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

For UCSD students
Math 184A (Combinatorics)

Winter, 2018 Spring, 2019

Links

Information

Textbook:
The textbook for this course is: Miklòs Bòna, A Walk Through Combinatorics, Third Edition, 2011
Grading policy:
Student's cumulative average will be computed by taking the maximum of these two grading schemes:
  • 5% Quizzes, 5% Homework, 25% Midterm I, 25% Midterm II, 40% Final Exam
  • 5% Quizzes, 5% 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 must be done alone! 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 (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

  • 5880B, AP&M building,
    • Tuesday: 2 - 3 PM
    • Wednesday: 2 - 3 PM
    • Friday: 2 - 3 PM

Teaching assistants

  • Jason O'Neill,
    6446, AP&M building:
    • Monday: 4 - 5 PM
    • Wednesday: 3 - 4 PM
  • Viswanatha Karlapati,
    5722, Mayer:
    • Thursday: 12 - 2 PM
    • Friday: 3 - 5 PM

Calendar

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday
January 07 January 08
1 Pigeonhole Principle
Discussion
January 09 January 10
2 Mathematical Induction
January 11 January 12
3 Elementary Counting Problems
January 13
January 14 January 15
Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday
Discussion
January 16 January 17
4 Binomial coefficient identities
January 18 January 19
4 Binomial coefficient identities
January 20
January 21 January 22
5 Partitions
Discussion
January 23 January 24
Catch up Review
January 25 January 26
Midterm I
January 27
January 28 January 29
5 Partitions
Discussion
January 30 January 31
8.1 Ordinary Generating Functions
February 01 February 02
8.1 Ordinary Generating Functions
February 03
February 04 February 05
8.1 Ordinary Generating Functions
Discussion
February 06 February 07
6.1 Cycles in permutations
February 08 February 09
6.1 Cycles in permutations
February 10
February 11 February 12
6.1 Cycles in permutations
Discussion
February 13 February 14
7 Inclusion-Exclusion
February 15 February 16
9.1-9.3 Graph Theory
February 17
February 18 February 19
Presidents' Day Holiday
Discussion
February 20 February 21
Catch up Review
February 22 February 23
Midterm II
February 24
February 25 February 26
9.1-9.3 Graph Theory
Discussion
February 27 February 28
9.1-9.3 Graph Theory
March 01 March 02
10.1 Trees
March 03
March 04 March 05
10.1 Trees
Discussion
March 06 March 07
10.1 Trees
March 08 March 09
10.3 Counting walks using powers of the adjacency matrix
March 10
March 11 March 12
11 Coloring and Matching
Discussion
March 13 March 14
11 Coloring and Matching
March 15 March 16
Catch up Review
March 17
March 18 March 19 March 20 March 21 March 22 March 23
Final Exam
March 24