About 6.01 on MIT OpenCourseWare

This site is an effort to distribute as much of the 6.01 course materials as we reasonably can. Please note that the Python tutorial, on-line tutor problems, and nanoquizzes are not available on MIT OpenCourseWare. Some of the course materials may be more accessible to students; we expect the readings, lecture notes, exams, and related resources to fall into this category.

However, the site also includes materials that may be more helpful to educators, and less accessible to students. In particular, the labs and tools are presented more for educators interested in how 6.01 is taught at MIT. The labs do not necessarily include all the software needed to run them, and the staff makes no guarantees that the software is usable or works as intended.

Description

6.01 explores fundamental ideas in electrical engineering and computer science, in the context of working with mobile robots. Key engineering principles, such as abstraction and modularity, are applied in the design of computer programs, electronic circuits, discrete-time controllers, and noisy and/or uncertain systems.

Course Meeting Times

Lectures: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session

Software Labs: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session

Design Labs: 1 session / week, 3 hours / session

Prerequisites

Prerequisites: None

Corequisite: 8.02 Physics II

Grading

Your grade in 6.01 will be the weighted average of the following component grades:

Frequently Asked Questions

Answers to common questions can be found in the FAQ (PDF).

Collaboration Policy

We encourage students to discuss assignments in this subject with other students and with the teaching staff to better understand the concepts. However, when you submit an assignment under your name, we assume that you are certifying that the details are entirely your own work and that you played at least a substantial role in the conception stage.

You will work with a partner in the design labs. You and your partner can equally share all results, code, and graphs that you develop as a team. However, questions about the software labs and design labs are individual. You alone are responsible for any written text that you hand in.

You should not use results from other students (from this year or from previous years) in preparing your solutions to online tutor problems, nanoquizzes, exams, or written answers. You should not take credit for computer code or graphics that were generated by other students unless you developed those materials while working with your assigned lab partner. Students should never share their solutions with other students.

Incidents of plagiarism will result in a grade of zero on the assignment and, at the discretion of the staff, be reported to the Committee on Discipline (COD). More information about what constitutes plagiarism can be found at MIT Academic Integrity.

Python Tutorial

6.01 makes use of programming both as a tool and as a way to express and explore important ideas. During the first two weeks of the class we will be trying to make sure that everyone reaches at least a minimum level of familiarity with Python programming. We have prepared an on-line tutorial as a resource to help you become comfortable with programming in Python, especially if you have had little previous programming experience.

You will not be graded on this tutorial. Working through the tutorial is not required, but it is highly recommended if you feel unsure about your ability to program.

Nanoquizzes

A short (15-minute) on-line nanoquiz will be given prior to each design lab session. The purpose of these nanoquizzes is to provide motivation and feedback for learning the materials presented in the weekly lectures, readings, and on-line tutor problems. Nanoquizzes will generally consist of a simple question from this week's assignments and a more difficult question from previous weeks.

The nanoquizzes can only be accessed on-line during the first 15 minutes of your design lab session (i.e., starting at 5 minutes past the hour).

Midterm Exams

Midterm exams will be given during the normal lecture period in week 5 and week 10. The exams will cover all materials contained in lectures, on-line tutor problems, nanoquizzes, software labs, and design labs up to the date of the exam.

Final Exam

A three-hour final exam will be given during the Final Examination Period at the end of the semester. The final exam will be comprehensive across all materials in this subject; however, materials since the midterms will be weighted more heavily.