Computer Science 101

Introduction to Computing for Engineers and

Physical Scientists

 Syllabus for Summer, 2008

CS 101 Course Objectives

Fundamental principles, concepts, and methods of computing, with emphasis on applications in the physical sciences and engineering. Basic problem solving and programming techniques; fundamental algorithms and data structures; use of computers in solving engineering and scientific problems.

This course introduces the student to software development environments for engineering program design. In this course, the student will acquire the software "literacy" that has become indispensable for creative work in Science and Engineering. Understanding the material in this course will enhance the students understanding of both fundamental and advanced topics in engineering software design.

Professor 

Tom Gambill 

2209 Siebel Center

244-3541 

gambill@ad.uiuc.edu
 
 
 
 
 

Web Site 

All relevant class information is presented on the CS 101 web site http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~cs101/ Check the web site frequently for updates.

 
 
 
 
 
 

Texts 

(Recommended)Applied C: An Introduction and More by Fischer,Eggert and Ross, McGraw-Hill, 

ISBN: 0-07-021748-3 

(Recommended)Getting Started with Matlab A Quick Introduction for Scientists and Engineers by Rudra Pratap, Oxford,

ISBN: 0-19-517937-4

(Required)Course Notes, Stipes Publishing
 
 
 


 

Prelabs / Labs 

Lab activities will be done in small groups typically of three students. TAs will assign students into groups in the labs. For each activity there will be one score for every student. However no points will be given to a student who is absent from the lab during the lab activity.  Bring the course notes to each lab.

Every lab will have one TA to assist groups with their lab activities. A lab activity will be checked by the TA and suggestions will be given to the group if the performance on the activity is problematic. 

Every group will be required to work each lab assignment until it is completed. This may require that the group work on the lab beyond the scheduled lab hours activities. Students should leave labs early ONLY if the assigned project is finished. If a group member leaves early before the assignment is finished this student receives ZERO credit for the assignment.

If at any time, in any way, a group is not performing satisfactorily, a student must send email to their TA and professor Gambill, who will handle the matter discreetly. Satisfactory performance means that the group has completed all assigned lab activities on time and each member of the group contributes equally. In any case, at midterms, the TA's will evaluate the performance of the groups.

Most weeks will have prelab assignments.  Prelab material will be posted on the course website on the page: http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~cs101ta/labs/
The prelab questions should be answered individually and not submitted as one per group. The answers to the prelab should be turned in at the beginning of a lab usually in written form (by hand or typed) on paper.

 Each prelab+lab = 9 points. All points for prelabs+labs will be totaled at the end of the semester. The total cannot exceed 100 points.

Material considered during prelab / lab activities will be used on the exams.

 
 
 

TA Office Hours 

Hui Xue is the CS101 TA for the summer 2 semester. Hui Xue will hold weekly office hours.


See the office hours here: http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~cs101/staff.htm 

You should not ask CCSO site consultants questions about class assignments. You may, however, ask them general questions about things such as e-mail, how to change passwords, and how to use printers. You should also report any equipment malfunctions to your TA immediately. 


 
 

Lecture Notes 

Students can review online copies of the overhead transparencies used in class from the web pages of CS101. It should be understood that these notes do not include everything that is covered in the lectures. They may be amended during the course. The material covered in the lectures will precede the material examined in the lab activity. Therefore, a student who misses lectures will not be prepared for the following lab activity. 


 

Exams 

There is one hour exam held during class period plus one final exam.  

Midterm :

    Date: Wednesday July 2, 12:30-1:30pm

    Location: 1109 Siebel Center

         Conflict exam: TBA (You must email your request for a conflict exam, state your reason for making the request)

             Location: TBA



Final exam:
   Date: Friday August 1

   Location: TBA

        Conflict exam: TBA (You must email your request for a conflict exam, state your reason for making the request)

             Location: TBA

 

 

Applying to all Students (the Code). You should consult the Code 

(see  http://www.uiuc.edu/admin_manual/code/index.html)to determine procedures, deadlines, and your rights regarding evening exams. In particular, following are some relevant rules regarding evening (or out-of-regular-class-time) exams. 

1. An instructor is obliged to cancel regular class for an amount of time equal to that required for the evening exam. We'll cancel regular classes on . 

2. Once you become aware of a conflict to our scheduled exam, you have ten (10) days to notify us of your need to take our conflict exam. Please email now: the TA in charge 

3. If a conflict arises because two courses have scheduled overlapping exams, then you must take the exam for the course that announced first, and the conflict for the course that announced second. When each course announced on the first day of class (as we are doing), then you may choose which conflict exam you'll take. Often there will be only one way that this can be accomplished. 

4. It is possible that you'll have a conflict, which precludes your taking any evening exam on the stipulated date. We'll make special arrangements for you. However, you still have only ten days to notify us once you become aware of such a special conflict. Examples are scheduled rehearsals or performances, regularly scheduled labs, and University-sanctioned athletic events. 

If you need to take our conflict exam(s), please email now: the TA in charge. State which of our exams is in conflict, and what exactly is the nature of the conflict (e.g. "Dear CS101 TA, Nephrology 101, Section Q has an exam scheduled from 7pm to 8pmwith a conflict exam from 8pm to 9pm; it was announced on the first day of class.")
 
 

Identification (at an exam) 

You need to bring a photo-ID with you to every exam.

You will be asked to sign an attendance list at every exam. The proctor will verify your identity with the photo ID.

You must also sign your exam.

It is your responsibility and not the proctor's to ensure that you sign the attendance list.

If we cannot find your exam and you have not signed the attendance list your exam score is ZERO.


 

Take-home programming assignments (also called Machine Problems or MPs): 

There will be two (2) machine problems (MP's): assignments to be done on the computer and handed in for grade. You can expect to have to work in the lab several hours per week outside of the scheduled lab section meeting time in order to complete the MP's. We recommend that each individual do his or her own work on the MP's.You may not work in a group as in your lab activities. 
 

Specific instructions for handing in MP's will be provided when the MP's are assigned. Partial credit will be given for incomplete MP's handed in on time. A resubmission is allowed for MPs turned in on time. The resubmission can improve the final score no more than 50% of the total (i.e. 25 points for a 50 point MP). Late MP's will be accepted after the due date (but not after the resubmission due date), though students automatically lose 25 points and a resubmission is not permitted. 

The only exception to the point loss is in the case of illness or other substantial impediment beyond your control, as confirmed by the Emergency Dean. 

 

 

Software 

We will use matlab and the gcc (GNU ANSI C compiler). Students will be expected to learn the xemacs editor and basic Unix commands. All of the above software is available on any of the EWS lab computers.  http://www.ews.uiuc.edu/~cs101




Grading 

Your course total will be computed from, the sum of all your prelab/lab activities (not to exceed 100 points), two MP's, the one mid-term, and the final (not comprehensive), as follows:

 


 

Assignment

Point Value

MPs (2 worth 50 pts each)

100

Lab Activities

100

Midterm (Matlab)

165

Final (covers only Unix/C material)

335

Total

700



 

 

Note: Absence from the Final Exam results in an ABS grade, even if a student has totaled more than 400 points before the Final Exam.  The University will later change ABS grades to F.

Re-grades

Students have two weeks (from the date handed back) to request a re-grade or appeal any grade recorded in the Compass GradeBook, for an exam/mp/prelab/lab/extra credit activity. A re-grade will be performed on the entire prelab/lab/mp/exam and can lower the score!
In any appeal procedure it is the student's responsibility to keep possession of his/her prelab/lab/mp/exam.  In the process of a re-grade a student has to arrange for a TA to modify the grade in the presence of the student. A student should not hand over any material to the TA for keeping. Therefore, a lost or missing prelab/lab/mp/exam is no reason for a modification of a grade. 
 

            Final grades will be based on a flat scale. There is no curve!


 

Points
Grade

675-700

A+

650-674

A

625-649

A-

600-624

B+

575-599

B

550-574

B-

525-549

C+

500-524

C

475-499

C-

450-474

D+

425-449

D

400-424

D-

0-399

F

 

 

Absence 

Should you miss an hourly exam or an MP for a legitimate reason such as severe illness you will need to provide a verification letter from the Emergency Dean (located in the Turner Student Services Building on John Street).The letter must state that you have shown proof of your absence--do not go to the Emergency Dean without valid documentation of your absence. For example, an appointment slip from McKinley is not proper documentation because it shows only that you made an appointment. We may send condolence cards to your families in the event of a severe illness or death in the family at exam time. 


 300 Turner Student Services Building
610 East John Street
Champaign, IL 61820
(217) 333-0050

 ( Emergency Dean ).

 



Cheating 

Don't do it. We'll catch you, and we'll punish you as outlined in the Code (Rule 33).


SEVERE PENALTIES ARE APPLIED FOR THE FOLLOWING:

  • both actively sharing (or copying) all or parts of someone       else’s code/answers on MPs/Exams or  
  •  passively allowing the sharing (or copying) of your own   code/answers on MPs/Exams


What is cheating?

On MPs: allowing others to view your code or reading someone else’s source code constitutes cheating. Students should protect their own work so that another student cannot copy any part of their code.  Therefore, if copying has been detected, it will be assumed that cheating has occurred by all parties involved. On Exams: allowing others to view your answers or reading someone else’s answer constitutes cheating.

In case of a charge of academic irregularity against a student, the student has two weeks after the date of the charge to appeal the allegation. To make an appeal the student should first contact one of the professors for CS101.   A charge of academic irregularity can be made known to the student by:

  • an announcement on the course website combined with a change of grade in the GradeBook
  • by letter



 

Do you want to proficiency OUT of CS101?

Some of you have already mastered the subject matter of CS101. If you would like to "proficiency out" of CS101, here's what you need to do: 

Let Professor Gambill know that you intend to proficiency out of the course. 




Your questions answered: 

How would tuition handle this and how does it affect my GPA? 

It doesn't affect either.There is no charge (in the CS Department) for a proficiency exam, and it is ignored by tuition.If you are successful, the credit goes on your transcript as a grade of "Pass", so there is nothing to compute into your GPA.(It doesn't count in your semester workload, either.) 

Proficiency credit counts in every way except GPA (since there's no letter grade to average).It counts as hours earned, as well as fulfillment of a degree requirement.The student DOES get the credit hours. 

Extra Opportunities with CS101- CS196 or CS101 Honors(James Scholar)

You can enroll in a separate course (in addition to CS101), CS196section &1 or take CS101 for Honors(James Scholar)

Both CS196 students and James Scholar students will be assigned a programming assignment beyond the two MPs assigned in 

CS101. Let Professor Gambill know that you have enrolled in CS196 or CS101 Honors. Naturally this programming 

assignment might be somewhat time consuming, so you might want to think about taking on the 

extra work. 

James Scholar students cannot do both CS196 and CS101 Honors.