Core 5.1: General Information

Textbooks

  1. Reed, A Balanced Introduction to Computer Science, Pearson Prentice-Hall, 2005, ISBN #013046709X.
  2. a Course Pak consisting of selections from various sources. The sourcebook will be available at the bookstore Shakespeare & Co., 14 Hillel Place, (718)434-5326 (right near the Flatbush Ave. entrance to the College). Ask for the Core 5.1 CoursePak.

Check here for a list of recommended supplementary textbooks.

Course Requirements

labs, homework assignments, attendance 1/3 of final grade
2 exams 1/3
final exam (cumulative) 1/3

Classrooms

The class meets for one 50-minute session in a regular classroom and for one 50-minute session in a computer lab.

Bulletin Description

1 hour lecture, 1 hour laboratory; 1.5 credits.

The nature, power and limits of the computer and computing. The components of the computer. Computer networks. Information representation. Introduction to algorithms, problem-solving, and computer programming.

(Not open to students who are enrolled in, or have completed, any course in Computer and Information Science numbered 1.10 or higher with a grade of C or higher, or who have completed Core Studies 5.)

Prerequisites:

A high school course in intermediate algebra or Course 2 of the New York State Sequential Mathematics Curriculum, or Mathematics 0.35 or 0.44 with a grade of at least C-, or Mathematics 0.36 or 0.04, or the equivalent.

Discussion

An understanding of both the limits of a computer and the relationship between computers and modern society emerges. This course develops students' abilities to formulate solutions to problems as algorithms, and implement the algorithms as simple computer programs.