Secret Codes: Making and Breaking from Ancient to Present

HON 2515 Section 108, Spring 2012

MWF, 10:00 – 10:50 AM, Walker 105

Instructor: Dr. Rick Klima

Office: Walker 345

Office Phone: 262-2378

Office Hours: MTWRF from 11:00 AM – 12:00 PM

MW from 3:00 – 4:00 PM

Email Address: klimare@appstate.edu

Web Page: http://www.appstate.edu/~klimare

Course Text: Secret Codes: Making and Breaking from Ancient to Present, a coursepack available in printed form from the ASU bookstore and in electronic form upon request

Course Information:

Description: Students will learn details about several types of cryptographic systems, including classical systems like Caesar and Playfair ciphers and the Enigma machine, and modern systems like RSA and the Advanced Encryption Standard. For most of these systems, students will consider the perspective of both a codemaker and a codebreaker.

Homework: At the end of most of our class meetings, some homework exercises will be assigned, for which solutions will be collected at the beginning of the next class meeting. These solutions will be graded, and will count as 70% of your final average in the course. Some of these homework exercises will require the use of Maplets, which are like Java applets but use the mathematics software package Maple. All Maplets will be demonstrated in class, and posted on my web page as they are needed. If you are ever absent from any class meeting, you will find the homework exercises assigned that day on the calendar for this course posted on my web page shortly after the class meeting ends, and you will still be responsible for turning in your solutions on time with the rest of the class. So you should check the calendar for this course posted on my web page every time you are absent to find out the homework exercises assigned in your absence, and make plans to talk with me in my office or by email or phone immediately if you need any help on the course material presented in your absence. Late solutions will be accepted anytime through 10:00 AM on Friday, May 4 (the start of our last regular class meeting) three times per student so you will not be penalized for a class you miss due to unexpected circumstances.

Midterm Projects: A few weeks after the semester begins you will choose a partner and topic for a midterm project. These projects will require both a short slideshow presentation and a short typed report, and will count as 15% of your final average in the course. These presentations will be given and the reports due during the last week of classes before spring break, and you must be present for all of the presentations in order to receive any credit for your own midterm project.

Final Projects: A few weeks before the semester ends you will choose a partner and topic for a final project. These projects will also require both a short slideshow presentation and a short typed report, and will count as the last 15% of your final average in the course. These presentations will be given and the reports due during our regularly scheduled final exam period, from 12:00 – 2:30 PM on Wednesday, May 9, and you must be present for all of the presentations in order to receive any credit for your own final project.

Inclement Weather/Campus Emergency/Class Cancellation: If any class meeting is canceled due to inclement weather or a campus emergency, you will be responsible for any assignments and/or announcements given on the calendar for this course posted on my web page. Also, if I need to cancel any class meeting for any reason, I will announce this on the calendar for this course posted on my web page and/or in an email sent from klimare@appstate.edu to your (your username)@appstate.edu email address. If you receive any announcement about this class from any email address other than klimare@appstate.edu, you should not consider it as coming from me, and ignore it. If you fail to do this, you will be assigned a grade of zero on any graded assignment you miss as a result, and you will be responsible for any assignments and/or announcements given on the calendar for this course posted on my web page.

Academic Integrity Code: Appalachian State University’s Academic Integrity Code is designed to create an atmosphere of trust, respect, fairness, honesty, and responsibility. The Academic Integrity Code outlines user-friendly procedures and mechanisms for resolving alleged violations of academic integrity. The Academic Integrity Code is the result of cooperation among Appalachian’s faculty, students, and administrators, and promotes a campus dialogue about academic integrity. All members of the Appalachian State University community are responsible for promoting an ethical learning environment. Students attending Appalachian State University agree upon submitting an admission application to abstain from lying, cheating, and stealing to gain academic advantage, and oppose every instance of academic dishonesty. The complete Academic Integrity Code can be found at http://studentconduct.appstate.edu/.

Disability Services: Appalachian State University is committed to making reasonable accommodations for individuals with documented qualifying disabilities in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. If you have a disability and may need reasonable accommodations in order to have equal access to the University’s courses, programs and activities, please contact the Office of Disability Services (828-262-3056 or http://www.ods.appstate.edu). Once registration is complete, individuals will meet with ODS staff to discuss eligibility and appropriate accommodations.

Attendance: It is the policy of Appalachian State University that class attendance is an important part of a student’s educational experience. Students are expected to attend every meeting of their classes and are responsible for class attendance. In addition, all ASU students are allowed a minimum of two absences per year for religious observances, including religious holidays, holy days, or similar observances associated with a student’s faith that require absence from class. Up to two absences for such observances will be excused, without penalty to the student, provided that the student has informed the instructor before the absences occur and no later than three weeks after the start of the semester.

Student Engagement with Courses: In its mission statement, Appalachian State University aims at providing undergraduate students a rigorous liberal education that emphasizes transferable skills and preparation for professional careers as well as maintaining a faculty whose members serve as excellent teachers and scholarly mentors for their students. Such rigor means that the foremost activity of Appalachian students is an intense engagement with their courses. In practical terms, students should expect to spend two to three hours of studying for every hour of class time.

Grading: Final letter grades will be assigned at the end of the semester based on your final course average using the following scale:

92.00-100% = A

90.00-91.99% = A–

87.50-89.99% = B+

82.50-87.49% = B

80.00-82.49% = B–

77.50-79.99% = C+

72.50-77.49% = C

70.00-72.49% = C–

67.50-69.99% = D+

62.50-67.49% = D

60.00-62.49% = D–

0-59.99% = F