CS 103ACE: Mathematical Problem-Solving Strategies

🌻 Spring 2024 🌻

Week 7 Announcements

You can start studying now for midterm 2! Check out extra practice problems, resources below, and the ACE study sessions.

Section Materials

Week 2. Friday 4/5 & Monday 4/8: Sets, proof methods
Slides 1, Slides 2, Worksheet (solutions), Extra Problems (solutions)
Week 3. Friday 4/12 & Monday 4/15: Propositional & first-order logic
Slides 1, Slides 2, Worksheet (solutions), Extra Problems (solutions)
Week 4. Friday 4/19 & Monday 4/22: Functions, set theory proofs
Slides 1, Slides 2, Worksheet (solutions), Extra Problems (solutions)
Week 5. Friday 4/26 & Monday 4/29: Graphs, pigeonhole principle, Midterm 1
Slides 1, Slides 2, Worksheet (solutions), Extra Problems (solutions)
Week 6. Friday 5/3 & Monday 5/6: Induction
Slides 1, Slides 2, Worksheet (solutions), Extra Problems (solutions)
Week 7. Friday 5/10 & Monday 5/13: DFAs, NFAs, Regular Languages
Slides 1, Slides 2, Worksheet (solutions), Extra Problems (solutions)
Week 8. Friday 5/17 & Monday 5/20: Nonregular Languages, Regular Expressions
Slides 1, Worksheet (solutions)

Logistics

  • Section: Mondays and Fridays, 12:30 PM to 1:20 PM, in 300-303
  • Office Hours:
    • Sunday 5/12, 7 to 9 pm, on Zoom
    • Monday 5/13, 1:30 to 3 pm, in Lathrop Library
    • Tuesday 5/14, 1 to 3 pm, on Zoom
    • Wednesday 5/15, 4:30 pm to 6 pm, in Lathrop Library
  • Midterm 1 review: In 320-109 with Zoom option!
    • Friday 4/26, 6 pm to 8 pm: practice problems
    • Sunday 4/28, 6 pm to 8 pm: quiet study time and Q&A
  • Midterm 2 review: Location TBD with Zoom option.
    • Saturday 5/18, 11 am to 1 pm: practice problems
    • Sunday 5/19, 7 pm to 9 pm: quiet study time and Q&A
  • Final Exam review: Week of June 3. Location/time TBD.

ACE office hours and review sessions are limited to enrolled students.

Resources

Syllabus

CS 103ACE is a 1-unit companion course to CS 103 offered as part of the School of Engineering's ACE program. Our weekly section reinforces course material in a welcoming small-group setting, with a particular focus on strategies for writing proofs. In section, we review topics from the previous week's lectures and work on practice problems collaboratively. Outside of class, we offer ACE-specific support, including office hours and exam review sessions, to help you do your best in CS 103.

Contact Info

ACE CA (instructor)
Ryan Guan (pronouns: he/him or they/them, email: rguan@stanford.edu). Contact me with questions about CS 103 content and 103ACE.
ACE Leadership
See the ACE Leadership Team contact page. Contact with questions and feedback about the ACE program as a whole.
CS 103 Staff
The staff mailing list is cs103-spr2324-staff@lists.stanford.edu. Contact with questions about CS 103 policies, grades, etc.

Grading

103ACE is graded Satisfactory / No Credit. To receive a Satisfactory grade, you must:

  1. Finish CS 103 with a grade of C- or higher.
  2. Attend at least 15 of the 18 ACE sections. (In other words, you have three free absences, no questions asked.)

If you drop, withdraw from, or take an incomplete in CS 103, you must do the same for 103ACE. If you need to miss more than three sections, please reach out to me. I will try to be as flexible as possible.

Participation isn't graded but is strongly encouraged. 103ACE is intended to be a welcoming community, where asking questions, throwing out guesses, and encouraging your peers are all valuable ways to participate! In addition, I know that everyone has low-energy days. If it's a day where coming to section is already enough of an achievement, we'll be glad you came!

Accessibility

I care about making 103ACE accessible and responsive to your needs. This course is meant to provide extra support and resources, not create more work or stress for you. If you have a letter from the Office of Accessible Education, or if you have any other needs or circumstances that I should be aware of, please get in touch!

Syllabus adapted from ACE syllabi written by Grace Alwan, Frankie Cerkvenik, Lauren Saue-Fletcher, and Ian Tullis.