Dr. Danielle O'Donnol
Herman Brown 452
Phone: (713) 348-2385
email: odonnol AT rice DOT edu
Course Information
Class meets: MWF from 1pm-1:50pm in HB 227
Office Hours: Wednesdays 2:00-3:20 and Fridays 10:00-11:20, or by Appointment
Help Sessions: Thursdays 7:00-8:00 pm in HB 423
Webpage: http://www.math.rice.edu/~dso1/368f09/
All homework and reading assignments can be found on Owl-space
Required Textbook
Harris, Hirst and Mossinghoff, Combinatorics and Graph Theory (Second Edition)
Course Description
This class will give an introduction to combinatorics with a focus on graph theory. We will begin with graph theory, looking at basic topics including trees, planarity, and colorings. Next we will be spend some time on basic counting problems, binomial coefficients and inclusion and exclusion. In the remaining time we will cover more advanced topics like Ramsey Theory, the Traveling Salesperson Problem, generating function, or Polya's Theory of counting.
Grades
Your grade in the class will be based on the following weights:
Homework:
30% (with the lowest homework grade dropped)
Midterm I:
20%
Midterm II:
20%
Final Exam:
30%
Homework
Homework will be assigned every Friday and will be due the following
Friday in class (or before class) unless otherwise stated. Homework should be written clearly, in full sentences. To get full credit you must show, explain, and justify your work. No late homework will be excepted. The lowest homework grade will be dropped.
Exams
There will be two (in-class) midterms on Wednesdays and a scheduled final exam. All exams are pledged. The midterms will each be worth 20% of your grade and the final exam will be worth 30% of your grade.
***Midterms tentatively scheduled for:***
Midterm I:
October 7
Midterm II:
November 11
If you know you will miss a midterm
for a legitimate reason, notify me before the exam and as soon as possible, so we
can make alternate arrangements. Without an explanation in advance, a make-up
exam is unlikely to be allowed. Good mathematical exposition will be
counted on both exams.
The Final
It is the policy of the mathematics department that no final may be given early to accommodate student travel plans. We will not know when the final in this course will be scheduled for some time. Therefore, if you should make plans to travel before the end of final exam period, and it turns out that the final for this course is after your scheduled departure date, you will have to choose between keeping your plans and receiving zero for the final, or incurring the costs for changing your plans and taking the final at its scheduled time. Thanks for your understanding.
OWL-Space
I have set up an OWL-Space site for this course. I will post all announcements, schedules,
homeworks, and reading assignments on OWL-Space so check there often. You will also be able to see your current homework/exam grades on Owl-space.
You should use your NETID as your login.
Attendance
Students are expected to attend every class. It is the student's responsibility to keep informed of any announcements, syllabus adjustments, or policy
changes made during scheduled classes. I will maintain an Owl-space site for this course and will
do my best to post such announcements in a timely manner on the site. However,
you are still responsible for all class announcements, not just those that
get posted to the web site.
Disability Support
Any student with a documented disability needing academic
adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with me during the first week of class. All
discussions will remain confidential. Students with disabilities need to also contact
Disability Support Services in Ley Student Center.