Breadcrumb
Lorena A. Barba
PhD, Caltech (2004)
For up-to-date contact information, please see my faculty profile.
2006-7: Ordinary Differential Equations
Course Website
On the web site of the Department of Mathematics, we find the following quote:
Mathematics is the language of modern science, technology, engineering and finance.
How, then, do we "translate" the laws of science, principles of technology, etc. into the language of mathematics? The answer is, through mathematical modelling. This is the raison d'être of this course.
Skip ahead to:
| Course Schedule | Course Textbook |
|---|---|
| Classes: Tue. 4:10pm, Thur. 11:10, and Fri. 4:10pm Problems classes: Thur. 12:10 |
Differential Equations: An Applied Approach,
by J. Cushing |
| Computer labs: Friday 1pm Two groups, on alternate Fridays. |
|
Coursework
Homework is worth 10% of the final grade. Problem sets are given out in class on Tuesdays, and are due the following week's Tuesday, at the end of class.
There will be a course project, worth 10% of the final grade. It will consist of an investigation into nonlinear systems of equations using computers.
Homework Policy
Homework deadline is final. You are allowed, and indeed encouraged, to work with your classmates on the problem sets, but you must turn in your own homework papers. Do not copy someone else's work, this is cheating and it is harmful to your educational health!!
Please make the effort to write neat papers, as it can be difficult otherwise to understand your work and give you meaningful feedback. STAPLE YOUR WORK!!
Out of 10 problem sets, the best 8 will be counted to your homework mark. One of the reasons to count only 8 papers is to allow you to miss a week and not have to deal with your excuses. If you are sick, or tired, or overworked, or celebrating your birthday... it doesn't matter, you can miss a homework or two, because we only count 8 for your mark. What this means is : no excuses for late or missed homework!
Blackboard
Please log in to Blackboard often for Announcements, and participate in the Discussion Forum.
You can find all Homework, and Solutions as they become available, in the ODE course in the Blackboard online learning environment. Also, you will find there course Handouts, and many other course documents.
All students are automatically entered to the Blackboard system. If you are not able to see the ODE course in your Blackboard space, please email the lecturer so that she can enroll you in the course.
Software for ODEs
This package consists of two parts: DFIELD is an interactive tool for studying single first order ODEs, by plotting direction fields; PPLANE is a tool for phase plane analysis of a system of autonomous ODEs.
For self-study, you could try the Java version. It does not work on all browsers, though. Also, if you want to use this software for your Course Project, then you will need the Matlab version, as this will let you edit the graphs (e.g., change line colors) and save them to a file of any format (.eps or .jpg) so that you can include them in your report.
ODE Screencasts
This year, we are experimenting with technology to capture lectures as a screencast. The writings on the whiteboard are captured to a laptop during class, and simultaneously projected onto a large screen and recorded into a video. All videos of the lectures are uploaded to Blackboard, as well as a PDF file of the screen shots of each full board.
Screencast - active whiteboard capture [40 MB]
This is Lecture 8, covering the pitchfork bifurcation and introduction to systems. Writings on the whiteboard captured actively on the laptop are used to generate this video.
Screencast - computer demonstration [27 MB]
This is a demonstration session using Maple, during Problems Class 2. Shows the Maple DE lessons available in Blackboard, and demonstrates the use of DEplots for direction fields, and adding solution curves.