CS 107: Computing for Math and Science
Fall, 2010

Syllabus

Overview

This course is designed to introduce the student to computers, programming, and some of the key ideas on which the field of computer science is based. The primary vehicle for doing so is the computer language MATLAB. The use of a program like MAPLE to manipulate symbolic equations is also covered.

Course Goals

The primary educational goals of this course are:

To give the student an introduction to computer programming so that the student is able to use the computer to solve simple computational problems. (See SAS Core Goal x.)
To give the student an introduction to computer science as a science, to enable the student to understand and use some of the key principles and ways of thinking that underlie the field. (see SAS Core Goal aa.)

Who SHOULD take this course?

This course is designed for students who are majoring in math or in one of the sciences, and who do not plan to take further courses in the Computer Science Department. It is accepted by the Math Department in place of CS 111.

Who should NOT take this course?

This class does not count towards a Computer Science major or minor, and does not take the place of CS 111 as a prerequisite for other CS courses. Therefore it should NOT be taken by

Students who plan to major or minor in Computer Science
Students who plan to major in Math and take "Option B: The Computer-Oriented Mathematics Major"

Who else might want to take this course?

This course may also be appropriate if you are uncertain about a Computer Science major or minor and want to get some taste of the field before deciding. Some students find college-level Computer Science very, very hard. The only way to find out if you are in this group is to try taking a class. CS 107 is designed so that even people in this group can pass this class (albeit with some hard work). Therefore, taking CS 107 is a good way to find out whether you have the interest and talent to take more CS courses. The down side is that, as noted above, CS 107 does not satisfy any of the CS major or minor requirements.

Prerequisite

Before you take this course you must have passed one semester of calculus (one of Math 135 or 151 or 153 or 191 or the equivalent at another school) with a C or better. You should also be familiar with computer concepts like folders, menus, and mouse clicking.

Textbooks

Required:

Introduction to Scientific Computation and Programming
Daniel T Kaplan
Brooks/Cole
ISBN 978-0534389130

You may find this useful:

The Maple Book
Frank Garvan
Chapman & Hall/CRC
ISBN 978-1584882329

Asessment

Grades will be based on homework, in-lecture quizzes (1/2 hour, roughly every other week) a midterm exam, and a final exam. Tentative weights are:

Homework     20%
Quizzes      20%
Midterm      30%
Final        30%

Tentative Schedule of Topics and Readings

Note that this schedule is tentative.

Lecture Topic Reading

1 instructions, languages & computations Kaplan Ch. 1

2 State, variables, and assignment Kaplan Ch. 2

3 text, text operations, scripts, functions Kaplan Ch 3.1, 3.2, 6.1, 6.2

4 Text and indexing, means-ends Kaplan Ch 4.1

5 Booleans and ifs Kaplan Ch 3.4, 3.5, 7.1, 7.2

6 loops Kaplan 8.1-8.8

7 loops

8 loops

9 loops

10 review

Exam

11 Matrices Kaplan 4.2

12 functions as args and values Kaplan 6.4, 6.5

13 scope, recursion Kaplan 12.1 - 12.4

14 recursion

15 review

16 real number representation, error Kaplan 15

17 solving f(x)=0 Kaplan 16.1, 16.2

18 optimization kaplan 16.3, 16.4

19 fitting, interpolation, quantization Kaplan 16.5, 16.6

20 matlab solvers, functions of >1 variable Kaplan 17.1 - 17.5

21 Maple Garvan 1 - 5.6

22 Maple

23 review

24 review

Lecture	Topic	Reading
1	instructions, languages & computations	Kaplan Ch. 1
2	State, variables, and assignment	Kaplan Ch. 2
3	text, text operations, scripts, functions	Kaplan Ch 3.1, 3.2, 6.1, 6.2
4	Text and indexing, means-ends	Kaplan Ch 4.1
5	Booleans and ifs	Kaplan Ch 3.4, 3.5, 7.1, 7.2
6	loops	Kaplan 8.1-8.8
7	loops
8	loops
9	loops
10	review
	Exam
11	Matrices	Kaplan 4.2
12	functions as args and values	Kaplan 6.4, 6.5
13	scope, recursion	Kaplan 12.1 - 12.4
14	recursion
15	review
16	real number representation, error	Kaplan 15
17	solving f(x)=0	Kaplan 16.1, 16.2
18	optimization	kaplan 16.3, 16.4
19	fitting, interpolation, quantization	Kaplan 16.5, 16.6
20	matlab solvers, functions of >1 variable	Kaplan 17.1 - 17.5
21	Maple	Garvan 1 - 5.6
22	Maple
23	review
24	review

CS 107: Computing for Math and Science Fall, 2010