COURSE PAGE:    http://www.math.msu.edu/~magyar/Math481

INSTRUCTOR:  Peter Magyar,   magyar@math.msu.edu,   tel. 353-6330

OFFICE HOURS:  Wells Hall D-326 Mon, Wed, Fri 1:30-3:00. I will also be happy to discuss at the end of every class, and by appointment. Map

LECTURE:  Mon, Wed, Fri, 10:20−11:10, Wells Hall C-308.

TEXT:  Harris, Hirst, and Mossinghoff, Combinatorics and Graph Theory, 2nd ed., available free from the library here or here. We will first cover Chapter 2, then selections from Chapter 1. Read the section on the Syllabus before each class, and again before doing the homework. I will occasionally supplement the text with notes and handouts on the Course Page.

GRADES:  Based on:

Quizzes	150
Midterm exam	100
Final exam	150
Total	400 points

Tentative Grade Scale:   ≥90% = 4.0 ,   ≥85% = 3.5 ,   ≥ 80% = 3.0 ,   ≥75% = 2.5 ,   ≥70 = 2.0 ,   ≥ 60 = 1.0.

QUIZZES:  First 5 minutes of each class, with questions based on homework problems. Missed quizzes will count as zero, but I will drop the lowest 3 quiz grades from the final total to account for absences.

MIDTERM EXAM:  Tentatively Mon Feb 27 in class. No makeup will be given unless you make arrangements before the test.

FINAL EXAM:  Fri May 4, 10:00−12:00 noon in our classroom Wells C-308.

DAILY HOMEWORK:  I will not collect homework, but it is an essential part of the course. It is the crucial step in learning, and quiz and test problems will be difficult to impossible unless you have already done the corresponding homework problem.

Daily assignments will be listed on the Course Page, with solutions, and you will have a chance to discuss them at my morning office hours before the next Quiz. Occasionally, I will mark a problem to Hand In, which will form part of your Quiz score. You may also hand in problems marked Extra Credit.

To repeat: the key to success in this course is to solve all the problems on the daily HW.