Math 246, Sections 0111-0142
Spring, 2005

Course Description

This course is a basic introduction to differential equations for students majoring in mathematics, engineering, and the physical sciences. The prerequisite is MATH 141 or 141H at UMCP or equivalent advanced placement or transfer credit from elsewhere, plus MATH 240 or ENES 102 or PHYS 161 or PHYS 171 (or some equivalent background in physical sciences). A nice feature of the course is that it has immediate applications in many areas of science, engineering, and even social science.

The course will make use of the mathematical software package MATLAB, a product of The MathWorks. Use of the software package will be explained as we go along. As a useful byproduct of the course, you should eventually learn enough about MATLAB to be able to use it in your other science, engineering, and mathematics courses.

Lectures will be held Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 1:00 to 1:50, in room 0131 of the basement of Reckord Armory. Discussion sections (in classes of 20-30) will be held on Tuesday mornings at various times in rooms 0103 or 0409 of the Mathematics Building, depending on what section you are enrolled in. Some MATLAB demonstrations will be held in the discussion sections. The discussion sections will also be used for quizzes, going over homework problems, answering your questions on the material, etc.

Course Help

If you feel you would like more help in learning MATLAB, OIT has on-campus short courses available for a nominal fee. In addition, there is tutoring help with MATLAB in the WAM Lab in PG2, as well as regular tutoring help with the Boyce and DiPrima topics (look for 246 in the table).

Finally, you might want to see this collection of on-line tutorials and course notes.

Instructors

The lecturer in these sections of MATH 241 is Professor Jonathan Rosenberg. His office is in room 1106 of the Mathematics Building, and his university phone extension is 55059. (Calling from outside the university, call 301-405-5059.) He will hold office hours Mondays and Fridays 10-11, or by appointment. He may also be reached by email for "electronic office hours" at any time at jmr@math.umd.edu.

Your TA is ...

Sections Times Classroom TA Office number Email Phone

0121, 0131, 0141 9, 10, 11 MTH 0103 Hantao Mai MTH 4412 mhter@math.umd.edu

0111 8 MTH 0103 Dongming Wei CSIC 4116 dwei@cscamm.umd.edu 301-405-0663

0132, 0142 10, 11 MTH 0409 Dongming Wei CSIC 4116 dwei@cscamm.umd.edu 301-405-0663

Course Evaluation

Please fill in the on-line course evaluation questionnaire, to provide feedback on the course, the professor, and the TA, between now and May 11, 2005. Evaluations are anonymous and will not be available to faculty and TAs until next semester, so they cannot possibly affect your grade.

Textbooks

The textbooks for all sections of MATH 246 and 246H are:

[Boyce] Elementary Differential Equations, 8th Edition or Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 8th Edition by William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima, Wiley, 2004 (REQUIRED). The only difference between these two books is that EDE&BVP costs about $11 more and includes two extra chapters on boundary value problems, which we will not be using. So you can use either one. If you intend to go on later to another course on partial differential equations or mathematical methods, the longer book may be useful to you. Otherwise you should buy the shorter one. If you already have a copy of the 7th edition of Boyce, it is not necessary to get the 8th edition. The two editions are sufficiently similar so that it doesn't matter much which one you use. Available at the University Book Center or at Maryland Book Exchange.
[DEwM] Differential Equations with MATLAB, 2nd edition, by B. Hunt, R. Lipsman, J. Osborn, and J. Rosenberg, Wiley, 2005, ISBN 0-471-71812-2. (REQUIRED). Available from the book stores and from Wiley publishers.

Other MATLAB References

The following books are not required but can be consulted if you want additional help with MATLAB:

For MATLAB 6:
1. Brian R. Hunt, Ronald L. Lipsman, and Jonathan M. Rosenberg, A Guide to MATLAB: for Beginners and Experienced Users, Cambridge University Press, 2001. New edition for MATLAB 7 coming 2005.
For MATLAB 7:
1. Timothy A. Davis and Kermit Sigmon, MATLAB Primer, 7th edition, Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2005.
2. Amos Gilat, MATLAB: An Introduction with Applications, 2nd edition, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
3. Rudra Pratap, Getting Started with MATLAB: A Quick Introduction for Scientists & Engineers, Version 7, Oxford University Press, 2005.
4. William J. Palm III, Introduction to MATLAB 7 for Engineers, McGraw-Hill, 2005.

Course Requirements, Grading Policy

The maximum possible number of points you can score in this course is 800. Your final grade will depend upon the total points you score on homework, quizzes, three one-hour exams, and the final exam, distributed as follows:

Category	Total Points
MATLAB Homework	200
Quizzes (based on Boyce homework)	100
Three One-Hour Exams	300
Final Exam	200

A complete list of homework assignments and due dates is available.

This schedule includes the schedule of exams and the reading assignments. Late homework (without a valid excuse) will not be accepted. Homework assignments include both problems that must be done with MATLAB, to be submitted for a grade, and other problems from Boyce and DiPrima not to be turned in, for you to do on your own, either with pencil-and-paper or MATLAB. The MATLAB homework can be submitted electronically. Quizzes in the recitation sections will be closely modeled on the suggested Boyce and DiPrima problems. Rules about collaboration on the homework are explained on the homework web site, and will be strictly enforced. Please see the university regulations on academic integrity. You are asked to write the campus Honor Pledge on your homework assignments and exams. Early warning grades will be submitted in March, on the basis of the first few homework assignments and Exam #1. They have no significance other than to give you an idea of how you are doing in the course, and do not become part of your permanent record.

The instructors will adhere strictly to the official university policy on makeup exams. Makeups will only be given for legitimately excused, documented absences. Moreover, foreseeable absences (such as those resulting from participation in university-sponsored sporting events) must be documented prior to the date of the exam that will be missed.

Information about computer labs where you can work on the homework assignments is available here. Look for those labs offering MATLAB, preferably those offering version 7.0 (R14) or higher. MATLAB 7 has been installed on glue. (The current version is 7.0 (R14).) Do not attempt to use MATLAB versions earlier than version 5.3 (R11). Also see the comments here for more information about how to get the software to work.

If you would prefer to work on your own computer, you might wish to purchase your own copy of MATLAB Student Version, available at the University Book Center or the Maryland Book Exchange for about $100 or direct from The MathWorks web site. N.B.: You want the MATLAB Student Version, R14, not The Student Edition of MATLAB, which is obsolete. They are not the same product. Also, do not buy a copy of the Student Version of MATLAB R13. It is not upgradable to R14.

This page last modified January 2005. If you have comments or suggestions, please send email to jmr@math.umd.edu.

Sections	Times	Classroom	TA	Office number	Email	Phone
0121, 0131, 0141	9, 10, 11	MTH 0103	Hantao Mai	MTH 4412	mhter@math.umd.edu
0111	8	MTH 0103	Dongming Wei	CSIC 4116	dwei@cscamm.umd.edu	301-405-0663
0132, 0142	10, 11	MTH 0409	Dongming Wei	CSIC 4116	dwei@cscamm.umd.edu	301-405-0663

Math 246, Sections 0111-0142Spring, 2005