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Discrete Mathematics for Computing (Draft)

Chapter 3 Symbolic Logic, Boolean Algebra, and Flow Control

A draft version of this chapter is complete, however it still has several needs. For example, a greater variety of MyOpenMath problems need to be written and then embedded into the text. There are several placeholder checkpoint exercises now, but those will eventually swapped out for more dynamic versions of problems in the future. The following outline the primary needs:
  • In Section 3.1, more examples of identifying statements are needed. I’ll have to plan out how to randomly produce samples using MyOpenMath macros. This is doable with random selection and arrays, but it will take some thinking to ensure that the structure of the generated statements is not identical.
  • In Section 3.2, I want randomly generated logical statements and dynamically created truth tables in the MyOpenMath problems. I think this is doable with conditional statements, but I have questions about the problem displays. Look to some of the matrix problems I’ve written for linear algebra where the size of the answer matrix is dynamic. A similar solution should work here.
  • In Section 3.3, problems need to be written. Look at Doug Ensley’s Boolean Proof problems. Writing problems similar to these will be a reasonable first pass.