Course: MTH 306 Ordinary Differential Equations Fall 2002

Times, places: Class: 306X TuTh 12:30-1:50pm Knox 14

Lab: 306X1 Tu 3-3:50pm Park 440 *

306X2 Th 2-2:50pm O'Brian 212 *

*or Hochstetter 139 if we're using the computer.

Instructor: John Ringland.

Office: 206 Mathematics Building.

Phone: 645-6284 ext 147. E-mail: ringland@math.buffalo.edu

Use UB e-mail account only to send me e-mail: others automatically discarded.

Office hours: To be announced, and by appointment.

T.A.: Still to be assigned.

Textbook: Differential Equations, by Blanchard, Devaney and Hall, 2nd ed.

Website: http://emerald.math.buffalo.edu/~ringland/instruction/MTH_306/ Bookmark it!

Syllabus: Attached.

Grades: Lab attendance: 5%.

Homework, lab assignments, and in-class writing: 25%.

Two projects: 15% each.

Two in-class tests: 10% each.

Final exam: 20%.

Labs: These are an essential part of the Differential Equations experience! Attendance is required. Supervised group discussion of problems, projects, and other issues. Guided use of computer software. First week (Aug 27&29) in Park/O'Brian.

Homework: Weekly homework will be due at the beginning of a class period. No late homework will be accepted. Solutions will be available on the website. In the computation of the final grade, the lowest homework score will be dropped.

Group Projects: You'll do two projects, working on them in groups of 3 or 4. The write-ups, which will be like a short term paper, will be done individually. I'll give you detailed instructions later. Project #1 report will be due on Thursday, Oct 9.

Project #2 report will be due on Tuesday, Dec 3.

Tests: In-class test #1: Tuesday, Sep 24. In-class test #2: Thursday, Oct 31.

Final exam: in Finals week.

For each test, you may write some essential facts on a 5"x8" index card, and bring the card with you to the exam.

Prescription for success: Sustained steady effort: starting today! Make full use of the human resources available to you: me (in class, during office hours, and by appointment), the TA (in labs, during office hours, and by appointment), and last but definitely not least your fellow students! Start homework assignments early! Get a study-group together!

Maple: To eliminate some traditional tedious hand-computation, and to make graphical and numerical explorations easy, we will use the computer algebra and graphics system Maple. This software is installed in the classroom, in the Hochstetter lab, and in all the CIT public sites.

Maple guidance: An general introduction to Maple is attached. Guidance for things specific to differential equations will be provided via the website. You can use your web browser to download the documents and save them to your own disk.

Bail-out dates: I hope these will not be relevant to you, but just in case:

Friday, September 6 is the last day to drop the class with no record on your transcript,

Friday, October 18 is the last day to resign from the course (with an R on your transcript).

Students with

disabilities: If you have a diagnosed disability (physical, learning or psychological) which will make it difficult for you to carry out the course work as outlined, or requires accommodations such as recruiting note-takers, readers, or extended time on exams and/or assignments, please advise me during the first two weeks of class so we may review possible arrangements for reasonable accomodations.

Making up

Incompletes: To make up an Incomplete in Mathematics you must: (1) Go see Kay Bajer, 222 Math Bldg, and ask her for an Incomplete petition form that she will fill out for you.
(3) Take the completed petition form to your new instructor for signing. (4) Return the petition form to Kay by the last day of drop/add.

306G Fall 2001 Background information

I'll do a better job if I know a little about you. Would you please supply the following information.

(1) Name

(2) Alias, for posting of grades. (Not your real name, and not an abbreviation of it.)

(3) Phone #

(4) E-mail address

(5) Major, or area of interest

(6) Freshman, sophomore, junior, senior, grad ? (Circle.)

(7) Why are you taking this course? (degree requirement, thirst for knowledge, etc.)

(8) Have you thought about differential equations before? When, where?

(9) Are you taking another course this semester that involves differential equations? Which course?

(10) Do you have a personal computer at home or in your dorm room?

If yes, what operating system? Linux / Mac / Microsoft / other

(11) Which, if any, of the following computer programs have you used more than once? (Circle)

Maple, Mathematica, Matlab.

(12) Name something you're good at.

(13) Plans after college (in a few words).