Northeastern University

CS 5002 – Discrete Structures

Problem Set #0

This Problem Set is due at 11:59 pm Pacific time on 2024-09-12, and will be submitted on Canvas.

This Problem Set is worth 5% of the final course grade.

All of these problems are to be completed individually.

Please submit separate files on Canvas, for each of Problems 1-4. Make sure you label your Problem
Set #0 submissions appropriately - e.g., tedmunds-0-1.pdf, tedmunds-0-2.jpg, tedmunds-0-3.pdf, and
tedmunds-0-4.txt (but use your name, instead of mine). If you need to update your submission, please
resubmit all the files — even ones you didn’t modify.
CS 5002, Fall 2024 Semester, Timothy Edmunds – Problem Set #0 2

Problem #0
Do the following three tasks.

(1) Visit the course Canvas page:

(2) On the Discussion Forum of our Canvas page, you will be able to access a thread called “Course
Introductions”.
Please reply to that post with a personal introduction that will be read by me, by the TAs, and by
your classmates.

(3) Read the Course Syllabus, which has been posted on our Canvas page. If you have any questions
or concerns on anything I have written, please post your question on the Canvas Discussion Forum
“Questions About the Course Syllabus”, and I will reply as soon as I see it.
CS 5002, Fall 2024 Semester, Timothy Edmunds – Problem Set #0 3

Problem #1
Most assignments in this course will require you to submit your work by scanning hand-written pages
and uploading them to Canvas. In many cases computer-typed work will be acceptable, but I want to
make sure everyone has a good process in place for submitting hand-written work. (Computer type-set
work - e.g. LATEX or Word is also acceptable, but definitely not required - do not spend hours making
your work look beautiful.)

At the top of a standard sheet of paper (8.5”x11” or A4) write your name and the date. On the
same sheet, write out the first 15 numbers of the Fibonacci sequence in your normal-sized handwriting.
On a new sheet (or the back of the same sheet if you want to save paper) write: “The quick brown fox
jumps over the lazy dog.”

Scan your work with a scanner, or use a camera-phone app to “scan” it. (You shouldn’t need to spend
any money on this process.) Your end result must be a 2-page PDF file. Name the file your-name-0-1.pdf,
and submit it on Canvas.
CS 5002, Fall 2024 Semester, Timothy Edmunds – Problem Set #0 4

Problem #2
Play one or more games of “Guess My Number”, which you can do so on this website:
https://www.mathsisfun.com/games/guess_number.html

What you will do is change the Range of numbers from 1 to 1000, and then click on Start.

The computer will pick a random integer between 1 and 1000.

After each guess, the computer will tell you whether your guess was correct, whether it was too high, or
whether it was too low.

The game stops when you have correctly guessed the computer’s number.

For example, when I did this game, I was able to get the computer’s number in 9 guesses.

Here is the way I will mark this question:

full credit for identifying the number in 10 or fewer guesses

partial credit for identifying the number in 11 or more guesses

You may play the Guess My Number game as often as you’d like.

Once you are happy with your result, take a screenshot (as I have done above), save it as your-name-0-
2.jpg, and submit the file on Canvas.
CS 5002, Fall 2024 Semester, Timothy Edmunds – Problem Set #0 5

Problem #3
A 3 × 3 magic square has the property that each of the numbers from 1 to 9 occurs exactly once, where
the sum of the entries of any row, any column, and any main diagonal is always 15.

For example, here is a 3 × 3 magic square. Notice that each of the three rows, three columns, and
two diagonals, all sum to 15.

8 1 6
3 5 7
4 9 2

(a) In addition to the above magic square, there is one other magic square with 5 in the centre and 8
in the top-left corner. Determine this 3 × 3 magic square, and clearly explain why this is the only
other magic square with 5 in the centre and 8 in the top-left corner.

(b) There are exactly eight ways that three digits can sum to fifteen, given by the following list of
triplets: {951, 942, 861, 852, 843, 762, 753, 654}.

By counting how many times each digit appears in this list, explain why in every 3 × 3 magic
square, the number 5 must go in the middle, and the four even numbers must go into each of the
four corners.

(c) How many 3 × 3 magic squares are there? Carefully and clearly justify your answer.

Submit your work as a PDF file named your-name-0-3.pdf. You may hand-write and scan/photograph
your work (using your technique from Problem 1), or create your file electronically, but the result must
be a single PDF file.
CS 5002, Fall 2024 Semester, Timothy Edmunds – Problem Set #0 6

Problem #4
Write a reflection essay based on the following prompt:

Describe the highlights and lowlights of your experiences learning mathematics, and ex-
plain how these experiences have shaped your confidence in doing mathematics.

Aim for between 500 words and 750 words.

Here are some questions that may be helpful to you as you write your reflection:

(a) What aspects about math do you like/dislike?

(b) Which of your math experiences have been especially easy/difficult?

(c) Were you inspired and/or empowered thanks to an excellent math teacher?

(d) Were you disempowered because of a terrible math teacher?

(e) How does the thought of learning math make you feel?

Submit your essay as a file (.doc/x, PDF, or .txt) named your-name-0-4.

Essays receiving the full credit will be informative, fully developed and detailed, as well as clear and
organized.