Case Western Reserve University

Mathematics Department

MATH 228 - DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS (SPRING 2013)

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Last updated on 2/05/2013

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GENERAL INFORMATION


COURSE STRUCTURE & GRADES

Philosophy: As can be seen from an even cursory examination of the textbook, the course will address - in addition to the traditional Analytic methods - also the Graphical/Numerical/Qualitative approaches to the subject. This doesn't mean that the course will be easy, just that we will ask different and more diverse questions.

Computers & CWRUnet: There is no specific programming requirement for the course, but some parts of the course (both in-class and on the homework/projects) will involve a computer with some mathematical software (sometimes a good programmable calculator may suffice). No specific programming language or application will be required, and for many tasks the DETools software provided with the textbook will be adequate. More sophisticated applications such as Matlab and Mathematica are available in the Software Library for Macintosh, Linux and Windows systems. (Familiarity with these applications will likely help you in the future, in other courses and beyond.) Here is some information, prepared by Professor Hurley, about using Mathematica at CWRU.

Tests & Final Examination: There will be two one-hour Tests and a Final Examination. Each test counts 100 points toward the final grade; the final examination counts 200 points. The final examination is comprehensive. The final examination will take place on Friday, May 3, 4 - 7 p.m., location TBA. (Please note that this is a special time for mathematics exams; not the standard time for TuTh 10am classes.) The dates of the tests will be announced later here.
Other important dates are listed on the Registrar's academic calendar.

Projects: There will be two or three take-home projects during the semester. Typically, a project will have a theoretical (modeling) and a computational component. Working on the projects in groups of 2-3 persons is encouraged. The worth of each project (towards the final grade) will be about 50 points.

Homework: There will be a homework assignment corresponding to each topic covered, assigned daily and collected weekly. See syllabus for the regularly updated assignments. There is no specific point-weight for the homework, but it may influence your grade if your total score falls within 2.5% of a cutoff. (You earn credit for a homework problem by demonstrating a good faith effort towards its solution.) It goes without saying that doing and understanding the homework problems has indirectly a major influence on your final grade. Do the homework as it is assigned and ask questions right away if you find there is something you do not understand.
Additionally, you are responsible for reading the sections of the book that are being covered. Due to time constraints, only some aspects of each topic will be discussed in class. It is also recommended that you read each section at least lightly before it is covered in class.


SYLLABUS & HOMEWORK


OTHER LINKS RELATED TO THE COURSE:


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