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Syllabus

The textbook "Combinatorics: Topics, Techniques, Algorithms" by Peter J. Cameron contains more material than can be reasonably covered in a single semester course. The text is dense and written at a high mathematical level that some students may find challenging. However, the instructor found the background on algebra and number theory provided in the text to be very helpful. Overall, the textbook is outstanding and the instructor would be happy to use it again for a future combinatorics course.

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22 views

Syllabus

The textbook "Combinatorics: Topics, Techniques, Algorithms" by Peter J. Cameron contains more material than can be reasonably covered in a single semester course. The text is dense and written at a high mathematical level that some students may find challenging. However, the instructor found the background on algebra and number theory provided in the text to be very helpful. Overall, the textbook is outstanding and the instructor would be happy to use it again for a future combinatorics course.

Uploaded by

atharvabari9
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Textbook: Peter J.

Cameron's "Combinatorics: Topics, Techniques, Algorithms,"


Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Comments on textbook:

The text contains far more material than can be studied in a semester,
especially at the pace which evolved.
The text is dense, written at a high level, and is seemingly too mathematical
for the tastes of many of the students enrolled in the course. Much
background on algebra and number theory is provided, and it proved helpful
to cover that background rather thoroughly. I would happily use this
outstanding text in a future course.

Syllabus

1. What is Combinatorics?
Sample problems – How to use this book – What you need to know –
Exercises

2. On number and counting


Natural numbers and arithmetic – Induction – Some useful functions – Orders
of magnitude – Different ways of counting – Double counting – Appendix on
set notation – Exercises

3. Subsets, partitions, permutations


Subsets – Subsets of fixed size _ The Binomial Theorem and Pascal's Triangle
– Project: Congruences of binomial coefficients – Permutations – Estimates
for factorials – Selections – Equivalence and order _ Project: Finite topologies
– Project: Cayley's Theorem on trees – Bell numbers – Generating
combinatorial objects – Exercises

4. Recurrence relations and generating functions


Fibonacci numbers – Aside on formal power series – Linear recurrence
relations with constant coefficients – Derangements and involutions – Catalan
and Bell numbers – Computing solutions to recurrence relations – Project:
Finite fields and QUICKSORT – Exercises
9. Finite geometry
Linear algebra over finite fields – Gaussian coefficients

17. Error-correcting codes


Finding out a liar – Definitions – Probabilistic considerations – Some bounds –
Linear codes; Hamming codes – Perfect codes – Linear codes and projective
spaces – Exercises

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