ES 214 | May-Jun 2025

ES214. Discrete Mathematics

May — June 2025

(co-instructor with Prof. Jyothi Krishnan.)

About the Course

This is a first course in discrete mathematics and has a broad scope: we introduce elementary concepts in logic, set theory, combinatorics, graph theory, number theory, and probability. The course is designed to be accessible to students from all disciplines, and is a core course for the B.Tech. program at IITGN. We hope that students taking this course discover the beauty of mathematical methods and their applications.

Target Audience

You will find this course interesting if:

• you think counting the number of ways in which you can complete your graduation requirements is a fun problem to think about,
• you enjoy logic puzzles like this one or probability puzzles like this one, or
• you like box-stacking challenges, or
• you are enrolled in a program for which this course is in the core.

Prerequisites

This course is self-contained and involves no pre-requisites.

References

1. Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications by Kenneth Rosen
2. Open Textbook on Discrete Mathematics
3. Proofs: A Long-Form Mathematics Textbook by Jay Cummings
4. Playing with Discrete Math by Kyle Burke and Craig Tennenhouse
5. Online Course (with lecture videos): Math 4190, Summer I 2019

Timings and Venue

• Venue: 7/101 and online via Zoom
• If the Zoom link does not work, try to login with the meeting ID 955 8143 5196 and passcode erdos.
• Lectures: as per the schedule below, 5PM to 7PM (with a 15-minute break in between)

Evaluation policy

• There will be seven worksheets, each worth 10 points. Your top 5 scores from these worksheets account for 50% of the grade.
• There will be one end-term exam with 21 problems, one from each theme. You can pick any five themes and answer the 15 questions corresponding to them. The end-term exam accounts for 30% of the total grade.
• There is one assignment in math exposition. You will be required to pick a topics/themes and either prepare a video or write a blog about it. You will be expected to submit these to the Summer of Math Exposition. Although the SoME4 deadline is the end of Augsut, you would be expected to make your submissions by June 15th, 2025. You are strongly encouraged to discuss your topic with the instructors and TAs and get feedback as you develop your topic. This component accounts for 20% of your grade.

Logistics

• For IITGN students, (pre-)register through IMS as usual.
• For discussions and announcements, please join the Zulip community here.
• Information about how worksheets can be submitted will be shared soon.
• If you are not from IITGN and are interested in taking up the course, then please send us an email.