Math 230. Abstract and Discrete Mathematics

• Instructor:         Enrique Treviño

• Lectures:           MWF 1:00 - 2:20 pm in Young Hall 111

• Office Hours:    MWF between 10:00am and 10:50am. You can also arrange a meeting by appointment.

• Office:               Young Hall 105

• Email:               

• Phone Ext.:        #6187

Announcements

Practice Exam for the final exam.
Solutions to the final practice exam.
Recall that the final exam is on Tuesday May 8 from 8:30am to 11:30am.

Cardinality Lecture Notes. We covered a few things extra in class and we have not covered everything on these notes yet. We will cover everything in these notes and more. Another good resource to read on cardinality is Chapter 13 in the open textbook The Book of Proof by Richard Hammack. The chapter is here.

An excerpt of the comic book Logicomix relevant to the infinite hotel example I mentioned in class.

Different proof of Cantor-Bernstein. This is another proof of Cantor-Bernstein. A very nice proof. I suggest you spend some time thinking of why the author had to go through so much trouble to get to the proof at the end. I also suggest you fill out the details in the write up. Another famous proof can be found in Wikipedia Schroder-Bernstein-Cantor theorem.

The third midterm is Wednesday April 11. To prepare for the midterm, I recommend working on the following:

• Practice Exam 3 and its
  Solutions.
• Midterm 3 Fall 2013 and its
  Solutions.
  
• Midterm 3 Spring 2014 and its
  Solutions.

Some extra notes regarding the Pigeonhole principle.

I Prefer Pi by Borwein and Chapman. An article that includes a lot of results on π over the years. It includes a condensed version of the proof I gave in class that π is irrational, among many other beautiful results.

The second midterm is Wednesday March 7. To prepare for the midterm, I recommend working on the following:

• Practice Exam 2 and its
  Solutions.
  (Note: The solution to problem 4 is listed as 6, the solution to problem 5 is listed as 8 and the solution to problem 6 is listed as 7. The solutions to problem 7 can be found in the poker worksheet. The solution to part e of problem 5 is {3,10,17,24}. The solution to problem 8 is (m+1 choose 2) times (n+ 1 choose 2).
• Midterm 2 Fall 2013 and its
  Solutions.
  Note: Ignore the problems involving proof by contradiction.
• Midterm 2 Spring 2014 and its
  Solutions.

Poker Worksheet and
Poker Worksheet Solutions.

The first midterm is Wednesday February 14. To prepare for the midterm, I recommend working on the following:

• Practice Exam 1 and its
  Solutions.
• Midterm 1 Fall 2013 and its
  Solutions.
• Midterm 1 Spring 2014 and its
  Solutions.

Induction Practice and
Induction Practice Solutions.

There will be tutorials led by Ryan Zunker on Tuesdays from 6:45pm to 7:45pm and Thursdays from 6pm to 7:45pm in YH 118. Note that the dates changed

Access to the homework assignments.

Mathematics: A Discrete Introduction by Edward R. Scheinerman.

Topics we will cover

The main goal of the class is to learn how to do mathematical proofs. We will learn several proof techniques and on the way we will use these techniques on different subjects of mathematics such as number theory, combinatorics, and set theory. We will also cover several important abstract concepts such as relations, functions and partially ordered sets.

The sections in the book that will be covered are:

1-12, 22, 20, 14-17, 19, 24-26, 54-56.

The reason the numbering is bizarre is that this is the order I like to teach the class.

Student Learning Outcomes

• Understand what a mathematical proof is.
• Learn how to write your own proofs.
• Understand sets and set notation.
• Learn to use mathematical induction.

• Learn to prove by contradiction.
• Learn what an equivalence relation is.
• Learn binomial coefficients.
• Learn what a mathematical definition is.
• Learn what functions are. Furthermore, learn how to prove a function is (or isn't) onto, is or isn't one-to-one.
• Learn what posets are.
• Learn about cardinality.
• Learn boolean algebra and truth tables.

Grading

The course grade will be based on:
Quizzes 20%,
Midterms 45% (15% each),
Final Exam 35%.

There will be written homework roughly every week. A copy of all homeworks can be accessed here. The dates of the quizzes will be updated as the semester progresses. Collaboration in the homework is permitted. The homework won't be turned in, instead there will be quizzes to test you on the homework exercises. There will be approximately 9 quizzes throughout the semester (roughly every week). The quizzes will consist of 2 or 3 problems which will be similar to the questions assigned on the homework assignment that week (but not necessarily identical).

The tentative dates for the midterms are:

• The first midterm will be on Wednesday February 14.
• The second midterm will be on Wednesday March 7.
• The third midterm will be on Wednesday April 11.
• The final exam will be on Tuesday May 8 from 8:30am to 11:30am.

Attendance

Academic Honesty Policy

The student is expected to be honest with their work. I will penalize any student that copies or uses a cell phone to look for answers in an exam or quiz. I encourage students to be familiar with the college's Academic Honesty Policy to see the possible sanctions for academic dishonesty.

Accommodations Statement

If you believe that you need accommodations for a disability, please consult with The Learning and Teaching Center. Since accommodations may require early planning and are not retroactive, please contact the center as soon as possible. For details about the services for students with disabilities and the accomodations process, visit http://www.lakeforest.edu/academics/resources/disability/.

You are also welcome to contact me privately to discuss your academic needs. However, all disability-related accommodations must be arranged through Teryn Robinson at the Learning and Teaching Center.

Last modified on April 25, 2018.