MATH 308 - 507: DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS, FALL 1999

General information

• Instructor: Dr. Raytcho Lazarov; address: Blocker 505C, phone: 845-7578, e-mail: lazarov@math.tamu.edu; http://www.math.tamu.edu/~raytcho.lazarov
• Time: TR 9:35 -- 10:50 am
• Classroom: BLOC 131
• Office Hours: TR 2:00 -- 3:00 pm or by appointment
• Text: (Required) Fundamentals of Differential Equations and BVP by R.K. Nagle and E.B. Saff (II ed.), Adison-Wesley Publ. Co., 1996.

Course Outline

• Introduction and first order differential equations (Ch. 1 & 2)
• Linear second order equations (Ch. 4)
• Applications (Ch. 5)
• Theory of higher-order linear differential equations (Ch. 6)
• Laplace transform (Ch. 7)
• Linear systems and stability of autonomous systems (Ch. 9 &12)

Exam Schedule:

• October 14, 1999, Thursday, Mid-term test
• December 10, 1999, Friday, 12:30 -- 2:30 pm, Final Exam

Grading Policy:

• Your grade for the course will be based on in-class quizzes, projects, a mid-term and a final exam. The quizzes will count for 20 % of your grade, the projects for 15 %, the mid-term for 25 %, and the final exam for the remaining 40 %. Your letter grade will be assigned A, B, C, or D, for averages of minimum 90%, 80%, 70%, or 55%, respectively.

Quizzes:

• Quizzes will be based on suggested homework problems and examples covered in class, and will be given about once a week (about 9-10 quizzes for the semester). Each quiz will be graded on a fifty-point scale; your quiz grade for the course will be the percentage of points gotten right. If for a legitimate reason you miss the quiz, your grade will be computed as if the quiz had not been given. However, you can not miss more than three quizzes.

Projects:

• There will be several projects required in the course. Projects will involve using computer to solve problems and to present solutions to them in well-written, clear ways. The presentations should be made easy to absorb for a person who is familiar with the general problem, but not with its details.

Make-up Policy:

• I will give make-ups (or satisfactory equivalents) only in classes authorized under the TAMU Regulations. In borderline cases, I will decide whether or not the excuse is authorized. Also, if you miss a test, contact me immediately.

Computers:

• In this course we shall use Maple. For the projects you may use any system you feel comfortable with (say Matlab or Mathematica). However, the visualization part of the projects has to meet some required specifications and standards.

Copyright Statement:

• Please note that all written and web materials for this course are protected by copyright laws. You can xerox (or download) one copy for your own use, but multiple copies are forbidden unless written permission is obtained by your instructor.