Monthly Schedule

(MODD, Period D)

W 9/7/05

First day of class: Introduction, ground rules, and discussion of course announcement and proposed course outline.

 

Th 9/8/05

HW due: Mark up the proposed course outline to add any topics you feel are missing, or to delete any topics you are not very interested in.

In class: Resolve our plan of study and begin. Here is my detailed draft through the end of October.

 

F 9/9/05

HW due: Using only the components of AND gates, OR gates, and inverters, design a circuit that has the behavior shown in this table.

 

 

 

first input

second input

desired output

 

 

 

1

1

1

 

 

 

1

0

0

 

 

 

0

1

1

 

 

 

0

0

1

 

M 9/12/05

HW due: Simplify each of the following expressions, using rules of Boolean algebra:

1. ~(A + ~B) · ~(~C)
2. A · ~(B · ~A)

3, 4. Then, use truth tables to prove that your answers to #1 and #2 are correct.

In class: Fun Friday (postponed from last week since Jeremiah was out).

 

T 9/13/05

HW due (this one will be collected): Simplify each of the following expressions, using rules of Boolean algebra:

1. (~A · B) + (~A · ~B)
2. ~(~A + ~(~B · ~C))

3, 4. Then, use truth tables to prove that your answers to #1 and #2 are correct.

 

W 9/14/05

HW due: Negate each of the following, and write the answer in English. For political neutrality, let N be the set of nincompoops, and let S be the set of silly people. Note that we actually did the first one correctly at the end of class. At first, I thought it was wrong, but I forgot that of course we were negating the meaning of the initial statement. The first one is essentially done for you, but rewrite it for practice, showing your work in the part where you obtain the negation. The rule is that the ~ (negation symbol) affects the part of the statement after the colon ( : ), but only after flipping $ to " or vice versa.

1. $x: x Î N Ù x Î S
Answer: Negation is "x: x Ï N Ú x Ï S. [Work missing; you need to show the work here.]
In English: Original sentence says, “There exists at list one silly nincompoop.”
Negation says, “For any person, the person is not a nincompoop or not silly.”

2. $x: x Ï N Ù x Ï S

3. "x: x Ï N Ú x Î S

 

Th 9/15/05

HW due: Make two fairly difficult puzzles, one that requires the person solving the puzzle to convert a circuit diagram into symbols, and one that requires converting symbols into a circuit diagram. Be sure to use all the components and symbols you can think of (AND, OR, NOT, XOR, XNOR, Þ, etc.).

 

F 9/16/05

HW due: Read about Gödel’s Theorem and be prepared for a graded discussion. You may wish to make a few handwritten notes.

In class: Symbol-to-circuit and circuit-to-symbol competition. Make sure to solve the puzzles that you create, and make sure that the puzzles can be solved in under 3 minutes.

 

M 9/19/05

HW due: If you already did the reading assigned for Friday (Gödel’s Theorem), then relax—you have a weekend with no homework. Otherwise, you need to do the reading and write a paragraph (3 or 4 sentences) summarizing the theorem in your own words. Try to work the words complete and consistent into your paragraph.

In class: Review.

 

T 9/20/05

Unit Quiz on Logical Building Blocks (topics 0x01–0x0F).

 

W 9/21/05

HW due: Get a good night’s sleep.

 

Th 9/22/05

HW due: Get a good start on the HW due tomorrow.

 

F 9/23/05

HW due: In the textbook (distributed in class Wednesday), read pp. 135-137, especially Figure 3-17. Write p. 641 #1-4 all, 7ab (omit the two subtractions). For #7ab, do each addition 3 ways: in binary, in octal, and in hexadecimal. Finally, write your last name in hex, following ASCII rules. How many bytes are required? How many bits?

 

M 9/26/05

HW due: Read pp. 633-637. Reading notes are required (see HW requirements page, which includes a description of how to make reading notes).

Then finish your HW that was due last Friday, and start on the following scavenger hunt:

1. What is the significance of 0x4D5A? Who or what is the “mysterious MZ” that has become so famously common in the PC world? Write a paragraph (not copied and pasted from the Internet).

2. Approximately how many MZ files do you have on your home computer?

3. Approximately how many MZ files exist on all the PCs in the world?

 

T 9/27/05

HW due: Scavenger hunt from yesterday.

In class: Review.

 

W 9/28/05

HW due: Find out the bandwidth (i.e., speed in bits per second) of your home Internet service provider. Since the actual figure varies, you may wish to visit a site on the Internet that computes the speed by testing. An easier, safer way is to time how long it takes to download a file of known size from a site that is known to be safe (e.g., windowsupdate.microsoft.com), and then compute the speed in bits per second based on the number of bytes that were downloaded..

 

Th 9/29/05

Unit Quiz on Bits, Bytes, Hex, and Hertz (topics 0x11–0x1F).

 

F 9/30/05

The term “digital” refers to any device or process that considers integers as its fundamental units. For example, a cash register is digital—even an old-fashioned mechanical cash register—because it deals in quantities of whole pennies. You can’t purchase something for p dollars. The number of pennies is always an integer. In math, we would call this a discrete function or a discrete process.

The term “analog” refers to any device or process that has an infinite number of intermediate states. For example, a dimmer light switch is analog, since you can set the lighting level at an infinite number of states between “off” and “on.” In math, we would call this a continuous function or a continuous process.

HW due: List 15 devices that you use in everyday life, and categorize each one as analog or digital.

 

 

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Last updated: 06 Oct 2005