Course Description: An introduction to mathematical reasoning and topics relevant to computer science, information technology, and related fields. Topics include logic, proof techniques, elementary number theory, sequences, induction, set theory, functions, relations, and counting.
Prerequisites: MATH 2301
Meeting Times and Locations: Mon Wed, Fri 8:35am – 9:30pm in Morton Hall 326
Mark Barsamian may also be reached via Teams Chat or Teams Call.
Special Needs: If you have specific physical, psychiatric, or learning disabilities and require accommodations, please let Prof. Barsamian know as soon as possible so that your learning needs may be appropriately met. You should also register with the
Office for University Accessibility
to obtain written documentation and to learn about the resources they have available.
Final Exam Date: Wed Apr 29, 2026 from 8:00am – 10:00am in Morton Hall Room 326.
Attendance Policy:
Attendance is required for all class meetings, and your attendance (or absence) will be recorded, but attendance is not used in the calculation of your course grade.
Missing Class: If you miss a class for any reason, it is your responsibility to learn the stuff that you missed. You can do this by studying a classmate's notes and by reading the textbook. Prof. Barsamian will not use office hours to teach topics discussed in class meetings to students who were absent.
Missing a Quiz or Exam Because of Illness: If you are too sick to take a quiz or exam, then you must do these three things:
Send Prof. Barsamian an e-mail before the quiz/exam, telling him that you are going to miss it because of illness. He will arrange for a date and time for a Make-Up quiz/exam. (Generally, the Make-up for a Friday quiz/exam needs to take place on the following Monday or Tuesday. Therefore, it is important to communicate with him right away.)
Go to the Hudson Student Health Center (or some other Medical Professional) to get examined.
Later, you will need to bring Prof. Barsamian your documentation from the Hudson Student Health Center (or a Medical Professional) showing that you were treated there.
Without those three things, you will not be given a make-up. (When you miss a Quiz or Exam and are not given a Make-Up, the missed Quiz or Exam will be considered a Quiz or Exam score that gets dropped.)
(Observe that self-diagnosis of an illness is not a valid documentation of an illness. In other words, you can't just tell Prof. Barsamian that you did not come to a Quiz or Exam because you were not feeling well, and expect to get a Make-Up Quiz or Exam. If you are too sick to come to a Quiz or Exam, then you should be sick enough to go to a medical professional to get diagnosed and treated.)
Missing Quizzes or Exams Because of University Activity: If you have a University Activity that conflicts with one of our quizzes or exams, you must contact Prof. Barsamian well before the quiz or exam to discuss arrangements for a make-up. He will need to see documentation of your activity. If you miss a quiz or an exam because of a University Activity without notifying Mark Barsamian in advance, you will not be given a make-up.
Missing Quizzes or Exams Because of Religious Observation: The Ohio University Faculty Handbook states the following:
Students may be absent for up to three days each academic semester to take time off for reasons of faith or religious or spiritual belief system or participate in organized activities conducted under the auspices of a religious denomination, church, or other religious or spiritual organization. Faculty shall not impose an academic penalty because of a student being absent nor shall faculty question the sincerity of a student's religious or spiritual belief systems. Students are expected to notify faculty in writing of specific dates requested for alternative accommodations no later than fourteen days after the first day of instruction.
For MATH 3060, this means that if you will be missing any Spring 2026 Quizzes or Exams for religious reasons, and if you want to have a Make-Up Quiz/Exam, you will need to notify your Professor no later than Monday, Jan 26, 2026. You and Mark Barsamian will work out the dates/times of your Make-Up Quiz/Exam. (In general, if you are going to miss a Friday Quiz/Exam, Prof. Barsamian will schedule you for a Make-Up on the following Monday or Tuesday.)
MissingQuizzes or Exams Because of Personal Travel: This course meets on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and attendance is required. Your Personal Travel (to home for the weekend, or out of town for vacations, etc) should be scheduled to not conflict with those class meetings. If you miss a Quiz or Exam because of Personal Travel (not an Offical University Activity), you will not be given a make-up. (When you miss a Quiz or Exam and are not given a Make-Up, the missed Quiz or Exam will be considered a Quiz or Exam score that gets dropped.)
Policy on Cheating:
If cheat on a quiz or exam, you will receive a zero on that quiz or exam and your Instructor will submit a report to the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility (CSSR).
If you cheat on another quiz or exam, you will receive a grade of F in the course and your Instructor will again submit a report to the CSSR.
Syllabus: This web page replaces the usual paper syllabus. If you need a paper syllabus (now or in the future), unhide the next four portions of hidden content (Textbook Information, Exercises, Grading, Calendar) and then print this web page.
Textbook and WebAssign Information:
Textbook Cover (Click the image to enlarge.)
Required Online Course Materials: Through a program called Inclusive Access, the University has negotiated with the publisher a special price for this course's Required Online Course Materials. On the first day of class, you will receive access to an an online system called WebAssign. The WebAssign system includes an eText version of the textbook and an online homework system. The cost of the Online Course Materials is a discounted Inclusive Access Price of $83.49. That cost will be automatically billed to your Ohio University Student Account. If you drop the course before the drop deadline (Fri, Jan 23), your student account will be credited for any amount billed. After you register, you will receive more information about the Inclusive Access program, including an option to "Opt Out" of participation in the program. To "Opt Out" means that your payment for the Online Course Materials is not handled by the Inclusive Access program. If you do that, you can still use the Online Course Materials, but in order to access them, you will be asked to make a credit card payment for the Retail Price of the materials. (Note that the Retail Price is significantly higher than the Inclusive Access Price.)
WebAssign Resources
Link to a How to video about Student Course Material Registration: Link
Phone number for Cengage Technical Support: 1.800.354.9706
Cengage Virtual Student Office Hours (through February 4th): Link
Jan 12 – Jan 23 10am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm EDT
Jan 26 – Jan 30: 11am – 1pm and 2pm – 5pm EDT
Feb 2 – Feb 4: 12pm – 3pm EDT
Information about the Textbook
Title: Discrete Mathematics with Applications, 5th Edition
Author: Susanna S. Epp
Publisher: Cengage (2020)
ISBN-13: 9781337772198 (ISBN for WebAssign access)
Learning Outcomes:
Learning Outcomes for 2025 – 2026 Spring Semester MATH 3060 (Barsamian)
Students will be able to
demonstrate facility with the terminology and notation of logical statements constructed using logical connectives and quantifiers
apply the methods of Direct Proof, Disproof by Counterexample, Proving the Contrapositive, and Proof by Contradiction to prove and disprove statements about Integers
describe sequences as functions with domain a subset of the integers, describe how sequences can be described recursively, & solve problems involving important sequences such as the arithmetic, geometric, and Fibonnacci sequences
use the Method of Induction to prove propositions
perform operations on sets, use Venn diagrams to illustrate simple set identities, and use more rigorous methods such as element proofs and algebraic proofs to prove statements about sets
determine the injective and surjective properties of functions and compositions of functions, and find the inverse of bijective functions
determine the reflexive, symmetric, and transitive properties of relations, and identify equivalence relations, equivalence classes, and partitions
solve counting problems involving the Multiplication Rule, the Addition Rule, Permutations and Combinations, and the Principle of Inclusion and Exclusion
investigate Pascal’s Triangle and apply the Binominal Theorem
organize and communicate mathematical reasoning both orally and in writing to prove theorems and describe solutions to problems in a variety of contexts.
Exercises:
Exercises for 2025 – 2026 Spring Semester MATH 3060 (Barsamian) (from Susanna S. Epp, Discrete Mathematics, 5th Edition)
Your goal should be to write solutions to all 349 exercises in this list.
9.7 Pascal's Formula and the Binomial Theorem: 4, 7, 11, 24, 30, 32, 39, 44, 46, 50
Suggestion: WebAssign does not require that you write stuff down, but you will learn a lot by focusing on your writing. Furthermore, having good writing skills will help you succeed on Quizzes and Exams. Study by writing a complete solution to each problem before typing the answer into WebAssign. Focus on the clarity of your written solution. Keep your written solutions in a notebook. Compare your written solutions to your Instructors’ written solutions in Lectures and Recitations. Find another student, a tutor, or Prof. Barsamian to look over your written solutions with you.
Grading:
Grading System for 2025 – 2026 Spring Semester MATH 3060 (Barsamian)
During the course, you will accumulate a Points Total of up to 1039 possible points.
Quizzes: Best 8 of 11 Quizzes @ 50 points each = 400 points possible
Exams: Best 2 of 3 Exams @ 200 points each = 400 points possible
Final Exam: 200 points possible
WebAssign: 39 Assignments @ 1 point each = 39 points possible (Extra Credit points)
At the end of the semester, your Points Total will be divided by \(1000\) to get a percentage, and then converted into your Course Letter Grade using the 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% Grading Scale described below.
Observe that the Total Possible Points is \(1039\), but your points total is divided by \(1000\) to get the percentage that is used in computing your course grade. This is because the \(39\) points that can be earned by doing WebAssign Homework are considered Extra Credit Points.
The 90%, 80%, 70%, 60% Grading Scale is used on all graded items in this course, and is used in computing your Course Letter Grade.
A grade of A, A- means that you mastered all concepts, with no significant gaps.
If \(93\% \leq score \), then letter grade is A.
If \(90\% \leq score \lt 93\%\), then letter grade is A-.
A grade of B+, B, B- means that you mastered all essential concepts and many advanced concepts, but have some significant gap.
If \(87\% \leq score \lt 90\%\), then letter grade is B+.
If \(83\% \leq score \lt 87\% \), then letter grade is B.
If \(80\% \leq score \lt 83\%\), then letter grade is B-.
A grade of C+, C, C- means that you mastered most essential concepts and some advanced concepts, but have many significant gaps.
If \(77\% \leq score \lt 80\%\), then letter grade is C+.
If \(73\% \leq score \lt 77\%\), then letter grade is C.
If \(70\% \leq score \lt 73\%\), then letter grade is C-.
A grade of D+, D, D- means that you mastered some essential concepts.
If \(67\% \leq score \lt 70\%\), then letter grade is D+.
If \(63\% \leq score \lt 67\% \), then letter grade is D.
If \(60\% \leq score \lt 63\%\), then letter grade is D-.
A grade of F means that you did not master essential concepts.
If \(0\% \leq score \lt 60\%\), then letter grade is F.
There is no grade curving in this course.
Two things that are not part of your Course Grade
Attendance: Attendance is recorded but is not part of your course grade
Written Solutions to Homework Exercises: There is a list of Homework Exercises on this web page. To succeed in the course, you will need to do lots of them (preferrably all of them), writing the solutions on paper. Those written solutions are not graded and are not part of your course grade. (Your scores on the online WebAssign homework will be part of your course grade.)
