Math 4160 (3.0 Fall 2015) Combinatorial Mathematics
2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. TR, TEL 0007

Instructor:     Ada Chan
email: ssachan@yorku.ca
Office: TEL 2036
Tel: (416) 736-2100 x30109
Office Hours: 4-5 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday, or by appointment

Course Webpage:
We will post course information, announcements and homework assignments in the York Moodle page,
you are expected to check this webpage weekly.

Text:
Combinatorics: Topics, Techniques, Algorithms, Peter J. Cameron, Cambridge University Press.
Reference Introductory Combinatorics, Richard A. Brualdi, Prentice Hall.
(Both books are placed on reserves in the Steacie library.)

    
         Don't just read it; fight it! 
         Ask your own questions, look for your own examples, discover your own proofs.
         Is the hypothesis necessary?  
         Is the converse true? 
         What happens in the classical special case? 
         What about the degenerate cases? 
         Where does the proof use the hypothesis?
                                                                      Paul Halmos, I want to be a Mathematician

Grading:

• You must bring your Yorkcard or photo-id to the midterm and the final examination.
• The weight of any missed work due to a legitimate reason will be transferred to the final examination.
• Any form of academic misconduct will be handled in accordance with the Senate Policy on Academic Honesty.
  Please see the Academic Integrity for Student.
• Your final score will be converted to letter grades: A+: 90-100 A:80-90 B:70-80 C:60-70 D:50-60 E:40-50 F: less than 40

Course Description:
In combinatorics, we study the arrangement of discrete objects. Typically, we count the arrangements; prove or disprove the existence of certain arrangements; and construct the arrangements. Topics include permutations, combinations, occupancy problems, partitions of integers, generating functions, combinatorial identities, recurrence relations, inclusion-exclusion principle, Polya's theory of counting, systems of distinct representatives and Latin rectangles.
Prerequisite: MATH 2022 3.00 or MATH 2222 3.00; six credits from 3000-level MATH courses (without second digit 5); or permission of the course instructor.

         A GREAT discovery solves a great problem, but there is a grain of discovery in the solution of any problem. 
         Your problem may be modest, but if it challenges your curiosity and brings into play your inventive faculties, 
         and if you solve it by your own means, you may experience the tension and enjoy the triumph of discovery. 
                                                                      George Pólya, How to solve it

Important Dates:
Sept 24, 2015: Add deadline without permission.
Oct 8, 2015: Add deadline with permission.
Nov 9, 2015: Drop deadline.
Oct 29 - Nov 1, 2015: Co-curricular week (no class).
Dec 8, 2015: Study day (no class).

Miscellaneous Announcement:

• The undergraduate mathematics and statistics club at York: Club Infinity.
• UBC Math Exam Resources Wiki