Alexander Knop
S.E. Warschawski Assistant Professor
Research interests:
Proof complexity, structural complexity, differential privacy.
En Ru

For UCSD students
Math 109 (Mathematical Reasoning)

Fall, 2018

Links

Information

Textbook:
The textbook for this course is: Peter J. Eccles, An introduction to mathematical reasoning: numbers, sets, and functions, 2007
Grading policy:
Student's cumulative average will be computed by taking the maximum of these two grading schemes:
  • 10% Homework, 25% Midterm I, 25% Midterm II, 40% Final Exam
  • 10% Homework, 30% maximum of Midterm I and Midterm II, 60% Final Exam
Homework:
Homework is a very important part of the course and in order to fully master the topics it is essential that you work carefully on every assignment and try your best to complete every problem.
Your total homework score will be based on the total possible homework points available. After each homework you can complete an optional online HW review highlighting key concepts. If you complete the questionnaire for an assignment and that assignment is your lowest homework score, that score will be dropped from your homework average.
Homework may be done alone or in a group of at most 5 people. Partners may be in any of the sections of the class. You are free to change partners between assignments. Problems should be solved together, not divided up between partners. For homework help, consult your textbook, class notes, lecturer, and TAs. It is considered a violation of the policy on academic integrity to:
  • look or ask for answers to homework problems in other texts or sources, including the internet, or to
  • discuss the homework problems with anyone outside of your group (unless you are in office hours with someone from the instructional team).
Homework solutions should be neatly written or typed and turned in through Gradescope by 11pm on Friday. Illegible assignments will not be graded. For step-by-step instructions on scanning and uploading your homework, see this handout. Late homeworks will not be accepted. Submit early drafts well before the deadline to make sure partial work is graded.
Quizzes:
Quizzes are another significant part of the course. We will have them in the last ten minutes of each Friday lectures and they will cover the material covered in the previous three lectures.
Discussion Board:
The Piazza forum for our class where questions can be posted and answered. It is a very helpful resource!

Office Hours

  • 5880A, AP&M building,
    • Monday: 4 - 5 PM
    • Wednesday: 4 - 5 PM
    • Friday: 3:30 - 4:30 PM

Teaching assistants

  • Renee Mirka,
    6436, AP&M building:
    • Wednesday: 1 - 2 PM
    • Tuesday: 12 - 1 PM, 2 - 3 PM
  • Samir Canning,
    6436, AP&M building:
    • Wednesday: 8 - 10 AM

Calendar

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
September 23 September 24 September 25 September 26 September 27 September 28
1 The language of mathematics
September 29
September 30 October 01
2 Implications
October 02
Discussion
October 03
3 Direct proofs
October 04 October 05
4 Proof by contradiction
October 06
October 07 October 08
5 The induction principle
October 09
Discussion
October 10
5 The induction principle
October 11 October 12
6 The language of set theory
October 13
October 14 October 15
6 The language of set theory
October 16
Discussion
October 17
Catch up Review
October 18 October 19
Midterm I
October 20
October 21 October 22
7-8 Quantifiers and functions
October 23
Discussion
October 24
9 Injections, surjections and bijections
October 25 October 26
10 Counting
October 27
October 28 October 29
10 Counting
October 30
Discussion
October 31
11 Properties of finite sets
November 01 November 02
11 Properties of finite sets
November 03
November 04 November 05
12-13 Counting functions and subsets
November 06
Discussion
November 07
12-13 Counting functions and subsets
November 08 November 09
12-13 Counting functions and subsets
November 10
November 11 November 12
Veterans Day
November 13
Discussion
November 14
Catch up Review
November 15 November 16
Midterm II
November 17
November 18 November 19
14 Counting infinite sets
November 20
Discussion
November 21
14 Counting infinite sets
November 22
Thanksgiving
November 23
Thanksgiving
November 24
November 25 November 26
15 The division algorithm
November 27
Discussion
November 28
15 The division algorithm
November 29 November 30
16 The Euclidean algorithm
December 01
December 02 December 03
16 The Euclidean algorithm
December 04
Discussion
December 05
19, 21 Congruence of integers
December 06 December 07
Catch up Review
December 08
December 09 December 10 December 11
Final Exam
December 12 December 13 December 14 December 15