attend in real time and ask questions.
If the University or the Fayetteville Public Schools are closed on a day when a midterm exam is scheduled, the exam will be rescheduled to the next class day and a standard lecture will be given instead.
If class is held over Zoom, the instructor will record the class via Zoom as well as Echo 360 and will make the alternative recording available through Blackboard.
If attendance is severely affected by weather, deadlines and exam dates may be adjusted. Please do not call the Department of Mathematical Sciences with weather-related inquiries. You may contact me for information.
Make-up exams: Make-up exams for all math courses are taken in the Mathematics Testing Center maintained by the MRTC. You will be allowed to take your exam on the scheduled exam date at any time when the Testing Center is open. You must finish your exam before the Testing Center closes; it is your responsibility to arrive early enough to allow this to happen.
If you have three or more final exams scheduled for the same date, then under University policy you are entitled to reschedule one of your finals. If you wish to reschedule the final for our class, please notify me by email before the registrar’s withdrawal deadline, and I will arrange for you to take a make-up final later in the week.
Emergency Procedures: The University of Arkansas is prepared for a wide range of emergencies. Many types of emergencies can occur on campus; instructions for specific emergencies such as severe weather, active shooter, or fire can be found at http://emergency.uark.edu/.
The University of Arkansas has a campus-wide alert system for any hazardous conditions that may arise on campus. To learn more and to sign up, visit the RazALERT website.
Attendance and excusable absences: (from the faculty handbook) Education at the university level requires active involvement in the learning process. Therefore students have the responsibility to attend classes and to actively engage in all learning assignments or opportunities provided in their classes. Instructors have the responsibility to provide a written policy on student attendance that is tied to course objectives and included in a course syllabus. There may be times, however, when illness, family crisis, or university-sponsored activities make full attendance or participation impossible. In these situations students are responsible for making timely arrangements with the instructor to make up work missed. Such arrangements should be made in writing and prior to the absence when possible.
Examples of absences that should be considered excusable include those resulting from the following: 1) illness of the student, 2) serious illness or death of a member of the student’s immediate family or other family crisis, 3) University-sponsored activities for which the student’s attendance is required by virtue of scholarship or leadership/participation responsibilities, 4) religious observances (see Students’ Religious Observances policy below), 5) jury duty or subpoena for court appearance, and 6) military duty. The instructor has the right to require that the student provide appropriate documentation for any absence for which the student wishes to be excused.
Academic integrity (from honesty.uark.edu) As a core part of its mission, the University of Arkansas provides students with the opportunity to further their educational goals through programs of study and research in an environment that promotes freedom of inquiry and academic responsibility. Accomplishing this mission is only possible when intellectual honesty and individual integrity prevail.
Each University of Arkansas student is required to be familiar with and abide by the University’s Academic Integrity Policy, which may be found at provost.uark.edu. Students with questions about how these policies apply to a particular course or assignment should immediately contact their instructor.
Note Selling/Intellectual property (from honesty.uark.edu/faculty) There are companies that will try to lure you into selling the notes you take in this class. Don’t let these companies take advantage of you. Selling my notes to any commercial service I will consider a violation of my intellectual property rights and/or copyright law as well as a violation of the U of A’s academic integrity policy. Continued enrollment in this class signifies intent to abide by the policy. Any violation will be reported to the Office of Academic Initiatives and Integrity.
Access and Accommodations: (from cea.uark.edu) Your experience in this class is important to me. University of Arkansas Academic Policy Series 1520.10 requires that students with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodations to ensure their equal access to course content. If you have already established accommodations with the Center for Educational Access (CEA), please request your accommodations letter early in the semester and contact me privately, so that we have adequate time to arrange your approved academic accommodations.
If you have not yet established services through CEA, but have a documented disability and require accommodations (conditions include but not limited to: mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical, health or temporary impacts), contact CEA directly to set up an Access Plan. CEA facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. For more information on CEA registration procedures contact 479–575–3104, ada@uark.edu or visit cea.uark.edu.
CAPS and U of A Cares As a student, you may experience a range of issues that can cause barriers to learning such as relationship issues, anxiety, depression, alcohol/drug issues, difficulty concentrating, and lack of motivation. These mental health concerns or stressful events may lead to diminished academic performance or reduce one’s ability to participate in daily activities, and the University of Arkansas has resources to help! If you or a friend are in need of assistance, please reach out to the following resources:
Unauthorized Use of Class Recordings: (from tips.uark.edu) Recordings posted to Blackboard may be used by students only for the purposes of the class. Students may not download, store, copy, alter, post, share, or distribute in any manner all or any portion of the class recording, (e.g. a 5-second clip of a class recording sent as a private message to one person is a violation of this provision). This provision may protect the following interests (as well as other interests not listed): faculty and university copyright; FERPA rights; and other privacy interests protected under state and/or federal law. Unauthorized recording, or transmission of a recording, of all or any portion of a class is prohibited unless the recording is necessary for educational accommodation as expressly authorized and documented through the Center for Educational Access with proper advance notice to the instructor. Unauthorized recordings may violate federal law, state law, and university policies. Student-made recordings are subject to the same restrictions as instructor-made recordings. Failure to comply with this provision will result in a referral to the Office of Student Standards and Conduct for potential charges under the Code of Student Life. In situations where the recordings are used to gain an academic advantage, it may also be considered a violation of the University of Arkansas’ academic integrity policy.
Tutoring and help: