Course: Math 381, Spring 2008.
Instructor: Christopher Hanusa -- email chanusa@binghamton.edu.
Meeting Times: MWF 3:30-4:30 in EB N25 and Tue 2:50-4:15 in EB N25.
Web Site: http://www.math.binghamton.edu/chanusa/courses/381/08_Spr/.
Course E-mail List: Math381-01-s08@math.binghamton.edu.
Course Discussion Board: on Blackboard

Textbook: Pearls in Graph Theory by Hartsfield and Ringel

This class covers: various chapters from the book plus additional topics.

Homework Policy: DO IT! There will be two types of homework in this class. Type B homework will be collected (mostly) every week on Fridays before class at 3:30; whereas, Type A homework will be due on Tuesdays and presented and discussed in class. Each homework will be posted on the web page the previous week. The course schedule details the schedule of homework assignments.
      Type B homeworks contribute towards your homework grade. They will consist of (normally) five questions. I expect all answers to be fully justified, unless otherwise noted. Each of the problems will be graded on a scale from 0-4, as follows:

4	A well-written solution with no errors.
3	A well-written solution with slight errors.
2	A good partial solution.
1	A very partial solution or a good start.
0	No work, a weak start, or an unsupported answer

I require you to follow some relatively strict guidelines for homework submission. It is especially important that your homework be legible and clearly presented, or I may not grade it.
      It is important to learn how to express yourself in the language of mathematics. In the homework, you should show your work and explain how you did the problem. This is the difference between an Answer and a Solution. It should be obvious to the person reading the homework how you went about doing the problem. This will often involve writing out explanations for your work in words. Imagine that you need an example to help refresh your memory for another class in six months!
      There will be no late homework allowed. If you are not planning to be in class, let me know and get it to me beforehand. This is your responsibility. I will drop the lowest of the homeworks since unexpected personal business or forgetfulness is bound to occur sometime this quarter.
      Type A homeworks will not be turned in; however, they should be approached with as much detail as their Type B counterparts since they will be part of in-class presentations and discussions. Presentations need not be complete solutions, but you must make some effort to explain what you know. I will call on students randomly. If you are not prepared when called upon, you will be called upon the in the following discussion period. If you do not present the second time, it will be counted against you.
      In Tuesday classes, there will also be time to go over material from the lecture sessions. In order to take full advantage of this allotted time, we will be using the discussion board feature of Blackboard. Each week there is a Type A homework due, you will need to visit the discussion board and make a post. Your post should either be a question about the material we have covered in class or an answer to a fellow student's question about the material. Your post should not ask or answer the homework questions assigned for the week, however you are welcome to ask questions to clarify the topics on which these homework questions depend. Your participation will be noted and count towards the class participation part of your grade.

Graph Theorist Report: In addition to the homeworks, you will be writing a three-page report on a graph theorist of your choice. More information can be found HERE.

Study Groups: It is useful to form study groups to work on homework. At the beginning the problems will seem easy enough to plug and chug on your own, but as the quarter progresses the questions become quite complex indeed. Study groups good. Copying solutions bad. When a group works on a problem, everyone can participate. But when you write up the answers to the problems, write it up in your own way. I will take off points from all parties if multiple solutions are the same.
      Study groups have several advantages:

1. You can practice and learn how to solve more problems in less time (doing as many problems as possible is the key to success),
2. The best way to really learn something is to explain it to someone else (misunderstandings that you never knew you had will appear under someone else's questioning),
3. No two people solve the same problem the same way; in a group, you may discover new and more efficient ways to solve the same problem,
4. seeing that others also struggle with this material helps to put your own level of understanding in a better perspective and will hopefully reduce some of your anxiety,
5. in making the homework assignments, I assume that you will be working in groups.

Exams: There will be three exams during the quarter that are a class period long, the third test coming during finals week. They will be a class period in length and no calculators or study aides are allowed (or are necessary). There will be no make-up exam except in the case of a documented emergency. In the event of an unavoidable conflict with the midterm (an athletic meet, wedding, funeral, etc...), you must notify me at least one week before the date of the exam so that we can arrange for you to take the exam BEFORE the actual exam date.

Grading Scheme:

• Homework: 25%
• Class Participation: 12%
• Graph Theorist Report: 9%
• Each exam: 18%

     Office Hours: I will hold regular office hours this semester in my office, LN 2233. These hours will be determined in the first week of class. My schedule this semester can be found here. I plan to hold extra office hours before the exams.