Models of Computation - Mathematics 450 - Fall 2006

Class Meetings: MWF 1:30-2:25, Fowler 310.

Textbook: N. J. Cutland. Computability, An introduction to recursive function theory. We will cover most of Chapters 1-6, and depending on availability of time, parts of Chapters 7 and 8, plus an introduction to Complexity (not in this textbook).

Homework: HW will be assigned every class day and posted on the class website, due the next class day.

Projects & Presentations: Depending on your interest and availability of time, I may let you pick a project to do and give a presentation on it.

Midterms: We will have three midterms: F 9/22/06, F 10/13/06 -->10/20/06, F 11/17/06. Changes to these dates, if any, will be announced ahead of time.

Final : The final exam will be on Friday December 8, 2006, 1:00-4:00 PM. Please make sure you do not have any exams or other plans (like travel plans) that conflict with this date and time; I do not give early or late finals.

Exam Make-ups: No make-up exams will be given. If you miss a midterm with a valid excuse (e.g., a medical reason), and provide documentation for it, that exam will simply not count for you -- instead, all your other exams will count proportionally more. This policy does not apply to the final exam.

 

Grading: Your grade for the semester will be computed according to this table:

Homework + Projects + Presentations 5% Midterms 1, 2, 3 18%, 20%, 22% Final 35%

Attendance: You are responsible for everything that goes on in every class meeting, such as announcements, handouts, taught topics that are not in the book, etc.  This means whenever you miss a class, it is your responsibility to contact me and find out what you missed.

E-mail: When necessary, I will make announcements via the class mailing list, instead of in the classroom. You are responsible for checking your email at least once a day. I encourage you to use our class email list math450-L@oxy.edu to contact others in class regarding homework questions or any class related issues.

Academic Honesty: I feel strongly about protecting honest and hard-working students against unfair and dishonest actions sometimes committed by a few. I don't give warnings; I refer all suspicious cases to the Judicial Examiner without hesitation.

Students with learning disability: Please see me and the CAE to arrange for any special needs.