Math 280 Spring 2012 Syllabus

Subject to change without notice.

Catalog Description

Math 280. Applied Differential Equations. Prerequisite: MATH 150B. Recommended Corequisite or Preparatory: MATH 250. Ordinary differential equations, series solutions, systems of equations, Laplace transforms, with emphasis on applications and introduction to numerical techniques. This course is not open to students who have credit for MATH 351. Math 280 is not intended for Math majors.

Class Minutiae

Instructor:	Bruce E Shapiro ← nosy people may click here
Email:	bruce dot e dot shapiro at csun dot edu If you send me an email: make sure to include the text "Math 280" in the subject line so it doesn't get spam-filetered and you name somewhere in the text of the message so that I know who it is from.
Phone:	Provided in Class (I do NOT use my CSUN office phone)
Office Hours:	Hours and Location Provided in Class (I do NOT use my office for office hours)
Class Web Page:	http://biomathman.com/math280/ (all lower case)
Moodle:	The Moodle page is here. It should let you in if you are enrolled in the class (you will need to enter your CSUN username/password). You should be able to post to the discussion forum.

Topics Covered

First Order Differential Equations
Second Order Linear Differential Equations
Higher Order Linear Equations
Series Solutions
Laplace Transform Methods
First Order Linear Systems
Numerical Methods
Existence and Uniqueness of solutions

Expected Student Learning Outcomes:

Upon completing the class, the student should:

Recognize a differential equation and be able to determine if a solution exists.
Be able to solve basic differential equations including linear equations at all orders, using a variety of methods.
Understand the difference between analytic and numerical solutions.
Calculate the numerical solution to an initial value problem.

Textbook

Dennis Zill. A First Course in Differential Equations With Modeling Applications, 9th Edition. Cengage Learning. (2009).
List Price: $186.49 from publisher (what a deal, they dropped it $20 from last semester!) Go to publishers web site.

A student solution manual is also available, but it costs $74.49.

Optional Lecture Notes

The notes are optional and you don't have to use them; I won't cover everything in them, and won't follow them exactly. They have some material that is a little more advanced (they are closer to math 351) and cover far more material than we can cover.

You may or may not want to follow along with these notes, which you can download for free from lulu. If that link doesn't work try this one (which which will have a more recently corrected version, anyway).

If you would rather have a printed copy, you can get one at this link but once you buy it you can't return it. Its cheaper than Fedex/Kinkos (and lighter weight) but doesn't have any resale value (and the price is set so that I don't get anything out of it).

Software

There is no programming requirement to this class. However, all turned in homework **must** be typed using Latex. (no exceptions!)

Information on getting started with latex is available here. (The instructions are a couple of years old, so the version numbers/dates have changed, but are still basically correct).

A latex template for your homework is here. To see what the template looks like when TeX'ed, click here.

Grading

Not responsible for You Tube content.

Grade Weighting: Three in-class exams (20% each), final exam (20%), and homework (20%)

In class exam dates: Feb. 16, March 15, April 19.
Make-up exams will not be given (no exceptions). Exam re-weighting may be performed in the event of unforeseeable emergencies such as illness.

Final Exam Date: May 15, 5:30 - 7:30 PM (as per SOLAR)
The final exam cannot be rescheduled as per university policy.

Your final grade with be reduced by 1/3 of a letter grade for every 3 unexplained absences.

Each exam and your total homework grade is converted to a letter grade, and then to a GPA, according to the following table. If your homework total exceeds 100% it will be considered an A+ in this table.:

<60	60-66	67-69	70-73	74-76	77-79	80-83	84-86	87-89	90-93	94-99	100
F	D	D+	C-	C	C+	B-	B	B+	A-	A	A+
0	1	1.3	1.7	2	2.3	2.7	3	3.3	3.7	4	4.3

Note: If any of the exam grading scales are curved, a different table may apply. The actual grade scale will be announced after the exam.

Grades are assigned based on the following GPA average in the class. These are approximate guidelines and some adjustments may be made near the border-lines to account for grade trends (increasing or decreasing), a significant change in performance on the final, or other extenuating individuating factors:

0-0.5	0.5-1.5	1.5-1.7	1.7-2.3	2.3-2.5	2.5-2.7	2.7-3.3	3.3-3.5	3.5-3.7	3.7-4.0
F	D	C-	C	C+	B-	B	B+	A-	A

Rules - Read closely, some of them will sound a bit odd to you.

Don't Cheat. Follow the Student Conduct Code at all times. More in the next box.

Attendance is Mandatory - remember to sign in every class session. Your grade will be reduced for missing too many sessions.

Cell Phones - turn off the ringers, please.

Smelly Food - don't bring it.

Other Food - bring enough to share with the whole class. You'll be surprised how many friends you can make with a few chocolate chip cookies.

Strong Smelling Perfumes, Colognes, and other Stinkys: - don't use them.

Audio/Video/Photographic Technology - do not use during class. This includes all cameras and recorders of any type. Exceptions will be made if recommended by DRES (the campus Center on Disability Resources and Educational Services).

Student Conduct

Students are expected to conduct themselves in accord with university policies on Student Conduct and Academic Dishonesty. Violation of this code could be punishable by a failing grade in the class or removal from the university, as determined by Dean of Students.

I require students to sign an affirmation that they will abide by the student conduct code (and not cheat in this class) and to reaffirm this contract at each exam. If you are uncomfortable signing this affirmation you should not enroll in this class.

The student conduct code is posted at: http://www.csun.edu/a&r/soc/studentconduct.html and is in the University Catalog, Appendix E.

Special Learning Needs

Please coordinate any special accommodations that you need through the campus Center on Disability Resources and Educational Services.

Feel free to talk to me about this if you are not sure whether or not your special need should be handled via DRES.

If you are not familiar with DRES, check their web page at http://www.csun.edu/dres to make an appointment or to see what services are available.

In particular if you need special testing arrangements I will need to know at least two weeks in advance. Please make sure to get all of your paperwork signed as soon as possible. If you are going to bring additional people to class (note-taker, interpreter, etc.) please let me know that as soon as possible so that I can take that information into account so that I can make a correct determination of how much additional space (seats) remain in the class.

Assignments

--- Assignments will be posted (click here) ---

Note that all homework must by typeset with Latex. If you need help getting started with Latex, look here. Handwritten homework will not be accepted; there are no exceptions.

Any of your papers which you do not collect will be retained for a period of one year following the end of the term. If you do not collect them by this time they will be destroyed.

Final exams are not returned and may not be copied. If you wish to see your final you may do so by making an appointment with me.