Course Description

6.02 introduces several concepts in electrical engineering and computer science using digital communication systems as the vehicle. The three parts of the course cover three corresponding layers of abstraction relevant to the system:

• Bits: binary representation, compression (source coding), and error correction (channel coding) for messages transmitted across a noisy link
• Signals: signal representation of binary messages for transmission across a shared physical channel subject to distortion and noise;
• Packets: efficient, reliable communication across networks made up of multiple links.

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Prerequisites: 6.0001
Units: 4-4-4
Requirements satisfied: Institute Lab

Schedule

Lectures: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2:00pm-3:00pm. Lectures will be recorded; most likely, each recording will be posted the day after the lecture is given.
Recitations: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10am; 11am; 1pm; 2pm

Section	Time	Instructor	Room
1	10:00am-11:00am	Crystal Wang	34-303
2	11:00am-12:00pm	Alexandre Megretski	34-303
3	1:00pm-2:00pm	Alexandre Megretski	34-301
4	2:00pm-3:00pm	Crystal Wang	34-301

Staff

Role	Name	Email
Lecturer	Katrina LaCurts	lacurts@mit.edu
Recitation Instructors	Alexandre Megretski	ameg@mit.edu
	Crystal Wang	cyqwang@mit.edu
Teaching Assistants (TAs)	Sreya Vangara	svangara@mit.edu
	Wesley Woo	weswoo@mit.edu
	Phi Xu	helenxu@mit.edu
Lab Assistants (LAs)	Jenny Li	jennyyli@mit.edu
	Erastus Murungi	murungi@mit.edu
	Noah Raby	nbr@mit.edu
	Tanya Yang	tanyang@mit.edu

Grading

Your grade in 6.02 will be the weighted average of the following component grades:

Exam 1	16%
Exam 2	16%
Exam 3	16%
Ten PSets	47% (5% each, except PS0, which is 2%)
Nanoquizzes	5%

To see your scores, use the Gradebook.

Final grades will be set starting with standard cutoffs: 90% and above corresponds to an A, 80% and above to a B, 70% and above to a C, 60% and above to a D, and less than 60% to an F.

The staff reserves the right to lower those grade cutoffs, but we will not raise them (i.e., if you earn a 90% in the class, you are guaranteed to get an A). We do not grade on a curve; if every student in 6.02 earns an A, then every student will receive an A.

Equal Access

The staff of 6.02 is committed to the principle of equal access. We encourage you to meet with Dr. LaCurts to discuss your disability-related needs, including accommodations which you may need in order to fully access this course.

Due Dates, Lateness Penalties, and Extension Policy

Due dates for all PSets and Exams are posted on the course calendar. You may use up to five extension days (in total) over the course of the semester for the ten PSets, with a maximum of two days on any one PSet. To claim an extension day, click here (this link is also available from the Assignments page).

For any other late PSets, our policy is as follows:

• If your PSet is no more than one week late, your score will be multiplied by 0.66 (i.e., you will receive no more than 66% of the possible points).
• If your PSet is more than one week late, your score will be multiplied by .33 (i.e., you will receive no more than 33% of the possible points).

Grade Components

Problem Sets

There are ten problem sets (PSets), posted more-or-less weekly on the web site. Each PSet is due on the date specified; usually that's 11:59pm on a Thursday. Solutions will be available a few days after the due date, once you have submitted the assignment online. See the course calendar for the specific dates.

Each PSet is divided between analysis/theory problems and tasks that involve exploring communication concepts using Python. You will have to write some of your own code, so be sure to start early and leave enough time to debug your implementation before the due date.

After your PSet has been graded, your score and any comments from the grader can be viewed online by browsing the PSet. If you have any questions or concerns about the grading, contact your TA.

Checkoff Interviews

There will be checkoff interviews for most PSets, lasting ten minutes on average, which you must complete with your assigned TA/LA at your scheduled time. The goal of the checkoffs is for us to gauge how well you understand the mechanics behind the PSet, and to give you an explicit opportunity to ask about anything that you found confusing. With checkoff interviews, we're able to catch any major misunderstandings quickly, rather than after you've taken an exam.

Since checkoffs are only ten minutes, being even a few minutes late drastically affects how much we can evaluate. You should arrive to check-offs five minutes early. If you arrive after the scheduled start time, we'll consider your checkoff late.

Checkoff Grading Policy

• If you reschedule your checkoff with your TA/LA more than 12 hours in advance, or have an emergency, it will be graded as usual with no penalties.
• If you reschedule your checkoff fewer than twelve hours in advance, or arrive late for a checkoff, your entire PSet grade will be reduced by 20%.
• If you miss your checkoff and don't reschedule it, your PSet will be marked as incomplete until you contact your TA/LA and have completed a make-up checkoff. You cannot pass the class if you have more than one incomplete PSet.

In general, checkoffs will be done in person, but TAs and LAs may use virtual checkoffs in the case of reschedulings.

Exams

There are three, two-hour exams. Exams will cover materials from lectures, recitations, and problem sets. The first exam will cover the "bits" module, the second the "signals" module, and the third the "packets" module. The third exam happens during finals week, but is not a comprehensive three-hour final exam; it's a two-hour exam, just like the first two exams.

In addition to the three exams, we will have a completely optional opportunity for you to improve your score on Exam 1 or 2 during finals week. Immediately after Exam 3, you can choose to take an hour-long exam on the material from the bits module or the signals module. If your score on this hour-long exam is better than your previous Exam 1 or Exam 2 score (whichever is relevant), we'll average the two scores together for your final exam score.

We know that this isn't a perfect system -- ideally, you'd have the opportunity to improve a score on Exam 1, Exam 2, or Exam 3. Making that possible requires us to hold the original Exam 3 before finals week, which makes for a pretty stressful calendar (we tried it in Fall 2020). So we're hoping the opportunity to improve Exam 1 or Exam 2 scores will be a good compromise.

Nanoquizzes

After each lecture, we will post a short "nanoquiz". The goal of these exercises is education, not assessment. They do count towards your grade, but more importantly you can use them as a quick check to see whether you understood the relevant lecture.

Nanoquizzes are designed to be short. If you paid attention in lecture, they should take no more than a few minutes. They are not designed to be comprehensive. They test an important concept from lecture, but not every concept from lecture.

Because each individual quiz is such a small percentage of your grade, we will not offer extensions on these assignments, except in the cases where students have documented support from Student Support Services.

Participation

We expect you to keep up with the material covered in lecture. Though lecture recordings will be posted, attending lectures live will allow you to ask questions during the lecture, and give you a specific, recurring time in which to view each lecture, which is helpful in staying on top of the material. If you are unable to attend a lecture, we expect you to work through the corresponding material (lecture notes, etc.), and to ask questions, either in office hours, on Piazza, or via some other method.

We also expect you to be sufficiently engaged with the course as a whole, and familiar with all policies. To that end, once you have finished reading this syllabus, email Dr. LaCurts a photo of a pet, if you have one (if not, random animals are fine, or any object in your life that brings you joy). She'll send you a photo of her dog, cat, or plants in return, if you request.

Regrade Policy

If you find a grading error in an assignment, please post a private question on Piazza.

Collaboration Policy

We encourage you to work with other students in the class, as well as the course staff, to learn the underlying material. You are allowed, but not required, to work in groups of 2-3 to complete each problem set. You must tell us the people that you work with (each pset will ask you to name your collaborators).

However, you must write up your own solutions, both to the questions on the pset and any coding portions. You will complete PSet checkoffs individually.

No collaboration is allowed on the exams.

Incidents of plagiarism will result in a grade of zero on the assignment and, at the discretion of the staff, further disciplinary action may be pursued. More information about what constitutes plagiarism can be found here.