Mathematics 4801 Topics in Combinatorics

Current announcements

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• The course is over. Have a nice Summer.

General Information

• Course goals: This course is about beautiful proofs in Mathematics, with special emphasis on Combinatorics and Number Theory. We will follow the textbook "Proofs From The Book" very closely to learn techniques used in many beautiful and elegant proofs. Each chapter of the textbook is self-contained. However, some of the topics require previous notions; we will cover the required material during the course.
• Prerequisities: mathematical maturity is recommended. Although not required, at least one undergraduate abstract algebra course and one analysis course may be useful; undergraduate courses in discrete mathematics could be helpful.
• The material covered in each lecture will appear below.
• Textbook: Proofs from THE BOOK by Martin Aigner and Gunter Ziegler, 3rd edition, Springer, 2004.
• Classes begin: Monday, January 5, 2009.
  Classes end: Wednesday, April 1, 2009.
  Winter break: February 16-20, 2009.
• Evaluation:
  There will be two assignments (15% each), an oral presentation of a topic covered in the textbook (35%), and a project (35%). The tentative schedule of assignments is below.

  Assignment	Hand-out Date	Due Date	Worth
  1	January 28	February 25	15%
  2	March 4	March 25	15%

  The oral presentation (worth 35%) can be on any topic in the texbook not covered in class. This mark is formed by 20% for the understanding of the proof, and 15% for the oral presentation. The deadline to decide the topic of the lecture is Monday February 2, 2009.
  

  In addition to the two assignments and the oral presentation there is an individual project worth 35% of the final mark. Projects can not exceed 10 pages and can be about any beautiful proof in Mathematics not covered in lectures or assignments. More information about the project will be given in class in February. The lecturer and the student must agree on the topic of the project by March 4, 2009. The deadline to hand-in the project is Monday March 30, 2009.
  

  There are neither midterms nor a final exam.

• Withdrawal: The last day for withdrawal from the course without academic penalties March 6, 2009.
• Students with Disabilities: Students with Disabilities who require academic accommodations please feel free to see me, and contact the Paul Menton Centre to complete the required forms.

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  Lectures per month

  • January 2009 (html file)
  • February 2009 (html file)
  • March 2009 (html file)

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