C_S486 — Spring 2014
Texas A&M University Central Texas
C_S 486-110 Artificial Intelligence
TH 4 Pm to 5:30 Pm
Instructor:
Office:
Phone:
Email:
Office Hours:
Dr. Timothy G. Woodcock
323G - Founders Hall
254-519-5783
WoodcockTG@ct.tamus.edu
TR – Noon - 3:00 PM and W – Noon – 5:30 PM and by appointment
Student-instructor interaction:
I will be checking and responding to student emails during office hours. Additionally, I will check emails at
least once on Mondays and Fridays. I will return phone calls during office hours.
Course Overview and description:
A study of the structures and strategies needed for complex problem solving.
Course Objectives:
Upon the completion of the course, students should be able to
1. Create and solve problems in predicate calculus
2. Identify and evaluate Heuristic Search strategies
3. Implement algorithms for State Space Search
4. Demonstrate knowledge representation
5. Implement expert systems, neural networks, and genetic algorithms
Required Reading and Textbook(s):
Required Texts:
Artificial Intelligence, 6th ed.; Luger; Pearson; 2013.
Note: A student of this institution is not under any obligation to purchase a textbook from a
university-affiliated bookstore. The same textbook may also be available from an independent
retailer, including an online retailer.
Course Requirements :
There will be two exams given this semester, a midterm and a final exam. Each will be worth 100 points.
These exams will be given in class.
C_S486 — Spring 2014
Programming Assignments
There will be four programming assignments each worth 100 points. These will be assigned in
Blackboard as the semester progresses.
Homework Assignments
There will be four homework assignments each worth 50 points. These will be assigned in Blackboard as
the semester progresses.
Term Papers
There will be a Research Paper worth 200 points each. Each student is required to write a major paper
on a topic from the course that is of interest to you. The topic for paper one must be approved by the
professor by the end of the first live class.
You will be expected to research the topic, show the current state of the art, make a hypothesis, and draw
a conclusion in your paper.
This paper must be 10 to 15 pages in length (type written and double-spaced, 12-point font with 1 inch
margins) excluding bibliography, table of contents, graphics, tabular or illustrative material. References
should include current sources and must conform to IEEE style. (For IEEE style manual see:
http://www.ieee.org/documents/stylemanual.pdf.) The paper is expected to meet graduate-level
standards and be suitable for publication in a professional journal. References must be from peer
reviewed journals only. Use of Wikipedia or the class text as a reference will cause a serious loss of
points. References must include the published journal name and information, NOT just a URL where you
found the paper. Papers without citations will receive zero points.
Term Paper Grading
Rubric
Paper topic approved
before second class
meeting.
15 points
Suitable for publication in
an IEEE journal
Partially met the
criteria
Late
7 points
Did not meet criteria
In IEEE style
50 points
Incomplete or
incorrect
10 to 40 points
Not in IEEE style
0 points
Only website
references
10 to 35 points
No references or use of
Wikipedia or class text. Only
URL’s in reference.
0 points
Spelling and grammar
25 points
Some references
from peer reviewed
journals or
conferences
45 points
No issues
25 points
Writing style and page
length.
65 points
Clear and well
organized.
65 points
Using passive voice or
minor grammar issues
20 to 5 points
Ideas not well
expressed or paper
poorly organized.
50 to 10 points
More than 10 grammar or
spelling issues.
0 points
Very unclear.
0 points.
In IEEE style
50 points
Sufficient references
45 points
Met the criteria
On time.
15 points
Not approved/submitted
0 points
C_S486 — Spring 2014
Unless prior arrangements have been made, all late assignments will lose 30% of the available points before
being graded.
Grading Computation
Item
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Team project
Research Paper
Online Activities
Percentage
100
100
400
200
200
Complete Course Calendar
Date
Content
1/14/2014
Chapter 1 & 2
1/21/2014
Chapter 2
1/28/2014
Chapter 3
2/4/2014
Chapter 4
2/8/2014
Chapter 5
2/11/2014
Chapter 6
2/18/2014
Chapter 7
2/25/2014
Chapter 8
3/4/2014
Midterm Exam
3/11/2014
Spring Break
3/18/2014
Chapter 9
3/25/2014
Chapter 10
4/1/2014
Chapter 11
4/8/2014
Chapter 12
4/15/2014
Chapter 13
4/22/2014
Chapter 14
4/29/2014
Chapters 15 & 16
5/6/2014
Final Exam
GRADE
A:
B:
C:
D:
F:
TOTAL
WEIGHT
90-100%
80-89.9%
70-79.9%
60-69.9%
below 60%
C_S486 — Spring 2014
COURSE AND UNIVERSITY PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
Drop Policy
If you discover that you need to drop this class, you must go to the Records Office and ask for the necessary
paperwork. Professors cannot drop students; this is always the responsibility of the student. The record’s office will
provide a deadline for which the form must be returned, completed and signed. Once you return the signed form to
the records office and wait 24 hours, you must go into Duck Trax and confirm that you are no longer enrolled. If
you are still enrolled, FOLLOW-UP with the records office immediately. You are to attend class until the procedure
is complete to avoid penalty for absence. Should you miss the deadline or fail to follow the procedure, you will
receive an F in the course.
Academic Integrity
Texas A&M University - Central Texas expects all students to maintain high standards of personal and scholarly
conduct. Students found responsible of academic dishonesty are subject to disciplinary action. Academic dishonesty
includes, but is not limited to, cheating on an examination or other academic work, plagiarism, collusion, and the
abuse of resource materials. The faculty member is responsible for initiating action for each case of academic
dishonesty and report the incident to the Associate Director of Student Conduct. More information can be found at
http://www.tamuct.edu/departments/studentconduct/facultyresources.php.
Disability Support Services
If you have or believe you have a disability and wish to self-identify, you can do so by providing documentation to
the Disability Support Coordinator. Students are encouraged to seek information about accommodations to help
assure success in their courses. Please contact Vanessa Snyder at (254) 501-5836 or visit Founder's Hall 114.
Additional information can be found at http://www.tamuct.edu/departments/disabilitysupport/index.php.
Tutoring
Tutoring is available to all TAMUCT students, both on-campus and online. Subjects tutored include Accounting,
Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, and Writing (APA). Tutors are available at the Tutoring Center in Founder's Hall,
Room 204, and also in the Library in the North Building. Visit www.ct.tamus.edu/AcademicSupport and click
"Tutoring Support" for tutor schedules and contact info. If you have questions, need to schedule a tutoring session,
or if you're interested in becoming a tutor, contact Academic Support Programs at 254-501-5830 or by emailing
cecilia.morales@ct.tamus.edu.
Chat live with a tutor 24/7 for almost any subject on your computer! Tutor.com is an online tutoring platform that
enables TAMU-CT students to log-in and receive FREE online tutoring and writing support. This tool provides
tutoring in Mathematics, Writing, Career Writing, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Spanish, Calculus, and Statistics. To
access Tutor.com, click on www.tutor.com/tamuct.
Library Services
INFORMATION LITERACY focuses on research skills, which prepare individuals to live and work in an
information-centered society. Librarians will work with students in the development of critical reasoning, ethical use
of information, and the appropriate use of secondary research techniques. Help may include, yet is not limited to:
exploration of information resources such as library collections and services, identification of subject databases and
scholarly journals, and execution of effective search strategies. Library Resources are outlined and accessed at.
http://www.tarleton.edu/centraltexas/departments/library/
C_S486 — Spring 2014
UNILERT
Emergency Warning System for Texas A&M University – Central Texas
UNILERT is an emergency notification service that gives Texas A&M University-Central Texas the ability to
communicate health and safety emergency information quickly via email and text message. By enrolling in
UNILERT, university officials can quickly pass on safety-related information, regardless of your location.
Please enroll today at http://TAMUCT.org/UNILERT
INSTRUCTOR POLICIES
Students should come to class prepared, ready to ask questions and participate in discussions.
While in other classes, the direct quoting of other authors is considered acceptable; in this class, it is not acceptable.
You may not directly quote any other published paper, web site, or textbook in any writing assignment, including
papers, homework, discussion boards, PowerPoint presentations, or any other written assignments. The simple
reason for this is that copying (quoting) is a lower level skill. However, reading, understanding, and then
communicating the ideas in your own words is a high level skill. Paraphrasing is a skill that I want you to develop.
Dr. Woodcock reserves the right to modify this syllabus during the semester.
Instructor Information
Dr. Woodcock has a PhD in Computer Science from Florida Atlantic University. He has over 25 years of real world
experience working for IBM and Sony-Ericsson. Dr. Woodcock believes that you will learn best by being engaged
in class, asking questions, participating in discussion, and doing the hands on exercises.
This class will be a lot of work, but it will also be fun.