COS3751/101/3/2021

Tutorial Letter 101/3/2021

Techniques of Artificial Intelligence

COS3751

Semesters 1 and 2

Department of Computer Science

This tutorial letter contains important information

about your module.

BARCODE
 CONTENTS

Page

1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Welcome....................................................................................................................................... 4
1.2 Getting Started.............................................................................................................................. 4
2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES ...................................................................................................... 4
2.1 Purpose ........................................................................................................................................ 4
2.2 Outcomes ..................................................................................................................................... 5
3 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS................................................................................... 5
3.1 Lecturer(s) .................................................................................................................................... 5
3.2 Department ................................................................................................................................... 5
3.3 University ...................................................................................................................................... 6
4 RESOURCES ............................................................................................................................... 6
4.1 myUnisa ........................................................................................................................................ 6
4.2 Prescribed book(s) ........................................................................................................................ 6
4.3 Online material.............................................................................................................................. 7
4.4 Printed support material ................................................................................................................ 7
4.5 Recommended book(s) ................................................................................................................. 7
4.6 Electronic reserves (e-reserves) ................................................................................................... 7
4.7 Library services and resources ..................................................................................................... 7
5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES ................................................................................................ 8
6 STUDY PLAN ............................................................................................................................... 8
7 PRACTICAL WORK ..................................................................................................................... 9
8 ASSESSMENT ............................................................................................................................. 9
8.1 Assessment criteria....................................................................................................................... 9
8.2 Assessment plan .......................................................................................................................... 9
8.3 Assignment numbers .................................................................................................................... 9
8.3.1 General assignment numbers ....................................................................................................... 9
8.3.2 Unique assignment numbers ........................................................................................................ 9
8.4 Assignment due dates ................................................................................................................ 10
8.5 Submission of assignments ........................................................................................................ 10
8.6 The assignments ........................................................................................................................ 10
8.7 Other assessment methods ........................................................................................................ 10
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8.8 The examination ......................................................................................................................... 10

9 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ........................................................................................ 10
10 SOURCES CONSULTED ........................................................................................................... 10
11 IN CLOSING ............................................................................................................................... 11
12 ADDENDUM ............................................................................................................................... 11

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Dear Student,
As part of this tutorial letter, we wish to inform you that Unisa has implemented a transformation
charter based on five pillars and eight dimensions. In response to this charter, we have also
placed curriculum transformation high on the agenda. For your information, curriculum
transformation includes the following pillars: student-centred scholarship, the pedagogical
renewal of teaching and assessment practices, the scholarship of teaching and learning, and
the infusion of African epistemology and philosophy. These pillars and their principles will be
integrated at both the programme and module levels, as a phased-in approach. You will notice
the implementation thereof in your modules, and we encourage you to fully embrace these
changes during your studies at Unisa.

1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 Welcome
Welcome to COS3751: Techniques of Artificial Intelligence.
Mastery of the content in this module will provide you with a basic understanding of some
of the standard techniques of Artificial Intelligence, including knowledge representation and
reasoning, state-space searching, and automated learning.
We wish you every success in your studies!

1.2 Getting Started

You should endeavour to log into myUnisa as often as possible to interact with your fellow
students, as well as your e-tutor.

You can start at the main Unisa website, namely http://www.unisa.ac.za/, and then click on
the myUnisa orange block. This will take you to the myUnisa website. Otherwise, to go to the
myUnisa website directly, go to https://my.unisa.ac.za/.

Now you should be able to log in to myUnisa using your student number and password.
Once you have logged in you should click on the myModules link. You will then see COS3751-21-
S1/COS3751-21-S2 in the row of modules displayed at the top of the webpage. Select the sites
menu item if you cannot find the module you require. Then click on the module you want to
open.
Do not hesitate to contact your lecturer or e-tutor (on myUnisa, by email or by telephone) if
you experience problems with any aspect of the module. We sincerely hope that you find this
module, as well as your online learning experience, interesting and rewarding and trust that you
will complete the module successfully.

2 PURPOSE AND OUTCOMES

2.1 Purpose
On completion of this module, you should be equipped with a basic understanding of knowledge
representation approaches (logic-based and alternative approaches), search techniques
(exhaustive and heuristic) and automated reasoning. This module forms part of the theory of a
Computer Science major, supporting further studies and applications in the sector of Computer
Programming, Bioinformatics and Linguistics. These concepts and skills contribute to the
development of the computing field in Southern Africa, Africa, and globally.

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2.2 Outcomes
If you master the material, by the end of this module you should be able to do the following:

• Represent search problems as formal mathematical presentations; and solve these using
a variety of defined mathematical tools.

• Perform informed searches and exploration by mathematical reasoning techniques that

include heuristic functions.

• Perform adversarial searches on graphs.

• Synthesise and analyse different forms of learning theory.

• Analyse and synthesise the knowledge of logical agents described in English and express
this in propositional logic.

• Analyse and synthesise knowledge described in English and express this in predicate
logic; use refutation techniques to prove or disprove statements.

• Analyse and synthesise problems with constraints described in English and express these
problems as mathematical expressions; solve such constraint satisfaction problems.

3 LECTURER(S) AND CONTACT DETAILS

3.1 Lecturer(s)
Please make use of Tutorial Letter 301 for lecturer contact information. Additionally, the landing
page for the module on myUnisa has additional contact details and important information about
making appointments with the lecturers.
Please make use of the Osprey system http://osprey.unisa.ac.za/ to check for availability
before phoning your lecturers as they may not always be in their offices.
When you contact a lecturer, please do not forget to include your student number, as well
as the module code. This will help the lecturer to assist you.
If e-tutors are appointed for COS3751, you will be allocated to an e-tutor to assist you
with your studies. Please note that there is often a delay in the appointment of e-tutors, and a
number of weeks can pass before students are allocated to e-tutors. You are welcome to
contact your lecturer in the meantime.
Once you are allocated to an e-tutor, you will get access to the e-tutor website for
COS3751 on myUnisa. The e-tutor will make additional material available on this website, and
you can communicate with him/her via this website.
3.2 Department
This module is taught by the Department of Computer Science in the School of Computing in
the College of Science, Engineering and Technology. Please see our school website for contact
details (http://osprey.unisa.ac.za/).

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 Should you have difficulty in contacting your lecturers, you may phone the general number
of the School of Computing at 011 670 9200. Your message will be conveyed to the relevant
lecturer. Remember to provide your student number together with the relevant module code.
3.3 University
To contact the University, you should follow the instructions in the Study @ Unisa brochure.
Remember to have your student number available when you contact the University.

4 RESOURCES
4.1 myUnisa
You can access resources and information at the University using the myUnisa learning
management system: the online campus that will help you communicate with your lecturers,
with other students and with the administrative departments at Unisa. See section 1.2 above for
instructions for accessing myUnisa.
Participation and practice will help you succeed in this online module. To get the most out
of the online course you must access the COS3751 website on myUnisa regularly. We
recommend that you log in at least once a week to do the following:

• Check for new announcements. You can also set your myLife e-mail account to receive
the announcement e-mails on your cellphone.

• Participate in the discussion forums with your fellow students.

For more information on myUnisa, consult the brochure Study @ Unisa that you received
with your study material.

4.2 Prescribed book(s)

The prescribed book for COS3751 is:
Artificial Intelligence: A Modern Approach by S. Russel & P. Norvig, Pearson Education,
2016.

At the time of going to print, the latest edition for this book is the third edition. However, the
fourth edition was scheduled for release in late 2019. We encourage you to please buy the
latest edition of the book, however, you will still be able to work from the third edition without any
problems.
Since time is limited in a semester, you need to obtain a copy of this book as a matter of
urgency. The Study @ Unisa brochure contains a list of Unisa booksellers. If you cannot get hold
of a copy of the prescribed book, please contact the Unisa Prescribed Book Section as soon as
possible. (Their contact details are also in Study @ Unisa.)
This module makes use of chapters 1 to 9, and chapter 18 of the third edition of the
prescribed book. Updates for the fourth edition will be communicated as soon as possible. Each
learning unit on myUnisa provides an indication of the chapter(s) that should be studied. Each
assignment provides the relevant chapters from the prescribed book that should be studied in
order to complete the assignment.

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4.3 Online material

Apart from the prescribed book, all the study material you will need for COS3751 will be made
available on the COS3751 website on myUnisa. This tutorial letter (101) will be available in
Official Study Material. The other study material (e.g. Tutorial Letters 102, 103, 201, 202, etc.)
will be made available in Additional Resources during the course of the semester.
4.4 Printed support material
Some of the study material, in particular Tutorial Letter 101, is provided in printed format,
allowing you to read it even if you are not online.
The printed study material is sent to you at the beginning of the semester, but you should
not wait for it before you start studying - you can go online as soon as you have registered and
find all your study material there. The printed material sent to you is just an offline copy of the
formal content for this online module.
4.5 Recommended book(s)
There is no specific recommended book for this module.
4.6 Electronic reserves (e-reserves)
There are no e-reserves for this module.
4.7 Library services and resources
The Unisa Library offers a range of information services and resources:
 For detailed Library information, go to https://unisa.ac.za/library
 For research support and services (eg personal librarians and literature search services),
go to https://www.unisa.ac.za/sites/corporate/default/Library/Library-services/Research-
support
 The Library has created numerous Library guides: https://libguides.unisa.ac.za

Recommended guides:

 Request and download recommended material:

https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request
 Postgraduate information services:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/request/postgrad
 Finding and using Library resources and tools:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/research-support
 Frequently asked questions about the Library:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/ask
 Services to students living with disabilities:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/disability
 Assistance with technical problems accessing the Unisa Library or resources:
https://libguides.unisa.ac.za/techsupport

You may also send an e-mail to Lib-help@unisa.ac.za (please add your student number in the
subject line).
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5 STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES
The Study @ Unisa website is available on myUnisa: www.unisa.ac.za/brochures/studies

This website has all the tips and information you need to succeed at Unisa.

6 STUDY PLAN
A semester is 13 weeks in duration which should give you enough time to work your way
through the material and subject matter. Week 1 starts on 08 February 2021 for semester 1, and
on 2 August 2021 for semester 2.
Here is a breakdown of the formal activities and assignments, as they occur in the
semester:

Week Content Additional Tasks

1 Chapter 1

2 Chapter 2

3 Chapter 3

4 Chapter 4 (skip 4.2

and 4.5)
5 Chapter 5 (skip 5.5, Assignment 01 (based on Chapters 1-4) due at
5.6 and 5.7) start of week
6 Chapter 6

7 Chapter 7 (skip 7.6)

8 Chapter 8 (skip 8.4)

9 Chapter 9 (skip 9.3 Assignment 02 (based on Chapters 5-8) due at

and 9.4) start of week
10 Chapter 18 (only 18.1,
18.2 and 18.3)
11 Review Self-assessment assignment. Do not submit!
12 Review

13 Review

Assignments are not mini-exams, and we do not treat them as such. Their main purpose is
to be a learning exercise. Use this opportunity to gain a better understanding of the material
covered in an assignment by asking questions and pointing out to us which parts of the
assignment you found difficult. A satisfactory assignment is one in which you put in a serious
effort to answer all the questions.
The tutorial matter to study for each assignment appears in the study plan specified above.
Give yourself enough time to do the assignments properly, realising that an hour or two will not
be sufficient. Some assignment questions may require additional research, which can be in the
form of sources such as articles, books and web sites. It is important that the sources used
contain recent and relevant information. Web addresses change frequently, so some URLs

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noted in the textbook and tutorial matter may have changed by the time you access them. You
are encouraged to do some research on your own as and when needed.

7 PRACTICAL WORK
There is no practical work for this module.

8 ASSESSMENT
8.1 Assessment criteria
The formative assessment in this module will be two individual written assignments numbered
01 and 02.
There will also be a self-assessment assignment numbered 03. The self-assessment covers
material that cannot be covered in the first two assignments. The material covered in the self-
assessment will be covered in the examination.
The summative assessment for this module is in the form of a written examination, which will
take place at the end of the semester. The examination may be venue based or non-venue
based depending on circumstances.
8.2 Assessment plan
There are two assignments that can be submitted in each semester. Each assignment will count
50% of the semester mark of the module. The semester mark will count 20% towards the final
mark for the module. The final examination will count 80% of the final mark for the module.
Note that you gain admission to the examination for COS3751 by submitting Assignment
01 by the due date.
The self-assessment assignment will not contribute to your year mark – however, it covers
material that will be assessed in the summative assessment (i.e. the exam). This means you
have to complete it and use the model solutions that will be provided to determine your level of
understanding of the work.
8.3 Assignment numbers
8.3.1 General assignment numbers
Assignments 01 and 02 are compulsory, and will contribute to your year mark.
8.3.2 Unique assignment numbers
The following table provides particulars about the assignments you need to submit for
each semester:

Semester Assignment Due Date Unique Number

01 2021-03-09 848630
1 02 2021-04-06 738958
01 2021-08-31 772589
2 02 2021-09-28 763908

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8.4 Assignment due dates
The following table provides particulars about the assignments you need to submit for each
semester:

Semester Assignment Due Date Unique Number

01 2021-03-09 848630
1 02 2021-04-06 738958
01 2020-08-31 772589
2 02 2020-09-28 763908

8.5 Submission of assignments

Assignments 01 and 02 have to be submitted on myUnisa. Assignments that are emailed to us,
or that are submitted as hard-copy will be awarded 0%.

Follow the procedures outlined herein, in Tutorial Letter COSALL/301/4/2021 and in the
Studies @ Unisa brochure when submitting your assignments. Assignments should reach us by
the due dates. Please do not contact us for extensions.
Important: In the event that due dates are extended as a result of administrative problems,
please attempt to keep to the original due dates as published for COS3751.

8.6 The assignments

The questions for Assignments 01 and 02 and for the self-assessment assignment are specified
in Tutorial Letter 102. This is available under Additional Resources on the module website.

Note: We reserve the right to mark only a subset of the questions for each
assignment. However, we will not reveal this before the closing date of the assignment. It
is therefore important that you attempt to answer all of the questions in each assignment.
8.7 Other assessment methods
There are no other assessments in this module.
8.8 The examination
Entrance to the examination is dependent on completion and submission of one of the two
assignments: If you do not complete an assignment and submit it on myUnisa, you will not be allowed
to write the final examination.

Exam admission is determined in the first week of April for the first semester, and in the
first week of September for the second semester, so you must submit an assignment before that
to be considered for exam admission.

9 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

None

10 SOURCES CONSULTED
The prescribed textbook and Unisa policy documents.
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11 IN CLOSING
Do not hesitate to contact your lecturers by email if you are experiencing problems with the
content of this tutorial letter or any aspect of the module.
The COS3751 lecturers hope that you will enjoy the module and wish you success. Note,
however, that your success depends on your own efforts – work hard, do your assignments, etc.
and you are much more likely to be successful!

12 ADDENDUM
There are no addenda.
Unisa ©2021

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