COMSATS University Islamabad, Lahore Campus

COURSE HANDBOOK

1 Course Title Discrete Structures

2 Course Code CSC102
3 Credit Hours 3(3,0)
4 Semester Spring 2020
5 Resource Person Mahwish Waqas, Iqra Obaid
6 Supporting Team Members N.A.
7 Contact Hours (Theory) 3 hours per week
8 Contact Hours (Lab) N.A.
9 Office Hours -
10 Course Introduction
Rationale:

Discrete structures underlie the areas of data structures, formal methods, artificial intelligence, automata
theory, computational complexity and the analysis of algorithms. Continuing advances in technology -
particularly in applications of computing and software engineering, have enhanced the importance of
discrete mathematics for understanding not only the foundations of computer science but also the basis
of a wide variety of applications.

Prior Knowledge:

It is assumed that students entering have already taken the course of computer science or programming.
They have a strong background in mathematics.

Educational Aim:

Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

▪ To understand the logic.

▪ To understand the different theorem proof techniques and methodological expertise
▪ To apply the theoretical and mathematical understanding of discrete structures used in computer
science
▪ To apply the problem solving and analytical skills
▪ To apply algorithmic and computational skills

Transferable Skills:

▪ To provide the mathematical skills necessary for understanding computer science

▪ Help students develop their general ability to think abstractly
▪ Helps the students to the general development of problem-solving skills
11 Learning Objectives
Subject Specific: Knowledge, Understanding and Skills

This course provides overview of different discrete structures and proof techniques to develop analytical
and design skills such that they can understand correct mathematical arguments and their design. At the
end of the course students should be able to have:

▪ Solve problems which involve discrete data structures such as sets, relations and functions.
▪ Construct valid mathematical arguments (proofs) and understand/apply mathematical statements
(theorems)
▪ Solve problems which require computation of permutations and combinations of a set
▪ Analyze a problem to create relevant recurrence functions
▪ Apply basic counting principles to solve a variety of problems
▪ Apply the mathematical concepts learned to various areas of computer science
▪ Solve problems which involves discrete structures tree and graphs

General and Transferable Skills:

▪ Apply a wide range of principles of discrete mathematics, such as problem solving, good thinking,
choice of algorithm, and mathematical proofs.
▪ Interact with problems using different methods of thinking and problem solving.

12 Course Contents

▪ Logic: Formal Logic and Logical forms, Logical Equivalence and Logical Connectives, Statements
and their symbolic representations, Compound statements, Contradictions and Tautologies,
Conditional Statements and their Logical Equivalence, Application of Logic, Valid and Invalid
Arguments
▪ Predicate Logic: Quantifiers and Predicates, Predicate Logic, Multiple Quantifies Statement and
Arguments with Quantifies Statements
▪ Proof Techniques: Direct Proof, Indirect Proof, Mathematical Induction, Rules of Inferences
▪ Elementary Number Theory: Sequences, Summation, Product and Factorial Notations, Recursion
▪ Set Theory: Basic Set, Power Sets, Set operations, Set Identities, Venn diagram
▪ Counting Techniques: Sum and Product rule, Inclusion Exclusion Principle, Pigeon hole principle,
Permutation and Combinations
▪ Relations: Relations Properties, representation, Equivalence Relation
▪ Functions: Valid and Invalid functions, function types and its application
▪ Graphs and Trees: Graph types, Problems and representations, Rooted tree, Tree traversal,
Spanning Trees

13 Lecture Schedule
Weeks Topic of Lecture Reading Assignment
Week 1 • Introduction to discrete structures
• Logic definition, proposition (logic and variables) Text Book, Chapter 1
• Disjunction, conjunction, negations, conditional
statements, bi-conditional statements
• Notions of implication (converse, inverse,
contrapositive)
Week 2 • Truth tables for compound proposition, bitwise
operations Text Book, Chapter 1
• Translating English sentence into compound
propositions
• Tautologies and contradiction, useful logical
equivalences
• De Morgan’s law
• Logical equivalences

Week 3-4 • Predicate Logic Text Book, Chapter 1

• Difference between the predicate and proposition
• Universal Quantifier
• Existential quantifier
• Nested quantifier

Week 5 • Sets, representations of set, empty set, equal set, Venn Text Book : Chapter 2
diagram, subset
• Power set, cardinality, ordered n-tuples, Cartesian
product,
• Set operations (union, intersection, complement) and
identities
• Computer representation of set

Week 6 Sessional-I Exam

Week 7 • Functions, domain, codomain, range Text Book : Chapter 2
• One-to-one functions, onto function, one to one
correspondence
• Equality of functions, identity function, inverse function
• Composition of function

Week 8 • Relations, relations on a set Text Book : Chapter 9

• Properties of relation, reflexive, symmetric relations,
antisymmetric, transitive
• Combining relations, composition of relations
• Matrix representation of relations
• Representing relations using digraphs
• Equivalence relation

Week 9 • Inference rules

• Valid and invalid argument form Text Book : Chapter 1
• Direct proof method
• Indirect proof (proof by contradiction and contrapositive)

Week 10 • Sequences
• Summations Text Book : Chapter 2
• Arithmetic and geometric progressions

Week11 Sessional-II Exam

Week 12 • Mathematical Induction
• Weak and strong Induction Text Book : Chapter 5
• Recursive Mathematical definition
• Fibonacci Number
Week 13 • Counting arguments Text Book : Chapter 6
• Sum rule, Product rule
• Inclusion exclusion principle, pigeonhole principle
Week 14 - • Graphs, types of directed and undirected graphs
15 • Basic graph terminologies, precedence graphs Text Book : Chapter 10
• Degree of vertex, handshaking theorem
• Special graphs, Bipartite graph
• Matrix representation of graphs
• Connected graph and distance matrix of a graph

Week 16 • Trees
• Basic terminologies Text Book : Chapter 11
• Tree traversal

Week 17 Revision and Final exam

14 Text Book Discrete Mathematics and its applications, Kenneth H.

Rosen, McGraw-Hill.

15 Reference Books 1. Discrete Mathematics with Applications 3rd Ed. by Susanna S.,
Thomson Learning, Inc.
2. Discrete Mathematics with Applications, Thomas Koshy,
Elsevier.
16 Course Assessment

The assessment of this module shall have following breakdown structure:

First Sessional Test 10%

Second Sessional Test 15%
Quizzes/Assignments 25%
Terminal Examination 50%

The minimum pass marks for this course shall be 50%. Students obtaining less than 50% marks in a
course shall be deemed to have failed in the course. The correspondence between letter grades, credit
points, and percentage marks at CUI shall be as follows:

Grades Letter Grade Credit Points Percentage Marks

A ( Excellent) 4.0 90and above
A- 3.7 85-89
B+ 3.3 80-84
B (Good) 3.0 75-79
B- 2.7 70-74
C+ 2.3 65-69
C (Average) 2.0 60-64
C- 1.7 55-59
D (Minimum passing) 1.3 50-54
F (Failing) 0.0 Less than 50
17 Format of Assignment

All the assignments should be hand written on A4 paper, with typed front page according to following
format.
Reg. # :_____________
Name : _____________
Course Title : _________
Section : __________
Assignment # : _______
Submitted to : _________
Date : ___________
(Font size 16, Times New Roman)

18 Plagiarism
Plagiarism involves the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work, usually in coursework, and passing
it off as if it were one’s own. Many students who submit apparently plagiarised work probably do so
inadvertently without realising it because of poorly developed study skills, including note taking,
referencing and citations; this is poor academic practice rather than malpractice. Study skills education
within programmes of study should minimise the number of students submitting poorly referenced work.
However, some students plagiarise deliberately, with the intent to deceive. This intentional malpractice
is a conscious, pre-mediated form of cheating and is regarded as a particularly serious breach of the core
values of academic integrity.

Plagiarism can include the following:

1. collusion, where a piece of work prepared by a group is represented as if it were the student’s
own;
 2. commission or use of work by the student which is not his/her own and representing it as if it
were, e.g.:
a. purchase of a paper from a commercial service, including internet sites, whether pre-
written or specially prepared for the student concerned
b. submission of a paper written by another person, either by a fellow student or a person
who is not a member of the university;
3. duplication (of one’s own work) of the same or almost identical work for more than one module;
4. the act of copying or paraphrasing a paper from a source text, whether in manuscript, printed or
electronic form, without appropriate acknowledgement (this includes quoting directly from
another source with a reference but without quotation marks);
5. submission of another student’s work, whether with or without that student’s knowledge or
consent;
6. Directly quoting from model solutions/answers made available in previous years;
7. cheating in class tests, e.g.
a. when a candidate communicates, or attempts to communicate, with a fellow candidate or
individual who is neither an invigilator or member of staff
b. copies, or attempts to copy from a fellow candidate
c. attempts to introduce or consult during the examination any unauthorised printed or written
material, or electronic calculating, information storage device, mobile phones or other
communication device
d. Personates or allows himself or herself to be impersonated.
8. Fabrication of results occurs when a student claims to have carried out tests, experiments or
observations that have not taken place or presents results not supported by the evidence with the
object of obtaining an unfair advantage.
These definitions apply to work in whatever format it is presented, including written work, online
submissions, and group-work and oral presentations.
19 Attendance Policy
Every student must attend 80% of the lectures/seminars delivered in this course. The students falling
short of required percentage of attendance of lectures/seminars etc. shall not be allowed to appear in the
terminal examination of this course and shall be treated as having failed this course.