Syllabus (PDF) - UBC Computer Science

Department of Computer Science CPSC 121: Models of Computation Winter 2013 Term2 Course Information

Introduction CPSC 121 explores formal modeling systems that help us to understand and to explore the capabilities of computers and, more generally, of any problem solving process. Our exploration of these systems is guided by two overarching questions:  

How can we build computational devices from parts capable only of simple logical operations? What can computational systems do, and what can’t they do?

We will apply our formal models to areas such as hardware design, algorithm design, databases, artificial intelligence and operating systems. Among other skills, CPSC 121 will demand that you construct valid proofs and recognize proofs that are invalid. Regular written assignments will provide you with opportunities to strengthen your understanding of course concepts. In addition, a set of labs will guide you through the design of solutions to specific problems, using a combination of computer-based simulations, other software, and a simple hardware kit called The Magic Box.

Prerequisites MATH 12 is a prerequisite for this course. Students who have not completed MATH 12 (or equivalent) are not eligible to register for CPSC 121. Also, you must either have completed CPSC 110 or 111 (or equivalent) or take CPSC 110 concurrently with CPSC 121.

Lectures, People, and office hours Lectures Sections 201 203 & BCS

Days MWF MWF

Time 10:00–11:00 14:00–15:00

Room DMP 310 DMP 310

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Instructors Section 202: Steve Wolfman ([email protected]) Office: ICICS/CS 239, Phone: (604) 822-0407 Section 203 & BCS: George Tsiknis ([email protected]) Office: ICICS/CS 307, Phone: (604) 822-2930 Educational Technology Coordinator: Anthony Winstanley ([email protected]) Office: ICICS/CS 127, Phone: (604) 757-4568 Teaching Assistants:  Alec Theriault ([email protected])  Jian Chen ([email protected])  Jimmy Wang ([email protected])  Jodi Spacek ([email protected])  Jonathan Lee ([email protected])  Julia Litke ([email protected])  Kailun Zhang ([email protected])  Kevin Cheang ([email protected])  Kevin Dhami ([email protected])  Marie Starck ([email protected])  Patty Wang ([email protected])  Peter Son ([email protected])  Rose Gambrel ([email protected])  Sainan Liu ([email protected])  Thomas Leung ([email protected])  Tyler Suzuki Nelson ([email protected])  William Yao ([email protected])

Required Textbooks and Materials The main textbook for the course is Epp, Susanna Discrete Mathematics with Applications (4th edition), Thomson Learning Inc., 2011, ISBN 0-534-39132-8

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The third edition of the same text is also fine (there are probably a number of used copies of that edition on campus). If you can find a copy of the textbook by Rosen (see under “Other References”; either the 5th, 6th or 7th edition), then this is also acceptable. Both books discuss more or less the same topics. The main difference between them is in the style of the presentation. Use whichever one you feel more comfortable with.

Other References    

Rosen, Kenneth H. Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (7th edition), McGraw Hill Book Company, 2012, ISBN 0-07-338309-0. Rosen, Kenneth H. and Grossman, Jerrold Student Solutions Guide for Discrete Mathematics and its Applications (7th edition), McGraw Hill Book Company, 2012, ISBN 0-07-735350-1. Maxfield, Clive, Bebop to the Boolean Boogie (3rd edition), Newnes Press, 2009, ISBN 978-1-85617-507-4. Velleman, Daniel J., How To Prove It: A structured Approach (2nd edition), Cambridge University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-521-67599-5.

Marking Scheme The marks for the course will be distributed as follows (the instructors reserve the right to modify the marking scheme at any time; however, your final mark will be at least the mark obtained by this scheme):  Assignments (5) 14 %  Labs (10) 14 %  Clicker Questions 2%  Pre-class Quizzes (12) 5%  Midterm (2) 24 %  Final exam 40 %  Discretionary 1% To pass the course, you must obtain at least 50% on the final exam, and at least 50% on your combined lab and assignment marks. If you fail to meet either of these requirements, you will receive at most a mark of 45% for the course, regardless of the results of the formula above. Your assignment average will be the average of your assignment marks (as percentages, i.e., equally weighted). Lab and online quiz marks will be calculated similarly. However, your lowest two online quiz marks will be dropped at the end of the term. Because you can earn 100% even if you miss some, we typically do not accept excuses for missed pre-class quizzes. That said, if you have concerns, please talk to us!

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Your clicker mark will be your total number of answered clicker questions divided by five-sixths of the total number of clicker questions, up to a maximum of 100%. Since we drop a substantial fraction of clicker questions, we do not typically accept excuses for missed clicker questions. Each student will decide whether the “discretionary” 1% mark will be for tutorial attendance, or added to the 5% for the pre-class quizzes or to the 40% of the final exam. There will probably be a question on the first midterm exam asking you to indicate which option you prefer.

Examinations The course will have two midterm and a final examinations. The midterms have been scheduled for  Wednesday, February 12th, 2013, 17:30 to 19:30. and  Wednesday, March 12th, 2013, 17:30 to 19:30. Exam rooms will be announced later in the class. If you have a conflict with either of the midterm times, once announced, you must inform your instructor as soon as possible!

Lectures CPSC 121 promotes an interactive engagement lecture approach to facilitate your learning. For this approach to work best, you must prepare before the lecture, often by reading the appropriate sections of the text, working recommended problems, and completing an online quiz. During class, the instructor will review some of the more difficult concepts or examples from the readings, and lead you through discussions, clicker questions and other exercises. After class, you will want to review the text and any notes you took. This course is exciting, but it is also challenging. It is therefore absolutely essential that you ask questions whenever there is a concept that you don’t understand. If you miss a lecture, catch up on what you missed from a classmate and in office hours. If you are out of class for an extended period of time, contact your instructor as soon as possible to determine how to catch up. It is your responsibility to be aware of any announcements that may have been made in your absence.

Tutorials You should each have registered for a tutorial section. During tutorials, you will mostly work in small groups on problems suggested by the TA, although some time may be devoted to answer other questions you might have about the course material.

Labs Formal laboratory classes are an important part of this course. In lab, you will solve practical problems and test your ideas, using both computer software and a hardware kit called The Magic Box. We supply Magic Boxes when they are needed. Lab handouts will provide or refer to 4

information you’ll need and then pose your lab problem with guidelines for reporting your results. You must read lab handouts and complete the prelab activities before the lab begins! Lab sessions are supervised by two teaching assistants (TAs). TAs introduce the problem and then help guide your work as needed. Once you complete a lab, you must demonstrate your results and submit your report to a TA, who may then ask questions about your work. You may leave the lab once this demonstration is complete. Some labs contain Challenge problems. Challenge problems are entirely optional. However, successfully completing Challenge problems will give you a small number of bonus marks.

Assignments We will post assignments on the course website roughly every other week. They will contain practice problems that exercise the material discussed in the lectures. Assignments will be submitted on paper in the assignment boxes for the CPSC 121 course which are located in ICICS/CS X235 and are labelled with the course number. No late assignments will be accepted. Assignment submissions must be stapled below the CPSC 121 assignment cover page (available from the Assignments, Labs, Online Quizzes section of the course web site).

The Demco Learning Centre The Demco learning centre is located in ICICS/CS X150. It is a dedicated space for students to get help from TAs. CPSC 121 TAs will be available there for many hours each week, starting the second week of the classes. The schedule will be posted soon on the Learning Center website. This is one of the many places you can go to if you need help understanding a concept discussed in class or tutorials (the others being tutorials and your instructor, of course). You should not expect the TAs to tell you how to solve the assignment problems, but of course you can ask general questions about your assignments.

On-Line Services In addition to the course web site, a Connect page is also available. It will contain the online quizzes and your marks for the course activities. Finally a Piazza discussion board has been set for the course where you can ask questions and carry out discussions about the course materials. Either the lectures or the labs will provide more specific information on how to access Connect and Piazza. General questions about the course materials, the assignments or the labs should be posted to the discussion board on Piazza, not emailed to the instructors and TAs, except when the question gives away the answer (or part of the answer) to an assignment question or a lab. If that is the case, you should email your question to your instructor instead.

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Questions of a personal nature, for instance if you have been sick and are wondering how to best catch up, should be emailed to your instructor, rather than posted to the bulletin board (remember, everybody can read what you post to the bulletin board).

Academic Concession Students who miss a quiz, midterm, or assignment due to a short illness should contact their instructor as soon as possible. If the student is excused from the missed exam or assignment (appropriate documentation may be required), the instructor will arrange with the student to rebalance the grading scheme, putting the weight of the missed activity on to other components of the course (makeup exams are typically not provided). A student missing the final exam due to illness must apply to their home faculty for Academic Concession as soon as possible. In accordance with UBC Policy #65, students who are scheduled to attend classes or write examinations on the holy days of their religion must notify their instructors two weeks in advance of the religious holiday they wish to observe. Instructors will provide opportunity for students to make up the missed work or examination without penalty. The full policy may be viewed at: http://www.universitycounsel.ubc.ca/policies/policy65.pdf You may also wish to see the Calendar entry on Religious Holidays at: http://students.ubc.ca/current/holidays.cfm

Academic Conduct Collaboration enhances the learning experience. We encourage collaboration in various ways throughout the course, subject to the rules stated here:  Assignments: You may work on assignments in groups of two, and we encourage you to do so. Groups are described below. Your group may also work with any other person or resource subject to the following five rules: – The group must spend at least 10 minutes working on each problem independently before collaborating with others. – Collaboration with others is limited to discussion and brainstorming. No record of any sort (e.g. written or electronic material) may be exchanged or leave the brainstorming session. – After collaborating, each student must take a half-hour break from the problem. A mindless activity like watching videos is a recommended activity. – Each group must write their own independent solution, using their own words to prove that they understand the problem on their own. – Groups must acknowledge all collaborators or sources of assistance in their submission, although you need only name CPSC 121 course staff, handouts, and required textbooks if you quote or adapt directly from them. (To simplify this, you may record the names of people you collaborate with!) Treat electronic resources your team consults like written resources (set them aside for a half-hour before writing your solution and then do not consult them while writing your solution). 6

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Labs: Labs are completed in groups of two. (Subject to availability of materials, some students MAY be allowed to work alone.) Groups are described below. Note: Group members who are absent for a lab, receive no credit for their group’s lab submission. They have until the start of the next lab to arrange with their lab TAs to have their individual lab submission marked. (See more details under Labs.) Groups: – Must indicate they are working together in the appropriate venue (on the cover sheet for assignments, to the lab TA for labs). – May collaborate on both labs and assignments but need not do so. (Your lab group can differ from your assignment group.) – May remain the same over the term, but may also change from one lab/assignment to the next. (Notify the course staff appropriately of changes!) – Must submit only one joint solution to a lab or assignment. – Will receive one grade for each lab/assignment that applies to every group member (adjusted individually only in extraordinary circumstances). In lab, we require that group members collaborate rather than, for example, working on individual parts of the lab and stitching the result together. We recommend the same for assignments. For advice on group work, speak with the teaching staff and check out All I Need to Know About Pair Programming I Learned in Kindergarten (http://dl.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=332848 ) for a lighthearted but well-researched perspective on pair work in Computer Science (originally, for programming but still applicable in CPSC 121). On-line Quizzes: – On-line quizzes are open book. That is, you may use any non-human aides, e.g., the textbook, or web articles, to assist you. – On-line quizzes typically have a first part which is to be completed individually with no assistance from anyone. You are free to work with your fellow students on practice problems from the text that are similar, but not identical, to the on-line quiz questions. – On-line quizzes sometimes also have a second part (of open-ended questions) marked only for completeness. You are free to discuss these specific questions with your fellow students although, once again, written answers must be prepared individually. – Typically, an on-line quiz will ask you explicitly to acknowledge any sources/help you received to complete the quiz. Exams follow the University’s Rules Governing Formal Examination, including disallowing any communication by any means with anyone besides the exam’s invigilators except where specifically noted in exam instructions.

Violation of any of these rules constitutes academic misconduct and is subject to penalties ranging from a grade of zero on a particular assignment to indefinite suspension from the University. If you are uncertain as to what is or is not reasonable collaboration, please contact the instructor. If you are having problems understanding or keeping up with the material, please contact the instructor or a TA to discuss how we can fix the problem. Don’t cheat!

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Closing Words If you don’t understand something covered in class, ask about it right away. The only silly question is the one which is not asked. Similarly, if you get a poor mark on a lab or midterm, find out why right away. Don’t wait a month before asking! This course is challenging and a fair bit of work (it is, after all, a 4 credits course), but it’s also intended to be fun. We think computer science is interesting and exciting. Welcome to the course, and good luck!

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