MA213 (Ordinary Differential Equations and Applications) Spring 2001
Scott Heinekamp (scotth@wells.edu) Zabriskie 203 ext 3361
(http://aurora.wells.edu/swh/)
Office Hours 9:45-11:00 Thurs, or set up another time

Course Description (correct as of January 29, 2001)
Ordinary Differential Equations uses calculus to describe real-life problems, in terms of quantities and derivatives of those quantities. Once the differential equation for some system is derived (and this step is often overlooked: the ODE is often taken as handed down from some specialist), there are a slew of methods for understanding the solutions (if indeed they can be found in any explicit representation). Most of our effort will be devoted to first and second-order linear ODEs, for which there is a well-developed culture of understanding.

Textbook and other tools
Martha Abell & James Braselton, Modern Differential Equations (2nd ed), is our text. The book contains a wealth of material of an applied nature, with a nice balance between the practice of solving differential equations and the theory that guides the mathematician to the best method of solution. You are encouraged to make use of books in the math reading room. Some of the "older" books may be the best sources, since they avoid flashy pedagogical touches but instead convey the material clearly, with depth. One classic is Boyce & DiPrima, Differential Equations for Scientists and Engineers.

There is a rather useless Web Site for the Textbook, at web address www.harcourtcollege.com/mathexpress.

You need a scientific calculator for the course, and a supply of graph paper may be helpful too. We will use Matlab for visualization purposes. A set of colored pencils is very handy as well, as part of the visualization process.

Lecture Schedule
The course lecture schedule may be found at Lecture Schedule. It is subject to change as we progress; some topics may be deserving of more study, and class interest will play a role too.

Homework
The set of homework assignments may be found at Homework Assignment, where the annotated homework sets will appear. This will be updated regularly. It is fine to work on the homeword in teams in order to develop understanding of the concepts, but please do your own work, in your own notation.

Grading System
Homework (25% total)
Quizzes: 4 of them, 12.5% each (50% total). The lowest grade will be dropped.
Final Exam: Thursday 17 May 7-10 pm (25% total)

This syllabus (web address http://aurora.wells.edu/~swh/ma213/ma213syl.htm), is the course's home page.