CS100M --> Syllabus
Course: Introduction to Computer Programming (4 credits)
Instructors: K-Y. Daisy Fan
Website: http://www.cs.cornell.edu/courses/cs100m/2008sp
Newsgroup: cornell.class.cs100m
Note: CS100 is not to be taken with CS211 concurrently or after CS211.

Course Description Learning Objectives Academic Integrity Times & Places Staff Material Grades Schedule What To Do Now

Course Description

4 credit hours. S/U Optional. Programming and problem solving using Matlab. Emphasizes the systematic development of algorithms and programs. Topics include iteration, functions, arrays, and Matlab graphics. Assignments are designed to build an appreciation for complexity, dimension, fuzzy data, inexact arithmetic, randomness, simulation, and the role of approximation.
CIS121
co-meets with CS100M for the first eight weeks of the semester and share the MATLAB portion of the CS100M syllabus. CIS121/EAS121 will have the same lecture, section, homework, and prelims as CS100M during the first eight weeks of the semester.

Learning Objectives

In CS100, students will acquire the following skills:

Academic Integrity

Simply put, academic integrity is about respecting yourself and respecting others. You respect yourself by submitting work completed through your own effort; you respect others by acknowledging contribution from others when such external contribution is allowed, e.g., for group projects. When your individual effort is required, for exams and for in-class quizzes, you may neither seek nor accept help from others. You must read the complete Code of Academic Integrity as it applies to this course. Ignorance of the Code is not an acceptable excuse.

Times & Places

Lecture
Days
Time
Room
Instructor
      1
TR
09:05am-09:55am OH 155
Fan
      2
TR
11:15am-12:05pm OH 155
Fan
Section
Days
Time
Room
Instructor
1 T 12:20-1:10p UP B7 Right &  UP 207 Anton Morozov
2 T 1:25-2:15p UP B7 Right & OH 216 Anton Morozov
3 T 2:30-3:20p UP B7 Right & PH 403 Anton Morozov
4 T 3:35-4:25p UP B7 Right & UP 109 Sucheta Soundarajan
5 W 10:10-11:00a UP B7 Right & HO 320 Ainur Yessenalina
6 W 11:15a-12:05p UP B7 Right & HO 306 Ainur Yessenalina
7 W 12:20-1:10p UP B7 Right & UP 215 Sucheta Soundarajan
8 W 1:25:2:15p UP B7 Right & UP 111 Sucheta Soundarajan
9 W 2:30-3:20p UP B7 Right & PH 307 Chris Scheper
10 W 3:35-4:25p UP B7 Right & UP 211 Aaron Lenfestey
20 W 7:30-8:20p UP B7 Right & HO 320 Aaron Lenfestey
21 W 8:35-9:25p UP B7 Right & HO 320 Aaron Lenfestey
22 T 12:20-1:10p PH 318 & HO 306 Chris Scheper
23 T 1:25-2:15p PH 318 & HO 401 Kenny Tsung
24 W 12:20-1:10p PH 318 & HO 372 Ainur Yessenalina
25 W 1:25-2:15p PH 318 & HO 372 Chris Scheper


Upson B7 is a computer lab. (UP B7 is split in half, we will use the right half.  The first two weeks and then every other week, section will take place in the labs instead of the regular classrooms. The weeks during which you go to the lab are 1/20, 1/27, 2/10, 2/24, 3/30, 4/13 and, 4/27. A reminder of the section location will be posted every Monday. 

Staff

Instructors: K-Y. Daisy Fan dfan@cs.cornell.edu
Teaching Assistants: Yeounoh Chung yc336@cornell.edu
  Alexandra Denby ajd45@cornell.edu
  Siddharth Gauba sg334@cornell.edu
  Madhu Kurup mmk222 at cornell.edu
  Aaron Lenfestey lenfestj@cs.cornell.edu
  Anton Morozov amoroz@cs.cornell.edu
  Madhukaran Murali mm769@cornell.edu
  Chris Scheper cjs73@cornell.edu
  Sucheta Soundarajan sucheta@cs.cornell.edu
  Kenny Tsung kpt8@cs.cornell.edu
  Ainur Yessenalina ainur@cs.cornell.edu
See CS100M --> Staff for other course staff and office hours.

Material

Required material:
  • "Engineering Computation with MATLAB" by David Smith
  • Chapters from "Foundations of Computational Science and Engineering" will be available on CMS
  •  iClicker system responder keypad (clicker)

Optional software:   MATLAB Student Version Release 14

Grades

You must adhere to the Code of Academic Integrity for all work.

Items that count towards your course grade include homework (exercises, 6 programming projects), lab exercises, quizzes, and exams (prelims, final exam).

  • Lab exercises are assigned and submitted in the lab sessions only. You may have two non-excused absences from the sections and labs (e.g., you added the course late, you fell asleep and missed the lab). For CS100M students, having more than two non-excused absences from the labs will result in a drop of a third of a letter grade in the course (e.g., from B to a B-). CIS121/EAS121 students may have one non-excused absence. In-class quizzes count as exercises.
  • CS100M students are allowed to drop one project (e.g., you slept in and missed the deadline, you submitted the wrong file, your partner forgot to submit your joint work, your dog ate your hard disk, etc.). CIS121/EAS121 students may not drop any projects. In class quizzes will count as exercises.
  • There may be bonus questions in some homework and/or exams. We consider bonus points only after we have assigned all letter grades at the end of the semester. Bonus points might raise your letter grade up to a third of a grade (e.g., C+ to B- but not C+ to B), so doing extra work always helps but never causes competition with fellow students.
  • CS100M uses the following weights to determine the course grade:
    Exercises (E)  =   5% (homework and lab exercises; in-class quizzes)
    Projects  (P)  =  25%
    Prelim 1  (T1)  =  10%
    Prelim 2  (T2)  =  20%
    Prelim 3  (T3)  =  20%
    Final     (F)  =  30%
    The above point distribution adds up to 110%. We will reduce the weight of your lowest exam by 10%. Therefore, your numeric grade has the following formula:

       Score = (0.05*E)+(0.25*P)+(0.1*T1)+(0.2*T2)+(0.2*T3)+(0.3*F)-(0.1*min(T1,T2,T3,F))

  • CIS121/EAS121 uses the following weights to determine the course grade:
    Exercises (E)  =  10% (homework and lab exercises; in-class quizzes)
    Projects  (P)  =  30%
    Prelim 1  (T1)  =  20%
    Prelim 2  (T2)  =  40%
    Prelim 2 serves as the final exam in CIS121/EAS121.

Your course grade will follow the "cut-off" structure given below. You need an overall score higher than 55 (of 100) to get a "D" ("marginal pass"). Note that your College (or Major) may require a "C-" to be a passing grade. After assigning your initial letter grade based on your overall numeric score, we might raise your grade if you have earned sufficient bonus points. We reserve the right to make adjustments both up and down based on our knowledge of each student.

    Overall score    Letter
       92-100        A-,A,A+
       80-88         B-,B,B+
       65-76         C-,C,C+

Schedule

You must write all exams at the scheduled times unless you have another exam officially scheduled at the same time (check exam schedules on http://cuinfo.cornell.edu/Academic/Class.html):
  • Prelim 1:   Thursday, February 21, 7:30-9:00pm 
  • Prelim 2:   Thursday, March 13, 7:30-9:00pm
  • Prelim 3:   Tuesday, April 15, 7:30-9:00pm 
  • Final Exam:  Thursday, May 8,  9:00 - 11:30 am
See CS100M --> Lecture materials for the complete list of topics covered in the course.

What To Do Now (after the first lecture)

  • Review the descriptions of CS100M, CS100J, and alternative courses. Then pick a course!
  • Enroll in and attend a section that belongs to the course you have chosen.
  • Review the course website to learn the course policies.
  • Review the recent announcements on course web site.
  • Refer to Lecture Materials for assigned reading. Start reading.
  • Check prelim and final exam schedules for conflicts.
  • Check out the Association of Computer Science Undergraduates (ACSU): http://www.acsu.cornell.edu/.