CS174. Randomized Algorithms
This course is about probabilistic methods and their application
to computer science. The first part of the course introduces basic models
and techniques, the second part applies these techniques to the design
of various randomized algorithms, data structures, and distributed protocols.
Grading
The grade is determined by
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Weekly homeworks, 45%
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Two midterms, 15% each
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Final exam, 25 %
Homeworks
Homeworks are due in class. Late homeworks will not be accepted.
The three lowest homework grades will be dropped when computing the grade
average. Make sure you write your name on all the pages of your solution.
Cheating
We encourage you to help each other learn the material by discussing the
work before you do each assignment. For most assignments, explaining the
meaning of a question or a way of approaching a solution is an interaction
that we encourage. On the other hand, you should never read another student's
solution or partial solution, nor have it in your possession, either electronically
or on paper. You should write your homework strictly by yourself. For some
problems, we may instruct you not to discuss the problem with other students
at all. If you receive a significant idea from someone in the class, explicitly
acknowledge that person in your solution. Not only is this a good scholarly
conduct, it also protects you from accusations of theft of your colleagues'
ideas.
Presenting another person's work as your own constitutes cheating, whether
that person is a friend, an unknown student in this class or a previous
semester's class, or an anonymous person on the Web who happens to have
solved the problem you've been asked to solve. Everything you turn in must
be your own doing, and it is your responsibility to make it clear to the
graders that it really is your own work. The following activities are specifically
forbidden in all graded course work:
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Possession (or theft) of another student's solution or partial solution
in any form (electronic, handwritten, or printed).
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Giving a solution or partial solution to another student, even with the
explicit understanding that it will not be copied.
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Working together to develop a single solution and then turning in copies
(or modified versions) of that solution under multiple names.
Cheating on an homework or a midterm will result in a grade of zero for
that assignment. Cheating on the final, or repeated offenses, will be reported
to the Office of Student Conduct and will probably result in an F.