Spring 2006

110.302 - Differential Equations
with Applications
MTW 12:00  // Krieger 205
Michael Goldberg


Feedback: You may submit comments about the course at any time using this form which is provided by the Mathematics department. Your comments are then e-mailed to the undergraduate program coordinators and to the department chair (but not to me).


Office Hours: Held in Krieger 206.
M 8:30-9:30am,   T W 1:30-2:30pm,   or by appointment.

TAs: Romie Banerjee, Scott Zrebiec.
Times and locations of all their sections can be found here.

Textbook: Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems by W. E. Boyce and R. D. DiPrima, 8th Edition, John Wiley & Sons.   ISBN 0-471-43338-1

We anticipate covering Chapters 1-3, 7, 9, and 10, and selected material from other chapters.

Additional Resources: There are a number of Java Applets designed to help you understand the behavior of ODEs on a visual level. By taking the work out of producing diagrams and slope fields, this enables you to play with examples and look for patterns without getting bogged down in detailed computations.


Click here to use Marek Rychlik's JOde Applets

Homework: The course syllabus and an up-to-date list of homework assignments is available here.

Homework assignments are due at the end of lecture on Monday. Please clearly indicate your section number and TA at the top of the page. Late homeworks will not be accepted; however the lowest two scores will be dropped when computing your overall homework grade.

You are permitted, perhaps encouraged, to discuss homework problems with other students. This collaboration should not extend to the process of writing up solutions. The work that you turn in should be written by you, in your own words, without supervision or other well-meaning influence from anyone else.

Midterms: In class on Wednesday, February 22 and Wednesday, April 5.

Final Exam: Thursday, May 11, 9:00am - 12:00m

You are expected to attend class and take exams as they are scheduled. Unexcused absence from one midterm exam carries a penalty of one full letter grade reduction from your final course grade. Students who miss both midterm exams, or the final exam, without a valid and well-documented explanation will automatically fail the course.

Grading: 15% Homework,   25% Each Midterm,   35% Final Exam.

Grades will be distributed on a curve, if necessary, to ensure that A-level work is rewarded with an A-level grade. Futher details will be announced following the first midterm exam.

Regrades: Disputes regarding homework grading should be discussed with your TA.

You will have an opportunity to review midterm exams in section on Thursday or Friday. If you believe a grading error was made, return the test paper to your TA at the end of the class period, together with a note explaining which problem is in dispute and what correct work of yours was overlooked.

Medical Contingencies: Missed midterm exams will not be made up; the other exams will be given correspondingly more weight to take up the slack. In order to do this, I must receive written confirmation of the severity of your illness, and preferably a letter from the Dean's office requesting special consideration. Missed homework will generally count towards the two scores dropped at the end of the semester.

The Student Health Center recently adopted new guidelines for the issuance of written Medical Excuses. Please read this memorandum for more information. A one-sentence summary is that the Health Center will now only document serious and/or prolonged illnesses for which they have actively provided treatment.

Students with disabilities requiring accommodation should notify me and their TAs as soon as possible so that we can make the appropriate arrangements.