Discrete Structures
A+
AY21/22 S1
This course is the first introduction to rigorous math. The main focus is on proving techniques, and the different types of proofs that you can use to prove a statement. If you don't come from a math-intensive background, this course may be the bane of your existence. Some people find this course fun and interesting, and some people will curse and swear at this even up till graduation.
The course starts rather simply, teaching the basics of logic and logical inferences. Then we slowly build up our intuition on sets, relations, functions, trees and graphs. But the truly painful part of the course comes after the recess week. Cardinality. Cardinality basically deals with the size of sets. Given set A and its relationship with set B, what can we say about the size of set B? Based on the question design, this can get very confusing very easily. As such, one good tip is to see how many marks the question gives you. If it's high, then you're likely expected to give a full proof for it. If it's relatively low, then the answer is likely much more straightforward than you're thinking. This narrows down your options quite a bit, so don't overlook it.
Overall, nailing down the fundamentals of proving is extremely important, as you'll be needing it later down the road when taking CS2040S and CS3230. And of course, if you're taking any math mods, then this is basic knowledge. No way around it.