M340 - Section 4:  Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations

Instructor      Ass. Professor Iuliana Oprea,  Weber 123
Office Hours:  MT 4:10-5:00PM, W12:00 – 12:50 AM  and by appt., Phone: 491-6751 Office
Email:              juliana@math.colostate.edu; www: http://www.math.colostate.edu/~juliana/M340.html
Class Time and Room:  MTWF 1:10-2:00AM in EE 203 

Lab Section: This course is formally split in a lecture and a lab session, which in practice will not be separated. You should register, however, for both lecture (332854) and Lab (332858).

Required Textbook:
J. Polking, A. Boggess, D. Arnold: Differential Equations (2nd edition), Prentice Hall 2006, 2001, ISBN 0-13-143738-0
Supplementary Text:
J. Polking, D. Arnold: Ordinary Differential Equations using Matlab (available shrink-wrapped with the textbook at no extra costs) 

Course Objectives: The construction of mathematical models to address real-world problems is one of the most important aspects of each of the branches of science. It is often the case that these mathematical models are formulated in terms of equations involving functions as well as their derivatives, called differential equations. When only one derivative is involved, they are called ordinary differential equations - ODEs. The course will demonstrate the usefulness of ODEs for modelling physical, biological and other phenomena. Complementary mathematical approaches for their solutions will be presented, including analytical methods, graphical analysis and numerical techniques.

Synopsys: First order equations, mathematical models, linear equations of second order, the Laplace Transform, linear systems of arbitrary order and matrices, nonlinear systems and phase plane analysis, numerical methods.

Homework: Homework is collected at the beginning of every Wednesday lecture and is returned the next lecture. Late homework is not accepted.  Each homework you hand in should have a header at the top of the first page with your name, the date you hand in the homework, and the number of the homework (e.g. Homework 1 etc).

Examinations: There will be two  in-class exams: October 5 (Wed), November 16(Wed),  and a Final Exam on December 12(Mon), 1:30-3:30p

Grading: Graded Homework, quizzes: 25%;  Two Hourly Exams: 20% each;  Final Exam: 35%.  Grades will be published on WebCT.     

Computer use:  Some of the Tuesday class sessions will take place in the computer lab in Weber 205. The dates in question will be announced in advance in the lecture. 

Tutoring: free tutoring for M340 is available at http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/NatSci/html/Tutorial.html