Discrete Structures.....LOST!!

Nirina

i'm doing this computer science module and it's me first year doing anything comp science...so naturally i'm totally lost after my first semester in Discrete Structures! Moodle module page is pretty useless, lecturer doesn't drill it in at all, and i've got like four days til my exam...em, any help or tips?? know any good websites that could help me pass??

would totally appreciate any help given.
xx

banquo

MP3Guy is a poster on here and he does comp science. He might be around for a grind?

/pages MP3guy

Nirina

hmmm, but i doubt i'd have time to get a grind..unless it was purely online?

banquo

Google? Best I can do as a non-comp science student I'm afraid!

LeixlipRed

It's easy stuff. PM me if you want a grind.

banquo

This is exactly why boards is handy.

cian1500ww

I'm doing it, concentrate on covering the 2005 past exam that he put on moodle. He covered this in the last two lectures and he said that it has the closest resemblance to the current exam in terms of layout and topics. He also has the solution up for it so take a look at it, it does look absolutely horrible but once you break it down it's not so bad Look at the previous labs also but I think that since he went to the bother of doing out an entire solution for the 05 exam and said to study it then it should be a good safe bet

WhenISingAlong

http://books.google.ie/books?id=jGQK2zOqgf8C&printsec=frontcover&dq=discrete+structures&as_brr=3#v=twopage&q=&f=false

That's the book he recommended. I think most of what he covered is on there, but there might be a few pages omitted from it!
Go over all the previous labs and their solutions that he put up on moodle and definitely go over the past exam paper and its solution that he posted too!

I was freaking out about it too until I went over the stuff, and it turns out it's not that bad at all!

ScissorPaperRock

I did that module in first year too, I remember thinking it was a horrible subject, wasn't really too interested in it either. But when it came down studying for the exam I just went over the past papers and ended up doing pretty well.

The papers don't change much from year to year, and if your lecturer posted up solutions to a particular year, as cian1500ww said, I would say if you practiced answering the questions on that you'd be doing well.

Good luck with it!

Nirina

ok, thanks everyone for yer help!! i didn't realise a solution to the 2005 paper was posted!! hopefully i'll be able to pass this exam with the tips and such..thanks!

banquo

Best of luck Nirina

Beau

Best of luck, CS is a bastard.

banquo

Beau wrote: »

Best of luck, CS is a bastard.

Just like that guy Beau, he... oh.

/scrambles for edit button

LeixlipRed

Good luck, it's a really easy module once you grasp it!

mp3guy

I was a tutor for this subject this semester and also approached about grinds but I had to decline due to being busy with my own exams (these ones counting towards first round IRCSET funding).

Best advice is use the book, read it and make sure you understand the solutions given. You can't just learn off one solution and apply it to a different problem directly, there's usually a few little knacks to each one.

Holsten

Horrible, horrible module.

Good luck with it!

philologos

OP: Just incase you missed my post on the Mathematics forum -
http://boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63917774&postcount=6

LeixlipRed

Calling it horrible is a bit much. All it requires is a bit of logical thinking.

DingChavez

I was wondering what was going in this topic but then I looked up who was teaching it nowadays. The difference a good lecturer makes. I can imagine the horror of learning it like that the first time.

TouchingVirus

DingChavez wrote: »

I was wondering what was going in this topic but then I looked up who was teaching it nowadays. The difference a good lecturer makes. I can imagine the horror of learning it like that the first time.

I've not looked up who's teaching it, but I think your post says it all :P

Mr sinister

TouchingVirus wrote: »

I've not looked up who's teaching it, but I think your post says it all :P

If it's still Phillipe then God help ye, he thinks if you don't understand it straight off then you shouldn't be in college

Beau

or Dermot Kelly or Tom Dowling... grrr! :mad: If its the one about ands and ors it isn't that bad. Thankfully I've put CS behind me forever

mp3guy

Yeah, because none of those lectures have access to this forum, oh wait.

And yeah, some lecturers are better at lecturing than others, but that's all part of university and it's up to you to deal with it.

Beau

mp3guy wrote: »

Yeah, because none of those lectures have access to this forum, oh wait.

I don't care :P

mp3guy

Beau wrote: »

I don't care :P

So's your face

Beau

what?

pakblue

Jeez Discrete Structures 1 wow that brings back memory's, I found it very easy when I was a 1st year. Think the guy I had was a Phd student Mark Hennessy I think his name was. The only lecture to ever give me solutions to past papers. Discrete Structures 2 now that was a different story hated it but think that was down to the lecture. Also liked Software Verification (Formal Methods) last year.

mp3guy

pakblue wrote: »

Also liked Software Verification (Formal Methods) last year.

Really interesting but REALLY difficult at the same time.

Kazuma

I actually quite enjoyed Phillipes lectures, though to be honest it became harder to focus on the actual subject once he started using the microphone and speakers (going to assume someone complained about him being too quiet - I could always hear him perfectly).
I will say this though; missing a lecture in CS151 would cause complete confusion :P

Mr sinister

this is what his classes are like

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b7TQoQSqsCA

well not really but I have nowhere else to put a maths realated video joke