Unit convenor and teaching staff |
Unit convenor and teaching staff
Ross Moore
Gerry Myerson
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Credit points |
Credit points
3
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Prerequisites |
Prerequisites
DMTH137 or MATH133 or MATH136
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Corequisites |
Corequisites
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Co-badged status |
Co-badged status
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Unit description |
Unit description
The purpose of this unit is to give a grounding in discrete mathematics. It is important preparation for both theoretical computing and abstract algebra. In particular, the unit: explores the concept of computability, and the measures of computational complexity and finite state machines; studies recurrence relations and generating functions; provides an introduction to matrices with applications to systems of linear equations and vectors; applies graph theory to a range of problems; and examines a variety of error correcting and public key cryptography codes
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Information about important academic dates including deadlines for withdrawing from units are available at https://www.mq.edu.au/study/calendar-of-dates
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
HURDLES: The online quizzes may be attempted as many times as necessary during the teaching period. There will be no additional make-up opportunity once the teaching period has finished. There are no other hurdle tasks. In particular, this means that there are no second chance examinations and assessments if you obtain a low score at your first attempt. Students should aim to get at least 65% for the course work (out of 50 marks) in order to be reasonably confident of passing the unit.
IMPORTANT: If you have a valid reason to apply for Disruption to Study for your final examination, you must make yourself available for the week of 23–27 July 2018. If you are not available at that time, there is no guarantee an additional examination time will be offered. Specific examination dates and times will be determined at a later date.
Name | Weighting | Hurdle | Due |
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Three assignments | 30% | No | Wednesday weeks 5, 9, 12 |
1 Project | 20% | No | 2 May |
Final examination | 50% | No | University Examination Period |
online quizzes | 0% | Yes | weeks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13 |
Due: Wednesday weeks 5, 9, 12
Weighting: 30%
For specific details, see the unit iLearn site.
Due: 2 May
Weighting: 20%
FSA Project. Consult the unit iLearn website. This project is submitted online and immediate feedback is given. Update your submitted solutions as frequently as necessary to correctly perform the required programming task.
Due: University Examination Period
Weighting: 50%
See the unit iLearn site concerning the “expected participation" required for an expectation of achieving a satisfactory grade overall.
Due: weeks 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 10, 13
Weighting: 0%
This is a hurdle assessment task (see assessment policy for more information on hurdle assessment tasks)
The quizzes are competency tests to ensure that all students who pass this unit possess certain basic skills. You can repeat them as many times as it takes in order to pass. You must pass all 7 quizzes to pass this unit.
The following link to sets of online lecture notes as used in previous years, for DMTH237. These cover all the material, and provide exercises and examples:
You may download and study these, from the DMTH237 iLearn site, to get different view-points and explanations of the same material. The online notes are intended primarily as a source of reference. These are not intended to be treated as the only source for learning.
These are particularly recommended for students who have not studied DMTH137 to do independent study.
These and similar texts are available in the Library.
Other similar texts are available in the Library, and for reference in the Numeracy Centre (E7B G.88)
Difficulties with your home computer or internet connection do not constitute a reasonable excuse for lateness of, or failure to submit, assessment tasks.
WEEK |
BEGINNING |
ALGEBRA – Mondays |
LANGUAGES & MACHINES – Tuesdays |
TASK DUE |
1 |
26/02/2018 |
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2 |
05/03/2018 |
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3 |
12/03/2018 |
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Q1 |
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4 |
19/03/2018 |
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Q2 |
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5 |
26/03/2018 |
A1 |
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6 |
03/04/2018 |
Easter Monday — holiday |
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Q3 |
7 |
9/04/2018 |
Counting (cont'd) generating functions |
Q4 |
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MID-SESSION BREAK |
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8 |
30/04/2018 |
FSA Q5 |
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9 |
07/05/2018 |
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A2 |
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10 |
14/05/2018 |
Q6 |
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11 |
21/05/2018 |
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12 |
28/05/2018 |
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A3 |
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13 |
04/06/2018 |
Revision (provided all topics have been completed) |
Q7 |
This table is a rough guide to the timing of the material in DMTH237. Please note that the order and weeks of topics may change. The assignment, project and quiz dates are fixed.
Attendance at lectures and tutorials is the only sure way to find out the where the schedule of topics is up to.
Links in the above table are to files available only through the Unit's iLearn site.
Macquarie University policies and procedures are accessible from Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central). Students should be aware of the following policies in particular with regard to Learning and Teaching:
Undergraduate students seeking more policy resources can visit the Student Policy Gateway (https://students.mq.edu.au/support/study/student-policy-gateway). It is your one-stop-shop for the key policies you need to know about throughout your undergraduate student journey.
If you would like to see all the policies relevant to Learning and Teaching visit Policy Central (https://staff.mq.edu.au/work/strategy-planning-and-governance/university-policies-and-procedures/policy-central).
Macquarie University students have a responsibility to be familiar with the Student Code of Conduct: https://students.mq.edu.au/study/getting-started/student-conduct
Results shown in iLearn, or released directly by your Unit Convenor, are not confirmed as they are subject to final approval by the University. Once approved, final results will be sent to your student email address and will be made available in eStudent. For more information visit ask.mq.edu.au.
Macquarie University provides a range of support services for students. For details, visit http://students.mq.edu.au/support/
Learning Skills (mq.edu.au/learningskills) provides academic writing resources and study strategies to improve your marks and take control of your study.
Students with a disability are encouraged to contact the Disability Service who can provide appropriate help with any issues that arise during their studies.
For all student enquiries, visit Student Connect at ask.mq.edu.au
For help with University computer systems and technology, visit http://www.mq.edu.au/about_us/offices_and_units/information_technology/help/.
When using the University's IT, you must adhere to the Acceptable Use of IT Resources Policy. The policy applies to all who connect to the MQ network including students.
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This graduate capability is supported by:
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As local citizens our graduates will be aware of indigenous perspectives and of the nation's historical context. They will be engaged with the challenges of contemporary society and with knowledge and ideas. We want our graduates to have respect for diversity, to be open-minded, sensitive to others and inclusive, and to be open to other cultures and perspectives: they should have a level of cultural literacy. Our graduates should be aware of disadvantage and social justice, and be willing to participate to help create a wiser and better society.
This graduate capability is supported by:
Tutorials commence in Week 2. However there are two revision quizzes due by the end of Weeks 3&4, so students should spend time in Week 1 revising topics from the pre-requisite unit DMTH137. Given that DMTH237 has an alternate entrance pathway (via MATH135, MATH136, etc.) avoiding DMTH137, there will be some topics which those students have not studied yet; e.g., Logic, Set Theory, Counting methods. Lecture slides from S1 2017 are available through iLearn, and other Lecture Notes for these are available along with the Cooper notes for DMTH237. These materials should be studied during the first 1–2 weeks, and corresponding quizzes completed by Week 4.
The 1st topic in the Algebra & Graph Theory stream “Complex numbers” is now replaced by “Trigonometry”.