Instructor: Dr. G. Lewis
Office: Fisher Hall 208
Office Hours: MWF, 10-11 a.m., or by appointment
phone: 487-2918
fax: 487-3133
e-mail: lewis@mtu.edu
homepage: http://www.math.mtu.edu/~lewis/index.html
Text: A First Course in Differential Equations with Modeling Applications, ninth edition, by Zill, published by Cengage/Brooks/Cole, 2009
Text coverage: Chapters 1-5,8,9, plus other material from another text
Classroom: Rekhi Hall 214
Classtime: MWF, 9-10 a.m.
Exam Schedule: (All hour exams are in-class)
Exam 1: Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Exam 2: Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Exam 3: Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Final Exam: Wednesday, April 28, 2010, 8-10 a.m., Rekhi Hall room 214
Homework assignments: Some homework will be assigned, due the next class period. It will be graded by a student grader. Click here for homework assignments. If you have any questions about the grading of the homework, you can contact my grader, Greg Mink, at gjmink@mtu.edu.
Modeling project: The modeling project will consist of two items.
1. Develop a file of computer programs for
solving differential equations. The first might be a simple Mathematica
notebook implementing DSolve and NDSolve. Later in the semester, you will
develop programs to implement the Euler, Improved Euler, Runge-Kutta, and
multi-step methods. You will be asked to demonstrate these sometime during the
semester. Note that some of the homework problems ask you to present a computer
solution. These solutions can be given as output from one of your programs.
2. Choose a modeling problem, research it, and
present the modeling and solution, roughly 2-4 typewritten pages plus computer
output. You may get some ideas from the modeling applications in chapters 3 and
5, or from the Exercises, Contributed Problems, Discussion Problems, or Computer Lab Assignments at
the end of each section of the text, or from the Project Modules from previous editions of the text (see the website: academic.cengage.com/math/zill).
If you still cannot come up with a project, ask and I can assign one to you.
Make-up exams: Let me know well in advance if you know that you will have an excused absence from an exam. If you become sick at the last minute, let me know as soon as possible. Otherwise, no make-up exam will be given.
Grading: The following shows the weighting of each of the segments which
determine the final grade:
Each hour exam: 15%
Final Exam:
30%
Homework:
15%
Modeling project: 10%
Click here for general announcements about MA3560, Section 1.
Click here to return to the homepage of Dr. G. Lewis.