22c145 - Artificial Intelligence

Fall 2000

Course Syllabus

Instructor

Office hours: Mon 3:30-5pm, Wed 2-3:30pm, or by appointment.

Teaching Assistant

George (Jed) Hagen
101K MLH
353-2542
ghagen@cs.uiowa.edu

Office hours: Tue 1-2:30pm, Fri 10-11:30am.

Lectures

TuTh 2:30-3:45pm, 110 McLean Hall.

Prerequisites

Grades of C- or above in 22C:034 and 22C:044.

Web Page

You are expected to check both the web site and its related bulletin board daily for announcements regarding the course.

Textbook

Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig. Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach. Prentice Hall, 1995.

In addition, a number of class notes and handouts will be available through the course web site.

Course Purpose

• an introduction to the basic assumptions behind artificial intelligence problem solving;
• exposure to a broad range of AI topics;
• practice translating artificial intelligence concepts into working programs;
• a basic tool-kit of AI algorithms, techniques and representation methods which can be applied to a wide variety of problems.

Homework

• Assignments. Several small written assignments and programming assignments will be given, covering the material from the text and lectures. All assignments will be collected and graded. They are to be done individually.
  Programming assignments will be in the Java programming language. Previous working knowledge of Java is required. If you do not know Java, you will have to learn it on your own. Pointers to Java handouts and tutorials will be provided on the course web site.

• Team Project. There might be one term project consisting of a major design/programming assignment. It will be a team project. Teams of 3,4 people will be formed by the instructor. Each team will choose a project among a list provided by the instructor.

Exams

There will be one midterm exam and one final exam. The midterm will be held during class time. The final exam will be held as per university schedule and last no more than 120 minutes.

Grading

The weighting of items in grade determination will be the following:

If we have team projects, or the following:

if we do not.

The following cutoffs will be used to determine letter grades. In the ranges below, x stands for your total score at the end of the semester. Final scores near a cutoff will be individually considered for the next higher grade. Plus(+) and minus(-) grades will also be given; their cutoffs will be determined at the end of the semester.

We do not curve grades in this course. It is theoretically possible for everyone in the class to get an A (or an F). Your final grade depends only on your own performance, not on how everyone else in the class does.

Course Policies

Textbook: You are expected to study all the material in each chapter covered in the readings even if that material is not explicitly discussed in class or in the homework. You are also expected to study the extra material presented in class which is not in the textbook. If you must miss a class, get notes from a classmate. Material presented in class, but not in the book may appear on tests.

Class notes: The class notes are a supplement to the course textbook. They are supposed to help you understand the textbook material better, they are not a replacement for the textbook.

Readings and discussions: You are urged to consult sources other than our text, including both reserve books and on-line material, even if there is no directed outside reading assignment. You are also encouraged to discuss the course topics with your classmates. It is a genuinely helpful learning activity having to formulate your own thoughts about the material well enough to express them to others.

Homework assignments: You are allowed and encouraged to discuss the homework assignments with your classmates, but you are not allowed to share solutions. Since the homework counts as a significant portion of your grade, it is expected that the submitted work be strictly your own.
(The following rule of thumb will help you not to cross the line: discuss the assigments together but do not take any written notes; go home and write the solution by yourself.)

Cheating: Copying someone else's work or sharing solutions will result in a zero on the assignment for the first offense and an F in the course for the second offense.

Late submissions: Written assignments are to be submitted in class, before the class starts. Late written assignments can be handed in during office hours or in class. Alternatively, they can be put in the instructor's or the TA's mailbox. In that case, you must notify us by email at once.
Programming assignments are to be submitted electronically by or after the given deadline, subject to the penalty and limitations below.
Both late written and programming assignments will be graded according to the following policy:

• 15% of the actual score will be taken off for assignments submitted between 0 and 24 hours after the deadline.
• 35% of the actual score will be taken off for assignments submitted between 24 and 48 hours after the deadline.
• No assignments will be accepted after that.

Team Project: If we have a team project, it will start in mid-semester. The project policy will be released then.

Attendance: Students are expected to attend all classes. Your knowledge and therefore your grade depends on it. You are responsible for all announcements and material covered during class even if you did not attend. In that case, check with the instructor or with your classmates.

Extra credit: No extra-credit homeworks or tests will be given on an individual basis (although they maybe given to the whole class).

Make-up exams: Make-up exams will be offered only if there is a serious, documented reason for not being able to attend a scheduled exam, and if the request is made at least a week before the scheduled exam.

Regrading: If you think that your homework assignment has been misgraded and deserves a regrading, you are invited to let us know. Go see the class TA first, and then the instructor, if you are unhappy with the TA's response. Regrading policies for the midterm will be announced in class when the graded exams are handed back. We welcome and will give full consideration to all well motivated regrading requests.

Special needs: The instructors must hear from anyone who has a disability that may require some modification of seating, testing, or other class requirements so that appropriate arrangements can be made. Please see the instructor after class or during office hours.

Computing Facilities

We will use the HP workstations in the CS Educational Lab in 301 MLH. Please see the instructor after class if do not have a CS account yet.

Outline