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Course Outline


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Contents

Course Details & Outcomes

Course Details

Course Code COMP9020
Course Title Foundations of Computer Science
Convenor Paul Hunter
Admin Varun Agarwal, Ronald Chiang
Contact Email cs9020@cse.unsw.edu.au
Lectures
Day Start Time End Time Room
Monday 14:00 16:00 Science Theatre (K-F13-G09)
Wednesday 14:00 16:00 Science Theatre (K-F13-G09)
Tutorials Refer to Timetable for details. This applies from Week 2 to Week 10, including Week 6.
Units of Credit 6
Course Website http://www.cse.unsw.edu.au/~cs9020
Ed Forum https://edstem.org/au/courses/22026/discussion
Handbook Entry http://www.handbook.unsw.edu.au/postgraduate/courses/current/COMP9020.html

Course Description

The official scope is: mathematical methods for designing correct and efficient programs; mathematics for algorithm analysis; logic for proving and verification.

The actual content is taken from a list of subjects that constitute the basis of the tool box of every serious practitioner of computing: set and relation theory; induction, recursion and recurrence relations; order of growth of functions; structured counting (combinatorics); discrete probability; graph theory and trees for algorithmic applications; propositional logic and boolean algebras.

Course Aims

This course is typically taken early in the Masters program and provides a foundation for the formal reasoning that is required in subsequent courses.

After successfully completing this course, you will have developed an increased level of mathematical maturity to assist with the fundamental problem of finding, formulating, and proving properties of programs.

Course Learning Outcomes

CLO1 : Explain the foundational structures used in discrete mathematics

CLO2 : Explain basic number theory concepts and definitions

CLO3 : Explain the fundamental Computer Science concepts of recursion and induction

CLO4 : Analyze the correctness and efficiency of algorithms

CLO5 : Explain Boolean and propositional logic

CLO6 : Explain simple combinatorics, probability and statistics

CLO7 : Apply mathematical tools to formulate and prove problems in Computer Science

CLO8 : Explore additional approaches to problem solving by identifying broader abstract connections between concepts

Assessment

Item Due Marks
Formatif tasks First submission 18:00 AEDT Monday of the following week

Final submission 18:00 AEDT Friday of the following week
40%
Final Exam Examination Period, Time and Date TBC 60%

Hurdle Requirement: You must achieve 40% on the Final Exam (24% out of 60%) to pass the course.

Course Schedule

Here is a tentative schedule of the course content:

Week Lectures Tutorials Assessment Due
W1 L1 - Introduction

L2 - Number Theory

W2 L1 - Sets and Formal Languages

L2 - Set Theory 		Number Theory
Week 1 Formatif tasks
W3 L1 - Relations

L2 - Equivalence Relations and Partial Orders 		Set Theory and Formal Languages Week 2 Formatif tasks
W4 L1 - Functions

L2 - Graph Theory
Relations and Functions Week 3 Formatif tasks
W5 L1 - Graph Theory (continued)

L2 - Recursion
Graph Theory Week 4 Formatif tasks
W6 Flex week (no lectures) Recursion/Revision Week 5 Formatif tasks (final deadline Monday Week 7)
W7 L1 - Induction

L2 - Algorithmic Analysis 		Recursion Week 6 Formatif tasks
W8 L1 - Boolean Logic

L2 - Propositional Logic 		Induction and Algorithmic Analysis Week 7 Formatif tasks
W9 L1 - Combinatorics

L2 - Probability 		Logic Week 8 Formatif tasks
W10 L1 - Statistics

L2 - Course Revision & Exam Information 		Combinatorics, Probability and Statistics Week 9 Formatif tasks
W11
Week 10 Formatif tasks (final deadline Tuesday Week 11)

Attendance Requirements

Students are strongly encouraged to attend all classes and review lecture recordings.

Course Resources

Textbooks

All content will be covered in lectures. For further reading we recommend:

Additionally the following texts may be useful:

Course Evaluation and Development

This course is evaluated each session using the myExperience system to obtain feedback on the quality of the various course components. Your participation in the survey will be greatly appreciated. Students are also encouraged to provide informal feedback during the session, and to notify the lecturer-in-charge of any problems as soon as they arise.

Student Conduct (Please DO Read the Plagiarism Material)

Thanks to Professor Michael Thielscher for his guidance and Dr. Sebastian Sequoiah-Grayson for his explanation in the following paragraphs.

Be excellent to each other.

Be excellent to yourselves.

Also the following is wordy, but important - The Student Code of Conduct ( Information , Policy ) sets out what the University expects from students as members of the UNSW community. As well as the learning, teaching and research environment, the University aims to provide an environment that enables students to achieve their full potential and to provide an experience consistent with the University's values and guiding principles. A condition of enrolment is that students inform themselves of the University's rules and policies affecting them, and conduct themselves accordingly.

In particular, students have the responsibility to observe standards of equity and respect in dealing with every member of the University community. This applies to all activities on UNSW premises and all external activities related to study and research. This includes behaviour in person as well as behaviour on social media, for example Facebook groups set up for the purpose of discussing UNSW courses or course work. Behaviour that is considered in breach of the Student Code Policy as discriminatory, sexually inappropriate, bullying, harassing, invading another's privacy or causing any person to fear for their personal safety is serious misconduct and can lead to severe penalties, including suspension or exclusion from UNSW.

If you have any concerns, you may raise them with your lecturer, or approach the School Ethics Officer , Grievance Officer , or one of the student representatives.

Plagiarism is defined as using the words or ideas of others and presenting them as your own. UNSW and CSE treat plagiarism as academic misconduct, which means that it carries penalties as severe as being excluded from further study at UNSW. There are several on-line sources to help you understand what plagiarism is and how it is dealt with at UNSW:

Make sure that you read and understand these. Ignorance is not accepted as an excuse for plagiarism. In particular, you are also responsible that your assignment files are not accessible by anyone but you by setting the correct permissions in your CSE directory and code repository, if using. Note also that plagiarism includes paying or asking another person to do a piece of work for you and then submitting it as your own work.

UNSW has an ongoing commitment to fostering a culture of learning informed by academic integrity. All UNSW staff and students have a responsibility to adhere to this principle of academic integrity. Plagiarism undermines academic integrity and is not tolerated at UNSW. Plagiarism at UNSW is defined as using the words or ideas of others and passing them off as your own.

If you haven't done so yet, please take the time to read the full text of

The pages below describe the policies and procedures in more detail:

You should also read the following page which describes your rights and responsibilities in the CSE context:

Resource created about a month ago, last modified 28 days ago.


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