W4261 Introduction to Cryptography: Homework

Required readings (if any) will be posted on the lectures page, and will also be announced in the announcements section on the main page. Below are instructions for the written homework (which will be due roughly every two weeks).

Submission Instructions:

• Homeworks should be submitted in PDF format via Gradescope.
• We strongly recommend typesetting, e.g. using LaTeX. You can use this sample file and this class file [last updated 2/3/22] to generate a pdf with LaTeX. If you are not familiar with LaTeX, it is a great skill to learn and there are plenty of good online guides such as Oetiker's Not So Short Introduction. Scanned handwritten homeworks will also be accepted, but we will not spend much effort trying to decipher handwriting we find illegible.
• We will grade answers not only for correctness, but also for clarity. We grade what you wrote, not what you meant. If you do not know how to solve some question, you may write "I don't know how to do this", and you will receive 15% of the credit for that question.
• If you submit more than one solution to a problem, we will grade whichever solution we want (we will likely choose the worst one or the one that is easiest to grade). If you would like to receive feedback on more than one solution you may include more than one, but clearly indicate which is the solution to be graded.

Regrade Requests:

• Regrade requests can be submitted through gradescope within two weeks (preferably less) of the grades being released. Before asking for a regrade, please carefully read both the solutions (available on courseworks) and the rubric (available on gradescope).
• If we find that we made a mistake in our grading we will update your score accordingly (and consistently with the rubric that is applied to all). Such an update may cause your score to go up or down.

Bonus Problems:

• There will be occasional bonus problems on the homework. Those are intended mostly for fun and extra challenge to those who want it, and will not influence the grade for most students. In particular, all scores are weighed and curved and initial letter-grade cutoffs are determined ignoring any bonus points. Only then, and only if a student is close to a cutoff point for some letter grade, the bonus point may push the grade up.

Lateness and Collaboration Policy:

• You are allowed 6 late days total for the semester, but no more than 4 days for any one homework. Late days are counted in increments of 24 hours, and cannot be subdivided. Late days beyond the allotted six late days will be penalized at a rate of 10% of the initial grade per late day (and again, days cannot be subdivided, and you can never use more than 4 late days for any one homework). In some cases we may announce further restrictions to late days (e.g. not allow any late days) for a specific homework assignment. To request an exception in case of an emergency, have your advisor/dean contact the professor.
• If you consult any outside reference such as a textbook or lecture notes (other than the required textbook and your own notes), you must acknowledge it on your submission, and make sure all the solutions you submit are your own.
• You may discuss the homework problems with other students. My recommendation is to first think through the problems on your own, and then discuss with another student or two. In any case, you must (1) list the names of every person you discussed with on your submission, and (2) write the solution on your own. No student may look at written solutions of any other student prior to submitting their own (no "comparison" or "checking" of your solutions with each other).
• The above use of outside sources and participation in discussion groups is allowed (and encouraged) for the purpose of facilitating deeper understanding, learning, and having fun. It is not to be used for the purpose of finding ready solutions that you can use on your homework. For example, you may never consult solved homework for any other class. If you are in doubt whether something is allowed, ask the professor. Academic dishonesty will not be tolerated.
• All students are assumed to be aware of the computer science department academic honesty policy.

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