Spring Quarter 2001. UCSD.
Time: M-W 12:20-1:10
Room: Petersen 108
Instructor: Rick Grush (rick@mind.ucsd.edu)
Office Hours: Tu 1-2; Wed 2-3; by appointment. HSS 7038
Office Phone: 822-4440
TAs
| Sections | Office Hours | Office | |
| Ryan Hickerson rhickers@ucsd.edu |
01 M 08:00a - 08:50a CENTR 222 04 M 4:40p - 5:30p PETER 103 |
MW 1:30-2:30 | 7055 HSS |
| Casey Schroeder caschroe@ucsd.edu |
02 M 2:30p - 3:20p PETER 102 03 M 3:35p - 4:25p PETER 103 |
MW 11-12 | 8073 HSS |
| Cory Wright sarahbellum@mad.scientist.com |
05 W 1:25p - 2:15p CSB 005 06 F 09:05a - 09:55a CSB 005 |
W 10-12 | 7089 HSS |
[ Schedule
]
[ Grades ]
[ Practice Exams
]
[ Exam Statistics ]
[ Email list ]
Short Description:
Content. This course consists of two parts. In the first we will cover the basics of formal sentential logic, including transaltions into formal notation, truth tables, and proofs. In the second part, we will study infomral reasoning, focusing on ways that it can commonly go wrong.
Structure. There are two lectures per week, and one discussion section. Grages are based on exams given in class, and problem sets assigned and collected in sections.
Text(s). The text for the course is Basic Sentential Logic and Informal Fallacies (BSLIF), which is available through University Readers. There is also a text A Concise Introduction to Logic (CIL) available at the bookstore, but this text is not required. There are also a number of copies of CIL on reserve in the library.
Schedule:
Each session number is followed by the date of the lecture, and then the sections of the text that correspond to the lectures. Some sessions have a 'PS##' listed, which indicates the rough due date of problem sets. The problem sets will be collected in section, and so your section leader will tell you exactly when they are due.
Session 01 (04.02): BSLIF 1.1
Session 02 (04.04): BSLIF 1.1, 1.2. PS01. [Additional excercises for PS01]
Session 03 (04.09): BSLIF 2.1. PS02. [Additional excercises for PS02]
Session 04 (04.11): BSLIF 2.2, 2.3.
Session 05 (04.16): BSLIF 2.4. PS03. [Additional excercises for PS03]
Session 06 (04.18): BSLIF 2.5.
Session 07 (04.23): Midterm One
Session 08 (04.25): BSLIF 3.1. PS04. [Additional excercises for PS04]
Session 09 (04.30): BLCR 3.2.
Session 10 (05.02): BSLIF 3.3. PS05. [Additional excercises for PS05]
Session 11 (05.07): BSLIF 3.4.
Session 12 (05.09): BSLIF 3.5. PS06. [Additional excercises for PS06]
Session 13 (05.14): Midterm Two
Session 14 (05.16): BSLIF 4.1, 4.2, 4.3, 4.4
Session 15 (05.21): BSLIF 4.5, 4.6, 5.1, 5.2. PS07.
Session 16 (05.23): BSLIF 5.3, 5.4, 5.5, 5.6. PS08.
05.28 Memorial Day
Session 17 (05.30): BSLIF 5.7, 6.1, 6.2.
Session 18 (06.04): BSLIF 6.3, 6.4. PS09.
Session 19 (06.06): Midterm Three
Final Exam: Wednesday June 13 11:30 - 2:30 p.m.
Grades:
There will be 1000 points possible for the course. This is broken down as possible: 200 for each of three midterms exams, for a total of 600. The final is worth 300 points. And the section grade, based on homework, is worth 100 points.
No make-up exams will be given. If you miss an exam for a legitimate reason, such as serious medical injury or illness, then the points will be made up in the following way: The final exam is 300 points, consisting of three sections each worth 100 points. Each of these sections corresponds to material covered in one of the midterms. If a student misses a midterm exam for a legitimate reason, then the points that the student earns on that section of the final that corresponds to the missed exam will be multiplied by two, and that number used for the student's exam score. [Note: The final exam will have some questions, in each section, that are more challenging than those on the midterm exams, since presumably you will have had more time to master the material by the time the final comes around.] There will be an early final offered for those students who, for whatever reason, wish to take it early. Time and location will be announced in class toward the end of term.
Extra Credit:
It is possible to earn a small amount of extra credit in this course, a maximum of 30 points per student (3 percent of the total course point total, which is not trivial, as often grade cut-offs are separated by 2 to 4 percentage points, e.g. it might easily be the case that 87% is the B+ cut-off, while 90% is the A- cut-off). This is earned through finding, and sending to me, actual examples either in print (letters to editor, books, whatever) or actual conversations you've had, examples of informal fallacies of the sort we will be discussing in the second part of this course. These can either be examples of fallacies, or examples of things that look like informal fallacies but are actually not fallacious. Examples from print should be accompanied by a citation of where it was printed, in cases of actual conversations, the time it occurred. In cases where more than one person sends the same example, only the first one sent to me will receive credit. Also, it has to be a good, eaxmple (something I can use in future classes as an example). Each good submission will get 5 points.
Practice Exams:
Here you can find to practice exams for each midterm and for the final. These exams are identical in format, and very similar in content and difficulty to the real exam you will be given. There are also solutions for each. I recommend using them in the following way. First, before taking either of them, prepare by doing the homework and going over your notes, etc. Then, take one exam, giving yourself the same amount of time as you will have for the real exam (about 45 minutes for a midterm, and two hours for the final). Then, check your exam against the solutions. This should give you an idea of what material you need to work on more. Do some more preparation, focusing on the areas in which you need to improve, and then take the second practice exam and check your answers.
| Midterm One | Practice Exam 1A Practice Exam 1B |
Solutions to 1A Solutions to 1B |
| Midterm Two | Practice Exam 2A Practice Exam 2B |
Solutions to 2A Solutions to 2B |
| Midterm Three | Practice Exam 3A Practice Exam 3B |
Solutions to 3A Solutions to 3B |
| Final Exam | Practice Exam 4A Practice Exam 4B |
Solutions to 4A Solutions to 4B |
PS04
Grading Key -- a .pdf document
of about 16k, written by Ryan Hickerson (thanks, Ryan!).
Solutions
for Midterm 2.
Exam Statistics:
I will post exam averages here when that information is available.
There are email distribution lists for this course, one for each section:
logicM800@mind.ucsd.edu
logicM230@mind.ucsd.edu
logicM335@mind.ucsd.edu
logicM440@mind.ucsd.edu
logicW125@mind.ucsd.edu
logicF905@mind.ucsd.edu
It is required that you subscribe to the list for your discussions section. The purpose of the list to allow me and the TAs to distribute information regarding due dates for assignments, changes of schedule, etc.
To subscribe, you simply need to send a message to the following address (the message must be sent from the account that you want to be subscribed):
To subscribe to logicM800@mind.ucsd.edu
send a message to sub-logicM800@mind.ucsd.edu
To subscribe to logicM230@mind.ucsd.edu send a message to sub-logicM230@mind.ucsd.edu
To subscribe to logicM335@mind.ucsd.edu send a message to sub-logicM335@mind.ucsd.edu
To subscribe to logicM440@mind.ucsd.edu send a message to sub-logicM440@mind.ucsd.edu
To subscribe to logicW125@mind.ucsd.edu send a message to sub-logicW125@mind.ucsd.edu
To subscribe to logicF905@mind.ucsd.edu send a message to sub-logicF905@mind.ucsd.edu
The subject line and any content in the message are ignored. You only need to send the message to the appropriate address from the account that you want to be subscribed.
How to do well in this course:
Attend the lectures, and read the corresponding chapters of the text before the lecture. Attend the discussion sections, and do all homework assigned by the TA. Use the homework, and other non-assigned exercises (in the text or on the website or in the Hurley text) to determine for yourself how well you have mastered the material. If you need additional help, ask your TA or myself. We have office hours. The earilier you get clear on some issue that is giving you trouble, the better it will be for everybody.
For each exam, I will provide 2 practice axams available from this website. I recommend that before the actual exam, you administer one of the exams to yourself, giving yourself only 50 minutes. Then grade your exam (answers will also be provided on this website). This will allow you to find what material, if any, you need to work on some more. Consult myself or the TA, or simply do more excercises of the type you need to improve on until you feel you have mastered this material. Repeat the proceedure with the second practice exam.
This will be a very manageable class IF you simply keep up with the material, regularly practice by doing exercises, and ask for help as soon as you need it.