Math 491: Algebraic Combinatorics

Fall 2003

taught by Prof. James Propp

You can read an overview of the course, a syllabus, and a description of course logistics (including a reading list).

You can see a provisional list of topics to be covered in individual lectures, with links to all the lesson-plans.

Students who take this course will find the following links helpful:

The On-line Encyclopedia of Integer Sequences of Neil Sloane (see also Sloane's recent article); generatingfunctionology by Herbert S. Wilf; East Side, West Side also by Herbert S. Wilf; and info about Maple.

Dodron Zeilberger's article Dodgson's determinant-evaluation rule proved by two-timing men and women contains a bijective proof of the Dodgson formula discussed in class.

Here is a sample Maple session introducing you to some of Maple's basic features, available as a human-readable transcript or as a Maple work-sheet.

Here is a sample Maple session about manipulating sets and lists.

Here is a Maple session about the continued fraction for the Catalan generating function.

Here is a Maple session about working with q-series.

Here is some Maple code for working with partially-commuting polynomials in three variables x,y, and q, where q commutes with both x and y but yx=qxy.

Here is the first problem set (due September 11), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the second problem set (due September 16), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the third problem set (due September 18), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the fourth problem set (due September 23), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the fifth problem set (due September 25), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the sixth problem set (due September 30), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the seventh problem set (due October 2), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the eighth problem set (due October 7), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the ninth problem set (due October 14), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the revised tenth problem set (with due-date postoned to October 21), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the eleventh problem set (due October 21), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the REVISED VERSION of the midterm exam (due October 28), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the twelfth problem set (due November 4), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the thirteenth problem set (due November 11), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the fourteenth problem set (due November 13), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the fifteenth problem set (due November 18), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the sixteenth problem set (due November 20), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the seventeenth problem set (due December 2), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the eighteenth problem set (due December 4), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the nineteenth problem set (due December 9), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the twentieth problem set (due December 11), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file, and here is the solution, as a latex file, a pdf-file, and and a ps-file.

Here is the final exam (due December 18), as a latex file, a pdf-file, and a ps-file.