MATH
485 - Graph Theory
Fall Semester 2007
General Information
Office: 104 McAllister
Office Hours: MWF 2:30pm-3:15pm and by appointment
Office Phone: (814) 865-7528
E-mail: sellersj@math.psu.edu
Textbook: Introduction to Graph Theory, 2nd Edition, by Douglas B.
West, Prentice Hall, 2001
Undergraduate Bulletin (Blue Book Description)
Introduction to the theory and applications of
graphs and directed graphs. Emphasis on the fundamental theorems and their
proofs. Prerequisite: MATH 311W.
Key Topics and Concepts
My goal for the course is to cover portions of chapters 1-6 and 8 from the text. Some of the topics
I hope to cover include:
| Graded Event | Percentage |
| Exam 1 | 20% |
| Exam 2 | 20% |
| Quizzes | 20% |
| Project Work | 10% |
| Final Exam | 30% |
Midterm Exams
Two in-class midterm examinations will be given. The date of each exam will
be announced in class several days in advance of each exam.
If you miss an exam without an official excuse (such as illness or official university business), then you will be allowed to take a makeup exam, but with an automatic 25% deduction from the grade. To avoid this deduction, you must notify me with your official excuse before the date and time of the exam. This notification may be performed in person, via e-mail, or by telephone.
Final Exam
The final examination in the course will be comprehensive. It
will be given during the university's final examination week, December 17-21,
2007. Do not make plans to leave the university before the end
of this week. Travel plans do not constitute an official university
excuse for missing an examination or for obtaining a conflict or makeup
examination. Hence, the above note regarding a 25% deduction will
be enforced in the event that a student's travel plans conflict with the
university's designated final examination period for this course.
Quizzes
Several short quizzes will be given throughout the course of the semester. The questions on the quizzes will be related to the assigned
homework problems, material discussed during previous lecture hours, and the reading done in preparation for class. The purpose of
the quizzes is to encourage you to keep up with your preparation (and reward
you for doing so).
Note that no makeup quizzes will be offered in the class; in lieu of this, I will drop the lowest three quiz grades for each student.
Projects
Please see the project handout (coming soon).
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is the pursuit of scholarly activity in an open,
honest and responsible manner. Academic integrity is a basic guiding principle
for all academic activity at The Pennsylvania State University, and all
members of the University community are expected to act in accordance with
this principle. Consistent with this expectation, the University's Code
of Conduct states that all students should act with personal integrity,
respect other students' dignity, rights and property, and help create and
maintain an environment in which all can succeed through the fruits of
their efforts.
Academic integrity includes a commitment not to engage in or tolerate acts of falsification, misrepresentation or deception. Such acts of dishonesty violate the fundamental ethical principles of the University community and compromise the worth of work completed by others.
Based on the University's Faculty Senate Policy 49-20, a range of academic sanctions may be taken against a student who engages in academic dishonesty. Please see the Eberly College of Science Academic Integrity homepage for additional information and procedures.
Grading
Grades will be assigned using the scale shown in the following table.
| Percent | Grade |
|
90-100
|
A |
|
80-89
|
B |
|
70-79
|
C |
|
60-60
|
D |
|
0-59
|
F |
I retain the right to raise a student's grade for good attitude, class participation and demonstrated progressive improvement of their work. However, this grade raising will not occur often. Note also that these ranges may be adjusted downward and that plus and minus grades will be determined within the appropriate ranges; i.e., in general, the lowest three percentage points of a range will be minus and the highest three percentage points of a range will be plus.
Class Attendance
Although regular classroom attendance will not figure into your grade
in a tangible way, I strongly encourage your regular attendance in this
class. It should be obvious that attending all classes is extremely beneficial
to you. Seeing the material presented in a lecture is extremely helpful
as the presentation will often be different than the text in order to clarify
and enhance the reading assignments. Having questions answered in class
(as well as hearing other students' questions) is also a benefit. Material
not present in the text may be presented in class; you will be held accountable
for this material on quizzes and exams. Finally, regular attendance demonstrates
good stewardship of your time and money.
Suggested Homework
Suggested homework problems will be assigned at the end of each section's
lecture(s). These homework
problems will not be turned in for a grade. The purpose of doing
the homework is to better understand the material discussed in the lectures
and to prepare oneself for quizzes and exams, not to mention the goal of
learning.
I encourage you to do all of the suggested homework, even though it will not be handed in. (As mentioned above, this will help tremendously for the quizzes and exams.) You may work together on these problems if you so desire.
I also encourage you to keep up with the suggested homework and not get behind because it may prove difficult to catch up. Much of this material builds upon previous material, so keeping up with the class will be quite beneficial.
Hopefully Helpful Hints
Learn for the long term. Strive to retain the knowledge that you acquire. Do not simply try to learn material a couple of days before an exam with the goal of forgetting it right after finals. View the learning of the material as an active process, not a passive one. (You are here to learn, not to receive grades.) Learning is a process, not an event.
Strive to know the material, to understand it at a very deep level, rather than a superficial one.
Do the homework with as little help (solutions manuals, friends, etc.) as possible. Balance the use of group learning with individual study so you actually know the material.
Ask questions, either in class or during office hours.
Read the textbook before the planned lecture. The tentative schedule of classes gives you a guide as to what to read in advance.
Carefully study and rework the examples in the text.
Re-read and rewrite your notes.
Study for exams progressively, over a long period of time. Begin the studying process at least one week prior to the date of the exam.
Manage your time wisely. Plan to spend at least two hours outside of class for every hour in class, if not more!
Get plenty of rest. Staying up late every night is usually not a beneficial practice academically.
Final Comments
I hope your appreciation for mathematics will grow during this semester.
Although the specific applications we will cover in this course are limited in scope, the application
of mathematics in general extends to many areas of life.
James Sellers
Associate Professor and Director, Undergraduate Mathematics
Penn State University