| I'm not sure if this is universally true or not, but the algorithms courses at the universities I'm familiar with require a course in discrete math as a prerequisite. You can find Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics (an Applied Introduction), 5th Edition, Ralph P. Grimaldi online and an answer key can be found online as well. (This book covers two discrete math courses. Chapters 1-5, 7, 8, 12 is a first course in discrete math. I'm not sure what chapters the second course covers, but that requires linear algebra as a prerequisite.) It's not perfect, but it's a start. I think you need to be familiar with some high school algebra, exponents, and logarithms. You can find some review information in the appendix. If you have troubles with recalling that information, then you can try Khan academy. (It really is an if you don't use it, you lose it situation with much of math.) You're probably aware of this already, but most people don't read the book and come away with the knowledge required to solve the problems. You'll need to work through the examples in the chapter, be able to recall the definitions and theorems, and then work the exercises at the back of the book. I think the discussion of proof methods is pretty poor in the book. You can find many intro to proof method type supplemental notes online to help fill in the details. There really is so much information out there that you can pretty much always find an alternative explanation or viewpoint for undergrad level material. Many profs will post their own lecture notes, homework, and solutions. There are some math forums that have explanations. So find a book you're reasonably comfortable with and supplement it with extra material. |