CMSC 110 (Introduction to Computing)

Spring 2011

Assignment#8  (optional)

Seniors:  Friday, May 6, 2011  (no late submissions accepted)

Non-Seniors:  Friday, May 13, 2011  (no late submissions accepted)

These are FIRM deadlines. No credit will be given for any late work.

Grading:  This assignment is purely optional.  You can choose to count it one of two ways.  At the top of your submission, you must tell me which way you would like me to count this assignment.

• Replacement Grade - your grade on this assignment can replace your lowest grade on one of the other seven projects.
• Extra Credit - your grade on this assignment can count as up to 3% extra credit toward your final grade in the course. [You may take this option only if you have submitted all seven other projects.]
  

Task:  You have a choice of two options for this assignment:

1. Design a piece of computational artwork.  The subject matter, format, level of interactivity, etc. are completely up to you.  However, your implementation must use at least one of the following concepts:  multi-dimensional arrays, recursion, working at the pixel-level, sorting, searching, lists, or hashmaps.
2. Research a topic of your chosing in computer science and write a brief report on it.  Some example topics are:  computer graphics for movies or games, women in computing, quantum computing, artificial intelligence, robotics,  cryptography and code breaking, or anything else that interests you in computer science.  Your report should be 4 pages in length, double spaced with 1" margins, and in 12 point font.  Your report may be in Microsoft Word .doc format or Adobe PDF.
   

What to Hand in: 

Depending on the option you choose, hand in either the entire sketch folder or your report in your Dropbox folder.   If you chose the computational artwork option, also include a brief write-up describing your artwork.  You must also submit a hard copy of either the write-up and source code (for option 1) or the report (for option 2).  Slip the hard copy under my office door before the deadline.  Don't forget to specify whether you want this to count as a replacement grade or for extra credit at the TOP of your submission.

SENIORS:  This is very important---since this assignment is optional, you must e-mail me when you submit your project to ensure that I know to look for it for grading.  (Non-seniors do not need to worry about e-mailing me when you submit your assignment.)