Math 246E: Ordinary Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers; Using MATLAB

Fall 1998, Section 0401, Professor Ron Lipsman

Web Page URL: http://www.math.umd.edu/~rll/courses/math246.f98

Click here (deactivated) to see your score on the final exam and your course grade.

Required Texts

  1. [B&DiP] Elementary Differential Equations, Sixth Edition. W. Boyce and R. DiPrima. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 1997.
  2. [SCHOL] Differential Equations with MATLAB, K. Coombes, B. Hunt, R. Lipsman, J. Osborn and G. Stuck. Wiley Custom Services, 1998. Note: This manuscript is made available for this course by permission of the publisher, John Wiley & Sons.

Prerequisites

Math 141 or equivalent. It will be ASSUMED that the student is very familiar with the contents of Chapters 1-10 in Calculus with Analytic Geometry, 5th ed., by R. Ellis and D. Gulick! Those chapters contain the material covered in Math 140-141.

Homework Assignments

There are two kinds of homework problems. Problems from SCHOL must be solved using the MATLAB computer package, and must be submitted as printed MATLAB Diary files or M-Books. These will be integrated documents combining input, output, graphics, and textual commentary. Problems from B&DiP may be solved either with paper and pencil or with MATLAB, at your discretion. Only the MATLAB homework will be collected and graded!

Exam Schedule

There will be three hourly exams, a final exam, and 10-minute classroom quizzes. The quizzes will occur on every Friday except for the first week and each week in which there is an exam.

First Exam:
Friday, September 25
Second Exam:
Friday, October 23
Third Exam:
Monday, November 23
Final Exam:
Monday, December 14, 1:30-3:30

Grading Policy

The maximum possible number of points you can score in this course is 750. Your final grade will depend upon the total points you score on the MATLAB homework, the quizzes, three hourly exams, and the final exam, distributed as follows:

CategoryTotal Points
Homework (from SCHOL)200
Quizzes50
Three Hourly Exams300
Final Exam200

A complete list of homework assignments and due dates is available. Late homework will not be accepted.

The instructor will adhere strictly to the official university policy on makeup exams. Makeups will only be given for legitimately excused, documented absences. Moreover, foreseeable absences (such as those resulting from participation in university-sponsored sporting events) must be documented prior to the date of the exam that will be missed.

Class Schedule

The class meets Mon, Wed and Fri at 2PM in room 0306 of the Math building.

Final Exam and Study Review Session Information

The Final Exam will be Monday, Dec 14, 1:30-3:30, Math Building, Room 0105.
There will be a study review session on Thursday, Dec 10, 7-9 PM in room 0303 in the Math Building.

Latest News

Scroll up for info on the final exam and the study review session. On Fri, Dec 11 in class, there will be a quiz and an "outline" of the final exam will be given.

Note that there is a problem change on the last Matlab assignment: Problem 11 has been replaced by Problem 12.

EXAM 3, Monday, November 23.

Matlab problems F3,4 due date Friday, Nov 20.

Matlab problems F1,2 due date changed to Monday, Nov 16.

If you read this on Monday, Nov 2 before 2PM, you will learn that the Quiz that was not given on Friday, Oct 30 will be given TODAY.

Exam 2 -- Friday, Oct 23. Covering B&DiP, Chap 3.

An assignment for section 3.1 has been added to the homework page.

EXAM 1 will be Friday, September 25, covering B&DiP, Chap 2, and SCHOL, Chaps 5,6.

You may examine solutions to the problems in Problem Set A by clicking here. For some comments on student submissions to Problem Set A, as well as some relevant Matlab hints, this is the place to click.

Because of Lab delays, due date is moved to Friday, Sept 11! Week 2 due date moved to Sept 16; week 3 due date to Sept 21

Matlab tutoring begins Friday, Sept 4. See the Matlab information page.

Problem Set A is due Wednesday, September 9.


Disclaimer: This page was last updated on December 12, 1998. It is entirely possible that events have superseded the information contained herein. If so, announcements will be made in class. In any event, you may send me email inquiries.

Ron Lipsman
Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs
College of Computer, Mathematical, and Physical Sciences
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742 USA

Office: A. V. Williams Building, Room 3417
Phone: (301) 405-2313
Fax: (301) 405-9377
Email: rll@math.umd.edu
Home Page:http://www.math.umd.edu/~rll