Discrete

Mathematics and
Its Applications
Introductory Lecture
What is Discrete
Mathematics?

Discrete mathematics is the part of mathematics devoted

to the study of discrete (as opposed to continuous) objects.

Calculus deals ith continuous objects and is not part of

discrete mathematics.

!"amples of discrete objects# inte$ers% steps ta&en by a

computer pro$ram% distinct paths to travel from point ' to
point ( on a map alon$ a road netor&% ays to pic& a
innin$ set of numbers in a lottery.

' course in discrete mathematics provides the

mathematical bac&$round needed for all subse)uent
courses in computer science and for all subse)uent
courses in the many branches of discrete mathematics.
*inds of +roblems ,olved -sin$
Discrete Mathematics

.o many ays can a passord be chosen

folloin$ speci/c rules?

.o many valid Internet addresses are there?

What is the probability of innin$ a particular

lottery?

Is there a lin& beteen to computers in a

netor&?

.o can I identify spam email messa$es?

.o can I encrypt a messa$e so that no

unintended recipient can read it?

.o can e build a circuit that adds to inte$ers?

*inds of +roblems ,olved -sin$
Discrete Mathematics

What is the shortest path beteen to cities usin$ a

transportation system?

0ind the shortest tour that visits each of a $roup of cities

only once and then ends in the startin$ city.

.o can e represent !n$lish sentences so that a computer

can reason ith them?

.o can e prove that there are in/nitely many prime

numbers?

.o can a list of inte$ers be sorted so that the inte$ers are

in increasin$ order?

.o many steps are re)uired to do such a sortin$?

.o can it be proved that a sortin$ al$orithm alays

correctly sorts a list?
1oals of a Course in Discrete
Mathematics

Mathematical Reasoning# 'bility to read%

understand% and construct mathematical
ar$uments and proofs.

Combinatorial Analysis# 2echni)ues for

countin$ objects of di3erent &inds.

Discrete Structures# 'bstract mathematical

structures that represent objects and the
relationships beteen them. !"amples are
sets% permutations% relations% $raphs% trees%
and /nite state machines.
1oals of a Course in Discrete
Mathematics

Algorithmic Thinking# 4ne ay to solve many problems is to

specify an al$orithm. 'n al$orithm is a se)uence of steps that
can be folloed to solve any instance of a particular problem.
'l$orithmic thin&in$ involves specifyin$ al$orithms% analy5in$
the memory and time re)uired by an e"ecution of the al$orithm%
and verifyin$ that the al$orithm ill produce the correct anser.

Applications and Modeling# It is important to appreciate and

understand the ide ran$e of applications of the topics in
discrete mathematics and develop the ability to develop ne
models in various domains. Concepts from discrete mathematics
have not only been used to address problems in computin$% but
have been applied to solve problems in many areas such as
chemistry% biolo$y% lin$uistics% $eo$raphy% business% etc.
Discrete Mathematics is a 1ateay
Course

2opics in discrete mathematics ill be important in many

courses that you ill ta&e in the future#

Computer Science# Computer 'rchitecture% Data ,tructures%

'l$orithms% +ro$rammin$ Lan$ua$es% Compilers% Computer
,ecurity% Databases% 'rti/cial Intelli$ence% 6etor&in$%
1raphics% 1ame Desi$n% 2heory of Computation% 77

Mathematics# Lo$ic% ,et 2heory% +robability% 6umber

2heory% 'bstract 'l$ebra% Combinatorics% 1raph 2heory%
1ame 2heory% 6etor& 4ptimi5ation% 7

2he concepts learned ill also be helpful in continuous areas of

mathematics.

Other Disciplines# 8ou may /nd concepts learned here

useful in courses in philosophy% economics% lin$uistics% and
other departments.