Math 579, Combinatorics
(5:35-6:50 MW in C-9)


Final exam: The final will be held 5-7 on Wed, 12/12 in C-9 (our usual classroom). It is a comprehensive exam, so be sure to bring all your homework notes and review all of the material we have covered this semester. It covers the material up to and including 2.5.1. Since we only got to talk about Burnside's Lemma in the last class, 2.5.2 will not be tested on the final.

Office hours during exam week:
 Syllabus: Here is the syllabus.

Online resources:
 Homework: Remember that you do not have to turn in the HW. However you should keep up with it. This is why we have target dates. You should have completed your HW by the target date and have it in a form that you would be confident relying on at the next exam. You can of course come back to it and revise it afterwards.

Assigned
 Target date
 Read
 Exercises
8/29
 9/5
 2.1, 2
 2.1.1, 2
9/5
 9/12
 2.1, 2
 2.1.3, 4
9/12
 9/19
 2.2, 3
 2.1.5
2.2.1-3
9/19
 9/26
 2.3
 2.2.4, 5, 8
9/26
 10/3
 2.4.1
 2.3.1-3
10/3
 10/10
 2.4.2
 2.3.5-7
10/10
 10/17
 2.4.3
 2.4.1.1 (this is on p. 103)
2.4.2.5, 6 (these are on p. 106)
10/17
 10/24
 2.4.4
 2.4.3.2, 6a, 8
10/24
2.4.4
 Homework holiday. Catch up on all the homework. If you are also taking algebra, catch up on your algebra homework too.
10/31
 11/7
 2.4.5-6
 2.4.3.7, 9
2.4.4.2, 6
11/7
 11/14
 2.4.6
 2.4.4.4, 5, 7
2.4.5.1, 2
11/14
 11/21
 2.4.6
 2.4.4.1, 3
2.4.5.3 (Hint: Look at Equation 33 in 2.4.5)
11/21
 11/28
 2.5.1
 2.4.6.3-6
11/28
 12/5
 2.5.2, 3
 2.5.1.1, 6, 8
2.5.2.3, 5

The problem of the fortnight: The Mathematics Department in San Diego posts a new fun problem every two weeks.  If you'd like to submit a solution, give it or e-mail it to me, so that I can fax them all together to San Diego. Winners receive prizes.

The Putnam Competition: This is not strictly related to this course. The William Lowell Putnam Mathematical Competition will be held on Sat, Dec 1 this year (it is administered locally right here on campus). The exercises primarily test the ability to construct rigorous mathematical arguments to solve (difficult) unfamiliar problems and not lexical knowledge. If you like proofs and enjoy the challenge of thinking about such problems, I encourage you to sign up for the competition by contacting me soon. Registration must reach the organizers by Oct 12, so I will send it out around Oct 5. Here is an archive of past exercises and solutions.  We will have a series of training sessions to prepare for the Putnam.

Exam solutions:
 Useful links: The links below lead to sites with encyclopedias of math terms.  You can use them to find definitions, examples, and some theorems.
Some scholarship opportunities for prospective teachers: