MA315:
Ordinary Differential
Equations
Block
4, 2013-2014
Professor:
Office: TSC 206E
Office Phone: 227-8215
Email: dbrown@coloradocollege.edu
The class will meet M-F at 9:00 am in TSC 218.
There will be a problem session M - Th 1:30
– 3:00 pm and F 1:00 - 2:30 pm in the classroom.
The textbook is: Fundamentals of Differential Equations (8th ed.), by Nagle, Saff, and Snider.
The course webpage is: http://faculty1.coloradocollege.edu/~dbrown/ma315/index.html
Differential equations are the most widely used mathematical models, playing a central role in physics, biology, chemistry, economics, and many other fields. They also provide much beautiful mathematical structure. In this class we will learn to formulate and analyze models consisting of one or more differential equations. We will use a variety of methods, from exact solutions to computer simulations and qualitative analysis. We will touch on deeper theoretical issues, including existence and uniqueness and connections to vector spaces.
Homework
will be due most days at 4:30 pm; please turn it in to the
homework boxes in the
lobby of the math department.
Please
make sure that your HW is stapled and that each problem is
clearly labeled and
readable. The
assignments will be posted
on the class webpage; note that only some of the problems need
to be turned
in. I strongly
recommend that you work
on the other problems also, since they will prepare you for
the tests. You can
use technology such as Mathematica on any homework problem (I
will provide a
Mathematica tutorial). However,
note
that many of the test and quiz problems will require solutions
by hand, so it
is a good idea to practice.
There will
also be two “Group Work” assignments that tackle larger
problems and require a more thorough write-up.
There will
be two closed book tests (approx. 2 hours in length), on which
you will be
allowed to use a crib sheet.
There will
be several short in-class closed-book quizzes, announced the
day before. I
expect you to attend every class, and participate actively.
Your grade will be based on the following breakdown: 20% homework, 15% case studies, 25% each test, 10% quizzes, and 5% class participation.
Honor Code: I expect you to adhere to the CC honor code. This means that you will neither give nor receive assistance on tests and quizzes. I encourage you to work with others on homework, but when you put your name on something and turn it in, you are claiming to have complete understanding of it.