Homework

  • Timing: Homework will typically be assigned on Thursday, due two weeks later, on Thursday by 5pm in the TA mailboxes in 122A Mudd (look for the mailboxes marked for this course). Occasionally it will be assigned/due on a different day; please follow the schedule.
  • Format: Each homework problem should be turned in separately with a cover sheet that can be found here . The cover sheet should also be used as the first page of your assignment, if possible.
  • Cover Sheet: Some problems may be given that you do not need to turn in. You are, however, responsible for finishing those problems.
  • Advice
    • Start early:  Difficult problems are not typically solved in one sitting.  Start early and let the ideas come to you over the course of a few days.
    • Be rigorous:  Each problem has a (sometimes unwritten) requirement that you prove your algorithm correct and analyze its running time.  To obtain full credit for a problem, it is necessary to fulfill this requirement.
    • Be concise:  Express your algorithms at the proper level of detail.  Give enough details to clearly present your solution, but not so many that the main ideas are obscured.  English is the best way to express an algorithm; revert to pseudocode only if necessary.
      • Use latex if possible Latex is the standard package for typesetting and formatting mathematically-rich content. You are encouraged to use it, if possible, as latex knowledge is a good life skill. Macros to format pseudocode are available at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~thc/clrscode/
  • These assignments are a minimum; practicing on additional problems is strongly advised.
  • Please read all the homework policies on this page, below the schedule.
   due date
    assignment
Thu., Sept. 19
 HW 1
Thur., Oct. 3
 HW 2
Thur., Oct 17
HW 3
Thur., Oct 24
 HW 4
Thur., Oct. 31 (Midterm Exam)
 Take-home midterm exam
Thur., Nov 14
 HW 5
Wed., Nov 27
 HW 6
Mon., Dec 9
 HW 7

  • Homework grading:    
    • The homework is the main means for learning the material in the course. Occassionally, you may not be able to solve a homework problem. We will implement a policy that
    • does not overly penalize a student for skipping an occassional problem,
    • gives partial credit for problems,
    • encourages you to not write voluminous garbage for a problem you do not know how to solve, in hopes of receiving a few points.
    Therefore,
    • Each problem will be graded out of 10 points.
    • If you turn in a cover sheet for a problem that says that you did not do the problem, you will receive 3 points for the problem.
    • If you turn in no cover sheet, you will receive 0 points.
  • Undergraduates and Graduate students:  This class has both undergraduate and graduate students in it. The students will be treated identically during the semester, but for the purposes of computing a final letter grade, the undergraduate and graduate students will be looked at separately.
  • Late homework will generally not be accepted. Two weeks should be sufficient time to complete an assignment. Exceptions will be made only for exceptional extenuating circumstances (e.g. serious illness, family crisis), and must be explained well in advance of the deadline.
  • Homework colaboration policy:  The main goal of the homework assignments is education, not evaluation. We must also be mindful of rules regarding academic honesty and plagarism. To facilitate these goals, we will use the following policy.
    •  All work submitted for credit must be your own.
    • You may discuss the homework problems with your classmates, the teaching assistant(s), and the instructors. For each problem, you must acknowledge the people with whom you discussed your work, and you must independently write up your own solutions. Any written sources used (apart from the text) must also be acknowledged; however, you may not consult any solutions from previous years' assignments whether they are student or faculty generated.
    • Solutions to problems may be available somewhere on the web. Do not use these solutions. If you do use them, cite them.
    • If you do choose to copy another student's work, or to copy from some other source, please state this in writing on your homework assignment.
    • Please ask if you have any questions about this policy. Violations will be treated harshly. This means that if you violate the policy, even once, your grade on homework for the entire semester will be 0, and the infraction will be reported to the dean.
    • THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS POLICY.  Every semester, several students are caught violating this policy and they are reported to the dean. Typically, students use unacknowledged sources on the web. Do not do this. If a homework problem is too hard, start earlier, ask for help, or don't answer the question. If you can't answer some of the questions, you are still a good person who can go on and have a productive life. Academic dishonesty is never the correct solution.
    • Note that allowing someone else to copy your solution is just as serious as copying someone else's solution.