MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE of CUNY
Department of Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences
Department Office, Carroll 417 - Phone 718-270-6453
“Time, Effort, Integrity”
Introduction to Computing (CS 151)
Course Syllabus - 4 class hours, 3 credits
Course Description:This course introduces the fundamental concepts of the discipline of computing, emphasizing elementary facts concerning computer architecture, programming languages, software methodology, and algorithms. Students learn how to solve problems using an appropriate block-structured high-level programming language. Programming topics include: basic data structures, control structures, data and procedure abstraction, functions and function parameters, and pointers.
Note:Microsoft Visual Studio (C++) is used to develop and implement programming algorithms. Although CS 151 assumes no prior programming experience, C++ is a complex programming language and requires a high degree of mathematical maturity.
Perquisites: MTH 130 Corequisites: MTH 151
Required Textbook: Starting Out with C++ : From Control Structures through Objects
By Tony Gaddis(Sixth Edition)
Pearson Education - Publishers * ISBN 10: 0-321-54588-5 * ISBN 13: 978-0-321-54588-6
Course Requirements: All students have the responsibility to arrive on time, attend class regularly, and to participate fully in the work of the course. Additionally, students are not to work on other materials in class. Assigned readings, problems and programs should be completed before class. Several computer programs (using C++) will be assigned to reinforce the concepts presented in class. Unless you own or have access to equivalent hardware and software, plan on spending a lot of time on campus.
Grading Procedure: The final grade will be determined objectively by using a weighted average along with the following weighted areas: computer programs, chapter examinations, homework assignments, and the final examination. Check with the college catalog for information regarding the official grading policy. Note that missed chapter examinations cannot be made-up. The lowest score from all chapter examinations will be dropped, before calculating the final average, provided all class examinations are taken. Programming projects submitted after the stated deadline will receive a reduced grade. Programming projects submitted more than three class meetings, or ten days -- which ever is shorter -- after the stated deadline will not be accepted, and a grade of F will be recorded for that project.
Academic Requirements and Regulations: Students who officially withdraw from a course between the 4th through the 8th week receive a grade of W, which is not counted in computing the grade point average. Courses officially dropped after the 8th week of class will appear as a WF and count as an F grade. INC (Incomplete) or ABS (absent) grades will only be given to students who are passing the course.
Honor Code and Plagiarism: Students are required to sign and adhere to the departmental honor pledge. Check with the department for a copy of the pledge.
CUNY Proficiency Examination (CPE)
The CPE is a graduation requirement. All students between 45-60 credits are required to sit for and pass the CPE. You have only three chances to pass this examination. Each missed scheduled examination after the 45 credit mark counts as a failure. For more information about this requirement, contact the Medgar Evers College CPE Liaison.
MEDGAR EVERS COLLEGE of CUNY
Department of Physical, Environmental and Computer Sciences
Introduction to Computing (CS 151)
Course Outline
Chapter/Sections Topics
Week 1 INTRODUCTION to COMPUTERS and PROGRAMMING
(1.2 to 1.7)Computer Systems – Hardware and Software; Programs and Programming Languages; Common Programming Language Elements; Input, Processing, and Output; Designing and Creating a Program; Procedural and Object Oriented Programming.
Weeks 2 - 3INTRODUCTION TO C++
(2.1 to 2.15)Parts of a C++ Program; cout Object; include Directive; Variables, Literals, and Identifiers; Data Types, Assignment Statements and Variable Initialization; Scope; Arithmetic Operators; Comments and Programming Style.
Using the Microsoft Visual Studio IDE (Interactive Development Environment) to Create, Compile, and Execute Visual C++ Win 32 Console Programs
Weeks 4 - 5 EXPRESSIONS AND INTERACTIVITY
(3.1 to 3.3)cin Object; Mathematical Expressions; Type Conversions and Type Casting;
(3.5 to 3.9)Constants; Multiple and Combined Assignments; Formatted Input and Output;
(3.11 to 3.14)Mathematical Library Functions; Hand Tracing; Introducing to File Input and Output.
Week 6 - 7 MAKING DECISIONS
(4.1 to 4.16)Relational Operators; if/if-else Statements; Multiple if/else Statements; Nested if Statements; Logical Operators and Validating User Input; Scope; Comparing Strings; Conditional Operators; Switch Statement.
Weeks 8 - 9LOOPING
(5.1 to 5.13) Increment and Decrement Operators; while/do..while Loops; for Loops; Running Totals; Sentinel Controlled while Loops; Reading Data from a File Using a while Loop; Nested Loops; Break and Continue Statements.
Weeks 10 - 11 FUNCTIONS
(6.1 to 6.13)Defining and Calling Functions; Function Prototypes; Sending Data to a Function; Passing Data by Value; Returning Values from a Function; Local and Global Variables; Static Variables; Default Arguments; Reference Variables and Parameters.
Weeks 12 - 13ARRAYS
(7.1 to 7.9)Declaring Arrays; Input/Output of Array Contents; Array Initialization;
(7.11)Processing Arrays; Relationships between Arrays; Arrays and Functions; Two Dimensional Arrays; Arrays and Strings; Case Study.
Week 14 - 15POINTERS: AN INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
(9.1 to 9.7)Pointer Variables; Pointers and Arrays; Pointer Arithmetic; Initializing and Comparing Pointers; Pointers and Functions.
