Math 3D - Elementary Differential Equations

Class is scheduled for MWF 12:00-12:50am in MSTB 120.
Office Hours: MWF 3-3:50pm, Rowland Hall 410F.

Course Information
In the course we shall follow the textbook by Braun indicated at the bottom of the page. TA for the course will be Elaine Wong (ewong@math.uci.edu). Two discussion sections are scheduled for:

  Tue/Th 9-9:50 am in MSTB 120
  Tue/Th 10:10:50 am in MSTB 120

Mandatory and suggested homeworks will be assigned every week and will be reviewed in the discussion sections.

There will be a quiz in the discussion section every non-exam week. Quizzes are mandatory (they are required for you to qualify to obtain a passing grade) but will not affect your grade. Use them to test your ability to perform under a time constraint. You are asked to take the quizzes in the section you are registered in.

Two midterm examinations are scheduled for Monday, October 20 and Wednesday, November 12, respectively.

The final examination takes place on Monday, December 8 (1:30-3:30pm) as of schedule of classes.

Every Friday we will collect emails where you are asked to formulate a relevant question about the material covered in class during the week. We refer to this as You Ask a Question (YAQ). It will influence your final grade. Please send your questions to Elaine with copy to myself using "YAQ" as subject line.

Beyond YAQ I encourage you to ask questions in class, in discussion sections, and during office hours and to avoid the use of email to that purpose. I will not reply to emails not coming from a UCI address.

The syllabus serves only as a guideline and I might not always be following the syllabus lecture by lecture.

Assignments
Problems are listed in the format [Page (section): Problems]. Please notice that even numbered problems are mandatory whereas odd numbered ones are suggested. Solutions to mandatory problems have to be turned in during discussion the first Tuesday following the week in which they are assigned.

Week 1 (9/29-10/3), due 10/7:
  [9 (1.2): 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 12, 13, 20], [24 (1.4): 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 16, 17]
Review complex numbers.
Week 2 (10/6-10/10), due 10/14:
  [136 (2.1): 1, 2, 3, 4], [140 (2.2): 3, 4, 7, 8, 9], [144 (2.2): 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13], [149 (2.2): 3, 4, 6, 7, 12, 13]
Week 3 (10/13-10/17), due 10/21:
  [152 (2.3): 1, 2], [156 (2.4): 2, 3, 6, 7], [164 (2.5): 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 10]
Midterm I (October 20) [covers (1.1)-(1.2), (1.4), (1.10), (2.1)-(2.5)].
Week 4 (10/20-10/24), due 10/28:
  [172 (2.6): 2, 3, 4, 10, 11], [reading assignment: (2.6.1)]
Review power series.
Week 5 (10/27-10/31), due 11/04:
  [197 (2.8): 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10], [203 (2.8.1): 1, 2, 9, 10], [216 (2.8.2): 1, 2, 3, 4]
Week 6 (11/3-11/7), due 11/11:
  [216 (2.8.2): 7, 8, 19, 20], [reading assignment: 2.8.3], [223 (2.8.3): 1, 2]
Midterm II (November 12) [covers (2.4)-(2.6), (2.8)].
Week 7 (11/10-11/14), due 11/18:
  [232 (2.9): 3, 4, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 16, 23, 24], [236 (2.10): 2, 3, 8, 9, 10, 11, 21, 22]
Week 8 (11/17-11/21), due 11/25:
  [250 (2.12): 3, 4, 5, 6,], [256 (2.13): 1, 2, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12]
Week 9 (11/24-11/28), due 12/02:
  [271 (3.1): 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12], [340 (3.8): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10]
Review linear algebra [3.1-3.3, 3.5-3.7].
Week 10 (12/01-12/05), due 12/04:
  [344 (3.9): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6], [352 (3.10): 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8]
Final Examination (December 8) [comprehensive].

Grading and Exam Policy
Your final grade will be based on your performance in the Midterms (20% each) and in the final (30%) as well as on homework (20%) and on your taking active part in YAQ (10%). Taking all the quizzes is a condition to qualify to receive a passing grade.

Cheating will be accepted under no circumstances and whoever is caught cheating will automatically receive an F in the course and her/his Dean will be notified. Only fully documented absences from exams justified in advance will be accepted. Unjustified no shows in an exam will be graded with an F.

I do not grade on the curve.

A Few Tips
Solve Homework problems regularly. Read the material covered in immediately preceding classes before coming to class. Ask any questions you might have timely and do not wait until the last minute. Discuss the material and the homework problems with your peers and make use of the free tutoring center offered by the Department of Mathematics. Use homework assignments and quizzes to test your understanding of the material and your ability to solve problems within a time constraint.

Textbook
M. Braun, Ordinary Differential Equations and their Applications, Springer, IV Edition, 1993.