Assignments, CPSC 418 / MATH 318, Winter 2024

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Policies and Guidelines

Format All written problems must be typeset using LaTeX. We recommend that you use the LaTeX template posted under each assignment. Additional LaTeX resources can be found on the latex page. Scans of hand-written work and solutions generated with a word processor such as MS Word or OpenOffice will not be graded and will receive zero marks.

The top of the first page of each written assignment should contain the following information:

  • Course number and name
  • Assignment number
  • Your name (as it appears on D2L)
  • Your student ID number
Coding for the CPSC 418 programming problems must be done in Python.

Optional coding in support of any written problem, including any of the bonus problems common to CPSC 418 and MATH 318, can be done using any language or platform of your choice.

Appearance Neatness is essential. Use appropriate LaTeX formatting, math mode, display math etc. TAs may give reduced marks for messy or illegible work. Check and proof-read the PDF file of your solutions thoroughly for errors and proper formatting before submitting.
Presentation For the written problems, be sure to show all your work. Arguments must be succinct and proceed in a clear, connected, logical sequence. 'Correct' answers arrived at by faulty reasoning are not acceptable. Solutions containing statements which are false or nonsensical will be penalized. Credit will be given not only for a correct answer, but also for proper exposition.

For the programming problems, be sure to carefully follow the instructions specified on the problem sheet. Again, failure to do so risks penalties.

Originality Discussing problems with other students can be helpful. However, your assignment must be your own work, written in your own words. As a suggestion, when you are discussing assignments with others, do not take any writing away from these discussions to ensure your written work is truly your own. Any sources used to complete your assignment must be cited. It is strongly suggested, however, that you develop your own solutions without the use of such materials. Copying without proper attribution from other sources (texts, articles, internet, online tutors, solution manuals, solution keys from other courses, previous solution keys from this course, solutions done by fellow students etc) constitutes plagiarism, as does letting other students copy your work. Plagiarism is subject to University regulations on academic misconduct (see Section K of the University Calendar).
Deadlines Assignments must be submitted on time by the due date and time specified on the problem sheet and this website. You can submit work on Gradescope repeatedly and as often as you like, up to the due date. The online submission link will go down shortly after the deadline and the submission system flags late assignments. Late assignments may incur penalties and will not be accepted under any circumstances once the submission link is disabled. We recommend that you start working on the assignments early, especially if you have assignments and/or projects in multiple courses due around the same time.

ContentEach homework assignment consists of three parts:
  • Written problems that are common to and required for both CPSC 418 students and MATH 318 students.
  • Programming problems specific to and required only for CPSC 418 students. MATH 318 students can do these problems for limited extra credit.
  • Written problems specific to and required only for MATH 318 students. CPSC 418 students can do these problems for limited extra credit.
Bonus Credit Marks awarded for the extra credit problems depend on your overall score on the required problems. Extra credit is given according to the following formula.

For CPSC 418 students:   Extra credit = 0.005 x (Marks on the required problems) x (Marks on the MATH 318 Problems)
For MATH 318 students:   Extra credit = 0.005 x (Marks on the required problems) x (Marks on the CPSC 418 Problems)

Thus, for example, if the common required problems count for 62 marks and the CPSC 418/MATH 318 problems for 38 marks, then the maximal possible extra credit score is 0.005 x 100 x 38 = 19 bonus marks.

Additional extra credit can be obtained by solving challenge problems. These involve code-breaking and will be on material not covered in class, so they require some independent reading and/or research on your part. Their total point value is 34. Ten percent of your point score on the challenge problems will be added to your overall percentage score in this course. For the challenge problems, bonus credit will only be awarded for complete and correct solutions.

Please note that Gradescope does not have the capability for doing grade computations and only records raw point scores, so your bonus credit will not be reflected correctly on Gradescope. Your bonus credit will be computed appropriately at the end of the semester when your grades are calculated.

Assistance Feel free to reach out to your instructor and to ask questions in class, in tutorial and during office hours. We also strongly urge you to make use of Piazza to ask and answer questions. Apart from doing your fellow students a favour by helping them out, one of the best ways of ascertaining whether you understand material is by answering questions about it. Do not e-mail questions to your instructor or any of the TAs directly; if you want to contact one of us, Piazza has the option of posting to individual or subsets of instructors/TAs.

Specifications, Download and Submission Procedures

Assignments and challenge problems are available for download on the Piazza Resources page. Solution keys are posted there as well after the due date.

Solutions to assignments and challenge problems are submitted online through Gradescope. Your solutions to the common written problems, the MATH 318 specific written problems and the CPSC 418 specific programming code are all submitted separately.

You need to create a Gradescope account on the Canadian site if you don't already have one; if you have an account on gradescope.com, you will have to create a new one on gradescope.ca. Use your U of C e-mail address as it appears on D2L as your user name. Also, your surname (last name) as it appears on D2L should match the surname on your account. Then add our course to your account using the code 95V468.

Written Problems, including Challenge Problems

Programming Problems

For the sake of fairness and respect for our TAs' time and workload, please follow all these instructions carefully. Failure to conform to the submission procedure or the format specifications will incur penalties of varying degree.

Tentative Due Dates

All submissions are due at 11:55 pm local time on the due date. The tentative due dates are as follows:


Last modified by Renate Scheidler
https://cspages.ucalgary.ca/~rscheidl/crypto/assignments.html