Combinatorics Schedule and Homework

We'll have quizzes and homeworks (HW) on alternate Thursdays.
HW 1 is due Thursday, Sept 5, and will be returned on Tuesday Sept 10.
Quiz 1 will be Thursday Sept 12 (based mainly on HW 1) and returned Tuesday Sept 17.
HW 2 is due Thursday, Sept 19, and will be returned on Tuesday Sept 24, etc.

There may be some changes or exceptions, which I'll post here. Rules (also see my Policy web page):
You may talk to your classmates about ideas, but do the problems yourself, and show enough work
to convince me it is your own. You may check your answers (most of them, anyway) in the back of the book.

I'll collect the HW before class starts, so that we can go over some problems together as needed. Anything after that is late, and counts for half credit. I'll generally accept HW up to one week late. Turn it in on stapled loose-leaf paper. Leave some blank space at the top of page one for notes to/from your prof (see HW 1). We will not have time to grade all the problems, so we'll base each HW grade on a few sample problems, plus completeness, neatness, etc. Thus, it's possible to have some bad luck, but I find that the HW average at the end is usually pretty accurate. If you feel that your average HW grade at the end of the term is not accurate, return them {\it all} to me for a review. Save all your HW and quizzes!

Since you will probably visit this page regularly, I will also post announcements here - remarks on upcoming quizzes or changes to the schedule, for example. I may also post answer keys. Bookmark this page! As of Aug 25, I have written your HW1 assignment, but the HW2 link below won't work yet. It should work by the time HW1 is due, and so on.

HW 1 due Sept 5 = Lecture 4. Remarks ...

• LA Office Hours: Shuai Xu can meet you in DM 413B (or 413C) between 11:45am and 1:45pm on TR's. I may give a little extra credit to students who attend his sessions regularly and actively.
• Expectations for Quiz 1, Sept 12: confidence with problems similar to HW1, familiarity with the lecture topics through Sept 5 (early Ch 2.3), reading through Ch 2.3, a reasonable attempt at early HW2. The quiz will have approx 3 relatively short problems and will last approx 20 minutes, followed by a lecture. See my exam page for old sample quizzes.
• The Quiz 1 Key is now posted on the exam page (9/14/13). I will not usually bother to annonce this.
• Correction: Job openings for tutors announced in class require a GPA of 3.2. Email me if interested.
• If you have opted out of HW this term, check that your initials are on this list: SP, JA, MD, JT, AL.

HW 2 due Sept 19= Lecture 8
HW 3 due Oct 3= Lecture 12
HW 4 due Oct 17= Lecture 16. This link also has my remarks on Quiz 3.
HW 5 due Oct 31= Lecture 20, mostly on Ch 7. This link also has my remarks on Quiz 4.
HW 6 due Nov 12 = Lecture 23, on Ch 8. Note that HW 6 is now due on Tues Nov 12 (despite any other web pages or discussions made prior to today, 11/7/13). I hope you can solve 8-31 even without studying section 8.4 (though that might help).

From FIU Physics Dept - I would like to point out 2006 Nobel laureate John Mather’s talk on Tuesday (Nov. 12) afternoon in AHC3-110 at 3:30 PM.

Quiz 5: It will be Tues 11/19, mainly covering HW 5-6, and Chs 7.1 - 9.1. See my notes below about reading Ch.7. HW6 should be ready now, for pick up in the Math Dept (email me if you did not get the directions).
Proofs to know for the quiz = Thm.8.1.1 and 8.2.5 (the shorter versions from my lectures are OK, if explained properly) and maybe 8.3.1 and 8.3.2 (these should be easy). Know the ideas of the "proofs" in Ch.7.6 and 8.4, though I probably will not ask you to repeat them.

HW 7 due Tues, Nov 26 ("optional")

Dec 3 = The last day to resolve things (hand in late HW or projects, or excuses for missed quizzes, etc).
Dec 5 = last lecture (it will be mainly review)

Final: Thurs, Dec 12, 12pm - 2pm.
More practive problems for the final: Ch 12 - 47 and Ch 13 - 29, 30. Don't forget "HW7" if you haven't done that already.
Tentative proof list for the final (may be tweaked approx Dec 4): Thm 8.2.5, Thm.9.2.2, Cor.9.3.3, Thms 13.3.1 and 13.3.2.

A rough schedule of topics;
Lectures 1 and 2; various topics in Ch1. Please read over the entire chapter, with emphasis on topics from the lectures and HW.
Lectures 3 to 5 (or 6); various topics in Ch 2 with emphasis on Chs 2.1 to 2.3, omitting 2.6 entirely.
Lectures 6 and 7; all of Ch 3 if possible.
Lectures 8 to 11; almost all of Ch 5, with Ch 4.5 inserted before Ch 5.6. Maybe additional topics not in the text.
Lectures 12 to 13; most of Ch 6, omitting 6.5 and 6.6.
Lectures 14 to 18; most of Ch 7.

• Notes on reading Ch 7. Read most of every section, 7.1 to 7.6. The parts about differential equations are optional (if you have taken a course in DEs, these parts should help you learn Ch7 faster, but I will not test you on them). In sections 7.4 and 7.5 we stressed calculation skills over theory - if you can solve all the problems here, you should be ready for my exam questions here. You can omit Thm 7.2.1. The proof of Thm 7.3.1 is recommended (it explains why the methods work) but optional. Know the basics of GFs (generating functions) but pages 240-244 are optional and the GF methods in Ch 7.5 are optional. We used a slightly complicated GF in 7.6, and you should study that example.

Lectures 19 to 23; most of Ch 8.1 through 8.4.
Lectures 24 to 28; most of Ch 9 and Ch.13.3.
Dec 3 lecture; some of my own work on SDRs. This page has some notes and exercises on that, and some help with the Ch 9 HW (from a previous edition of the text)
Dec 5 = review for the final. If you feel any topics need more review than others, please me know by approx Dec 2.
I have no unified review sheet, but see the notes above on the final, and the 2 links above (This page and HW 7) and the old finals posted on my exam page.

Here is an outline of the course, looking back. It is not exactly a review sheet, but may still be helpful when studying for the final. It also includes the Pirate puzzle. Outline

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