There will be about 10-12 homework sets worth 20 points each. However, only your highest 10 sets count (Don't count on dropping 2 as it might be that we end up with only 10 sets), thus total, the homework contributes 10 x 20 = 200 points towards your total course points. You also must do at least 40 percent of the homework problems reasonably well during the semester or else you automatically fail the course.

Officially, there are no prerequisites for this course. However, knowledge of high school algebra will be used throughout the course and in general, mathematical maturity (i.e., some familiarity with making mathematical arguments) is helpful. As the course progresses, we will learn techniques that will enable us to make sophisticated logical arguments, and as with anything, this will get easier as things go along and one gets more familiarity with the concepts. Devoloping this ability is important as it augments the learning of the practical techniques and develops the critical thinking needed to apply the material efficiently in other areas of study and work.

You are expected to do all of the homework. If the grade drop for blowing it off or the automatic fail for not doing at least 40 percent of the problems isn't enough to motivate you, be aware that you might see very similar problems on the tests. Learning math is like learning to play a musical instrument or a sport: you can read books about it and watch other people (like me) do it all day; but unless you practice over and over again, you won't be able to do it to save your life.

More than half of the assigned problems will be computational. For those problems, it is important that you not simply write the answer; to get full credit, you need to show the work you did to execute the computation. The rest of the problems will be theoretical or conceptual. For those problems, you will actually need to write full sentences and even paragraphs to make your arguments. Of course, some equations will probably appear in the middle, but fundamentally, theoretical and proof problems are about making an argument using words. As with anything, we will ease into these sorts of questions slowly and they will get easier with practice.

You are allowed, and in fact encouraged, to work on problems and problem sets together, in pairs or small groups. Working together is a good thing, especially on harder problems.

However, if you choose to collaborate, be aware of some ground rules. First, working together does not mean that John does the first half of the problem set and Jane does the second half; everyone should work on every problem. Second, if you do work together, say with Pete and Kari, I require that you write a note on the front of your homework saying, ``I worked with Pete and Kari.'' (Please make sure your name stands out from Pete's and Kari's, so I know that you are the author of that problem set.) Third, each student must write up each problem in his or her own words. Working together means discussing the problems. Copying (even when the source doesn't mind) is plagiarism and will be prosecuted as academic dishonesty.

If you get stuck on homework, or you're feeling lost in abstraction or whatever, please come talk to me. That is the purpose of office hours so don't feel shy. Feel free to come together with Pete and Kari as a group.

Remember that I consider reading the book to be part of the homework. If you've at least skimmed the relevant section before a given lecture, it'll make my lecture a whole lot clearer. I think it's very difficult to learn the material from either the book or the lectures alone, so please use both.

This is a reasonable class. As long as you keep up with the lectures, do the homework and figure out what you did wrong on any mistakes, then the exams should not be too much of a problem. (If you study for them!)

A final word, about classroom dynamics. I want to emphasize that I strongly encourage class participation. Interrupt me, ask questions, dive in head first. The flip side is that when I'm asking a question to the class, I'm usually expecting an answer. If you have an idea (not necessarily a fully formed answer; that's usually not what I'm looking for), shout it out. Please try not to worry about saying something stupid; I guarantee you that if you're confused about something, someone else (and probably most of the class) is, too.