Introduction to Differental Equations,
Math 331, Spring 2009 (Sections 1 and 4)
prof: Robert Gardner
LGRT 1430
Ph: 5-0029
gardner@math.umass.edu
http://www.math.umass.edu/~gardner
(click on link to class web page)
office hours: Wednesday: 12:30-1:30, Friday 9-10, and at other
times, by appointment.
In addition to the above, I will have the following additional office
hours:
Thurs, May 7 from 10:45 to 12:30
Thurs May 14 from 10:45 to 12:30
Class TA for remainder of term: Yannan
Shen
1341 LGRT
e-mail: shen@math.umass.edu
Office hours:
Wed May 6 : 2 to 4 pm
Wed May 13: 4-6 pm
Mon May 18 2-4 pm
Review sessions for final exam:
Review I: May 13: 2-4 pm (room TBA) will cover Laplace Transform methods
Review II May 16 2-45 pm (room TBA) will cover topics from
midterms I,II
Sample final exams with solution sheets will appear on supplementary
information link soon.
Text: Elementary
Differential Equations Boyce
and DiPrima, 9th
edition, 2008.
Remark: I've compared
the 9th edition to the 8th and 7th editions of Boyce and DiPrima. The
there are some very minor differences between editions. The main issues
arise in chapter 3, where the material in Section 3.3 of the 7th and
8th editions has been moved to section 4.1. In terms of the exercises,
there are virtually no differences (other than the page number)
between most problems in the three editions, with the exception of
several of the more challenging problems towards the end of each
problem set. I think that students in section 1 and 4 could easily get
by with the 7th or 8th editions, since I list problems from the
text on homework sheets by section number and problem number, and
generally don't ask you to look at the "challenge problems".
Also, problems from the text will generally be left as practice
problems (not to be turned in), and graded homework will usually be
based on problems I make up. Thus I think that using an earlier
addition would cause at worst, cause some minor inconvenience now and
then, but form the most part, would not cause any problems and might be
a cost-efficient compromise. However,
other instructors may use the text in different ways that may make it
more difficult to use an earlier edition. If there is some chance you
will be switching to a different section, I would advise staying with
the 9th edition.
Homework: Homework sets
consisting of reading assignments, problems to be turned in for
grading, and additional practice problems that should not be turned. I
will e-mail the assignments to using the oit class e-mail, and they can
also be viewed/downloaded from a link on the class web page. Practice
problems generally cover material discussed in the lectures and are
similar to assigned problems and can be use both to get extra practice
and as a way to review for exams. Only the
assigned problems on homework sets should be turned in during the
lecture of the due
date.
Homework Grading: It is likely that only a sample of the
assigned
problems will be graded on each assignment. The grader will be
instructed not to substitute a similar problem if one of the problems
selected to be graded is not turned in. Assignments should be
written
up neatly using paper not torn out of spiral notebooks, and multiple
pages
should be stapled together. The grader will have the right to give
zeros to papers that do not follow these guidelines. Each homework set
will have a maximum possible score of 20 points, and there will
be about 10 homework sets in all. There will be roughly 100 students in
my sections of m331. Accordingly,
it will be impossible to accept late homework, regardless of the reason
for its being late. I
will therefore drop the three lowest homework scores, (including any
zeros for homeworks that were not turned in) when calculating your
average homework grade at the end of the semester. Students
who cannot attend the class can turn in their paper by leaving it in
envelopes marked 331 homework for each section that will be
attached to the bulletin board opposite my office in LGRT 1430. The
envelope will be
removed when each set is given to the grader: that will be the absolute
cutoff time for my accepting a homework submission, since solutions
will be posted on the web shortly afterwards. Homeworks left under my office door or
left in my mailbox will not be accepted and will receive a grade of
zero. The average of your best homework scores will
be averaged at the end of the term and
will be recorded as a
percentile grade. For example, if there are 10 homework sets and the
average of your best 7 scores
came to 16/20, your percentile homework grade would be 80%.
Exams: there will be two
midterm exams that will be scheduled during the evening at times
and locations TBA, and a final exam during the final exam period.
The final
exam will be comprensive; half of the final exam will cover new
material; the other half will
review material covered on the two midterms.
Makeup policy: I will follow
the usual university guidelines for giving makeup exams. You should be
prepared to provide documentation for missing a scheduled exam for
illness etc. Exam conflicts:
I will use the "course number test" (the instructor of the
course with the lower last digit in its course number must give a
makeup) if a student with an exam conflict provides documentation
available from the registrar's office
that the course number test is satisfied no later than one week in
advance of the exam date. Depending on the
number of students having a conflict, there may be a group makeup exam
at a time and locaction TBA. Failure to follow these guidelines may
result in a grade of zero.
Final (letter) grades: the
final, midterms, and homeworks (as percentile scores) will be weighted
as follows in calculating your final percentile score.
Midterms I,II : 25% each
Final Exam: 30%
Homeworks: 20%
The letter grades will be determined from the above according to the
following scale for the lowest possible percentile grade for each
letter grade:
A 90
A- 87
B+ 83
B 80
B- 77
C+ 73
C 70
C- 67
D+ 63
D 60
F 59 and below
Class performance on each individual exam will be reviewed. If the
median grade on an exam falls significantly below 70% (C), there
are some situations in which I may decide it is appropriate to scale
the numericall scores of that exam.