MATH 2700, Elementary Differential Equations –Syllabus

Instructor: Dr. Csilla Tamás, 526 Boyd Graduate Studies Bldg.
Call number: 60 -136
Class meets: MWF 11:15a.m. - 12:05p.m., Boyd 322
Book: Differential Equations (with CD-Rom), Blanchard, Devaney, Hall, 2nd edition (Publisher: Brooks Cole)
Prerequisites: working knowledge of differential and integral calculus (e.g. MATH 2200 and MATH 2210).

How to reach me: (706) 542-2210
                             ctamas@math.uga.edu
Office hours (tentative): Tuesdays/Thursdays: 10 a.m. - 11 a.m.
                                       Wednesdays 12:15 p.m. - 1:15 p.m.
                                         -or by appointment (email me)
Course information: http://www.math.uga.edu/~ctamas/teach/MA2700.html
       Also on WebCT: http://webct.uga.edu

Course objective: Study ordinary differential equations using analytic, geometric and numerical techniques, and apply these techniques to models of real life applications.

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Class structure:

• Quizzes will be given weekly, most probably on Fridays (except during exam weeks).
• Homework is assigned every class, will be collected the next class. 
• There will be 2 or 3 longer projects assigned during the semester.
• There will be three midterm exams, approximately every 4 weeks. Tentative dates are:  February 13, March 19 and April 16.
• The final exam is cumulative. It is scheduled by the University to be held Monday, May 3, 2004, 12:00 - 3:00 pm.
• The midpoint withdrawal deadline is Friday, March 5; our last class meeting will be on Thursday, April 29, 2004, as the University operates on a Monday class schedule on that day.

Grades: By the end of the semester you can accumulate a total of 500 points (125 for HW, quizzes and projects combined, 75 for each midterm, and 150 for the final). Your final letter grade will depend on the actual points you have. If you have 90%, you will have an A; if you have 80%, you will have at least a B; if you have 65%, you will have at least a C.

Attendance: You are required to attend all class sessions. An excessive number of absences might lead to you being dropped from the class with a WF.

Important: No late HW-s or make-up quizzes allowed. If you miss an exam, you can make it up only if you have a serious (and documented) excuse.

Academic honesty: You are responsible for knowing and respecting the University's policy on academic honesty (in particular, look at sections 5 and 7 on the webpage http://www.uga.edu/ovpi/academic_honesty/culture_honesty.htm). I encourage you to discuss HW assignments (and math in general) with each other. However, you have to think and compute for yourself, and have to write up your own answers to the assignments.

Grading policy: You must show your work in order to get credit (be it on HW-s, quizzes or exams). The way you obtain the answer is just as important as the answer itself. Notes, books, and calculators are not allowed on tests or quizzes.

Course topics: Modeling via differential equations;  first and second order differential equations and  systems of differential equations, studied using analytic, qualitative and numerical techniques; population models; harmonic oscillators; the Laplace transform. We will use technology (Maple, Excel, and the CD-Rom that came with the text) throughout the semester. We plan to cover (parts of) chapters 1,2,3,4 and 6 of the textbook.

Grade distribution:

• Quizzes will be given weekly; the total grade for the quizzes will be prorated to 50 points.
• Homework will be assigned every class; there are two components to the HW:
• Problems assigned from the text: you are expected to work them out and turn your solutions in the next class period. This will be graded for completeness; the final grade will be prorated to 15 points.
• Selected HW problems that will be graded on correctness; the final grade will be prorated to 15 points. These problems will be assigned separately.
• There will be 2 or 3 longer projects assigned during the semester, done possibly in groups of 3-4 students. They are worth 45 points.

Extra credit: From time to time, extra credit problems may be assigned (if there is interest). These problems may be somewhat more challenging than "regular" HW problems and will be graded on correctness. You will usually have 1-2 weeks from the date they were assigned to turn them in to get the credit for them.