Mat341/Computational Mathematics

Grading Policy (Fall 2017)

Course Title: Mat370/Computational Mathematics

Instructor: Dr.Edward Conjura

Text:  Course notes and references provided by Dr. Conjura
       
          

Meeting Times & Places : Fall 2017 Semester 
                         Section 01 -M/R  11:00AM-12:20PM
                                     Room SC-P201    
                                     W    10:00AM-10:50AM
                                     Room SC-P221    

           
                         SC-P = Science Complex-Math/Physics Wing

----------------------------

Mat370/Computational Mathematics



Who Should Take This Course?

	This course is an elective for majors and minors in the
Department of Mathematics and Statistics. Please check the
requirements for your specialization to determine how credit
for the course will be assigned. This course may also count as
a correlate requirement of a second course in computer science
for certain specializations within the Department of 
Mathematics and Statistics.

      Since this is a 300 level course, students in this course
should have the mathematical maturity of someone who is at least in their fourth semester as a Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Mathematics Education or Statistics specialization. However, the more math you know the better. In particular, at a minimum, topics covered in this couse will build on those seen in Mat127, Mat128, Mat200 and Mat205 and some topics in Number Theory and 
Differential Equations will also be covered.

      It is also assumed that anyone taking this course has
prior computer programming experience and skills at least at 
the level of those found in CSC220

      This course will use two programming platforms. 
They are Excel/VBA and Mathematica. Excel/VBA will 
be used to explore data analysis methods typically used in
financial mathematics and other areas that analyze sequences 
of data. Mathematica will be used as a platform to explore many
of the mathematical topics covered in the core courses required
of the various specializations available in the Mathematics and
Statistics Department, in addition to topics in sequential data
series analysis.




Course Philosophy/Main Goals and Objectives

	The main focus/goal of this course is to teach students 
how to write computer programs to solve mathematical problems.
Computer Programming is at the heart of this course. Correctness 
and efficiency of algorithms will be focused on quite a bit. 
A computer program that runs and solves a problem in seconds is 
much better than one that takes minutes, hours, days, years, or 
centuries. Data Structures that are used to store information in 
a computer will also be covered. Choosing the right data 
structure is very important and may make the difference in 
spending 10 hours to write a computer program that solves a 
problem rather than spending 100 hours by using a different data 
structure. 

     Learning how to write computer programs is similar to 
learning a new foreign language, only harder. If you were 
studying Spanish you would learn the vocabulary of that 
language. You would also learn the rules of grammar for the 
language and then you would combine the skills you have in these 
two areas to read, write and speak Spanish. The languages you 
will be learning are Excel/VBA and Mathematica. 
However, it could have been Java, C++, Visual Basic or any 
other computer language. Since your goal is to speak these
languages to a computer in order to solve a mathematical
problem, you will first need to learn the vocabulary and 
rules of grammar for the languages. Since you already know 
how to speak a computer langauge like Java or C++, the 
learning curve for picking up a new language should be short. 

	As with any computer language, your main objective is 
to use it as a tool in problem solving. Therefore, you need 
to describe a method that you will be using in order to 
solve the problem. Such methods are called algorithms. Once 
an algorithm has been designed that you will use to solve 
a particular problem, then you will need to translate the steps
of the algorithm into the computer language and have the
computer execute it to hopefully solve the problem. Needless 
to say, doing all of this is not always easy and sometimes
things are lost in translation. 

      The way you learned English as a child was to hear other 
people speak it and explain it to you. I find that one of the 
best ways to learn how to speak a computer language is to look 
at programs that others have written. Once you have learned the
basics by looking at the work of others, you will then begin to
write your own programs. The computer will do what you tell it
to, and nothing more or less. A good philosophy to follow is to
never assume that what you have told it to do is correct and so
you must constantly monitor what the computer is doing so that
you can determine whether the instructions you have given it 
are correct or not.


      Some people describe computer programming as being as much 
of an art as a science. For most, if not all of you, learning to 
become a good programmer will require a great deal of hard work 
and patience. Computers can be frustrating. They don't always 
explain to you what the problem is in a way that is helpful to 
your understanding of the problem. In many ways dealing with a
computer is like dealing with a baby who has not learned to
communicate with adults yet. However, in the end it is 
what you have told them to do that is causing the problem and so 
remember that when you point your finger at the computer to 
assign blame, three fingers are pointing back at you!






 
Syllabus: The following is a partial list of topics to be
covered in this course:

          
          1.  Getting Started in Mathematica
          2.  Functions and Programming
          3.  List/Sets 
          4.  Numerical Problems 
          5.  Learning Excel/VBA and applying it to 
              Sequential Data
          6.  Ordinary Differential Equations
          7.  Linear Algebra meets Differential Equations
          8.  Some Number Theory
          9.  Elementary Number Theory meets the 
              Fibonacci Numbers
          10. Monte Carlo Methods
          11. Searching and Sorting
          12. Graphs, Trees and Classic Problems
          13. Other topics will be explored based on time 
              and interests.



Syllabus

The following is the official departmental program cover
document for Mat341:

 Cover Document for Mat341 


Grading

	This course is graded on a "letter grade" basis and your 
grade will primarily be determined by your ability to 
design and/or implement algorithms and write computer 
programs that solve mathematical problems. You will 
also be required to do written homework and give oral
presentations to explain your work. You will also have 
one-on-one meetings with me during which you will be expected to 
explain your work and demonstrate the outcome of your efforts.

	You will also be keeping all of your work in one place,
called a Portfolio. I will be looking at your work and providing
you feedback and eventually a grade. You should start by getting
yourself a three ringed binder and some tab seperators in which
you will store your portfolio. As the semester goes on you may
need to get a bigger binder and more tabs.


Attendance:

	I personally believe that it is impossible to do well, or
even pass this course, without attending class lectures and 
recitations. 

	I also realize that sometimes events occur that may 
result in you missing or being late for a class. We all 
get sick, and sometimes things come up that require a change 
in schedule. If you provide me with an acceptable reason for
missed time, I will accept it. 

	However, as the following policy makes clear, I do 
reserve the right to lower your final grade for excessive
unexcused absences or tardiness due to your lack of regular
participation in the course.

	Three or more unexcused absences could result in a drop in 
grade by as much as one letter. The same is true for five or 
more times being late to class without a valid excuse. An 
unexcused absence will also count as you being late. For 
example, if you are late three times and absent twice without 
acceptable excuse, your course grade could be lowered. However, 
if you are absent twice and late only once without acceptable 
excuse, it would not be lowered since your late total would 
only be three.

	If you are sick, a doctors excuse may be required. Not 
feeling well and stopping by the college infirmary will 
generally not be accepted as a reason for an excused absense.
You must also notify me as soon as possible if you believe you
will be unable to complete an assigned task. If possible, 
a makeup date should be set within 24 hours of the date and 
time of the event. If an assignment is graded and returned 
and it is not made up by then, in general a makeup will not 
be given.



   Late or Missed Work:  
    
   Work missed because of an unexcused absence will be marked
late, with a percentage of the total credit deducted.
   

   Assignments must be submitted in class unless other 
arrangements have been established, such as submission through a 
computer interface. 

   
   Work left in a mailbox (electronic  or otherwise) or slipped 
under a door, etc may not be accepted and will be considered 
late until submitted in the required manner. 

   
   If you miss the beginning of class and walk in at any time 
during class to hand in work, it will be considered late unless 
a valid excuse is provided. If you are not in class to hand in 
work, but give it to someone else to submit, the same applies. 


   Responsibility For Knowing About Assignments:

   Each student is responsible for assignments made by the 
professor whether or not he/she is present during the class 
period when assignments are made. 

   
   Basis for Grading:

	This course is project based. I will be giving you written
homework assignments and programming projects with due dates
assigned to them. They will be collected and graded. There will
be three grade breakdown periods. The first will be after the
first 5 weeks. The second will be at the end of the first 10
weeks, and the third and final one will be at the end of the 
semester. At the end of each grading period your grade will be made known to you.
   

Work Submitted and Grading

   Standards for Work Submitted

   	Your work will be graded on the basis of content 
(correctness) and other academic and professional standards 
(academic honesty, timeliness, neatness, organization, 
presentation style and completeness). 

   For example, paperwork submitted should be stapled or 
contained in a binder. 


Academic Dishonesty 

   	ACADEMIC DISHONESTY WILL NOT BE TOLERATED. Any case of 
academic dishonesty will be dealt with according to college 
policy, with minimal recommended punishment generally being a 
grade of "F" for the assignment and possibly for the course, 
dependent on the severity of the case.
   
   	   Reference to any outside source must be provided with 
each assignment. Failure to do so will be considered as 
plagiarism.


Teamwork
   
   	In this course you may be required to work in teams on the
computer programming assignments and on homework. You will 
find that working in teams will improve your learning ability 
and it will develop interpersonal skills that are essential for 
success in the "real world". 
   
   	Regardless of whether you work as an individual or in a
group, every student must maintain a personal portfolio of all
work produced in this course. You are expected to keep the
portfolio up to date for possible inspection by me at any time.
    
     
How Final Grades are Assigned  
     
   Final grades will be based on a 'curve' but cutoffs will not 
exceed straight percentage (eg cutoff for an A will be no more 
than 90% of total points, no more than 80% for a B, 70% for a C, 
and 60% for a D). 


    

Last updated 8-24-2017