Mathematics 266: Elementary Differential Equations. Section D.

Fall 2008, 3 credits

Instructor:

Professor Stephen J. Willson
office: Carver 411
telephone: 294-7671
email: swillson@iastate.edu
FAX: (515)-294-5454

Office hours:

MWF 2:10 - 3:00, and TTh 3:10 - 4:00 in 411 Carver.
Please also feel free to make an appointment if the office hours are inconvenient for you.

Class meetings:

TTh at 12:40 - 2:00 in Carver 282.

The first class is Tuesday, August 26, and the last class is Thursday, December 11. The final exam will be sometime during the week of December 15-19. There are no classes on Thanksgiving Break (the week of November 24 - 28). The last day to drop the course is Friday, October 31.

Homework:

Most homework assigned will be ungraded. Ungraded problems on the homework will usually be the basis for the beginning of the next class period. These assignments may also be found by clicking assignments

Prerequisites:

Grade C- or better in Math 166 (Calculus II).

Catalog description:

Solution methods for ordinary differential equations. First order equations, linear equations, constant coefficient equations. Eigenvalue methods for systems of first order linear equations. Introduction to stability and phase plane analysis.

Textbook:

Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 8th edition, by W. Boyce and R. DePrima.

Likely order of topics:

Comparison with Math 267.

Mathematics 267 (4 credits) includes all the material from Math 266 and in addition includes the topics of Laplace transforms and series solutions, of special interest to electrical engineers. If you take Math 266 (3 credits) and then need Math 267, you may instead take Math 268 (1 credit) to get only the extra material in Math 267 but not in Math 266.

Grading:

Grades will be based on points accumulated. Points will be awarded for at least three hour exams, a final exam, some in-class quizzes, and possibly some graded homework. All exams are written by the instructor; there are no uniform exams. Grades may include a plus or a minus. Grade cutoffs will be announced for each exam and quiz. The cutoff for a given level (for example A-) in the course will be the sum of the cutoffs for that level for each exam or quiz.

Current course grades

Current course grades and all recorded scores are available on the web by clicking grades. Scores are listed by the last 6 digits of student social security numbers. If a score has been incorrectly recorded, you should contact the instructor.

Sickness policy:

If you are sick the day of an exam, you should contact the instructor by phone on the day of the exam to arrange a timely make-up.

Calculators

Students may find it useful to have a calculator for this class. Calculators should be capable of graphing functions and zooming in on the graphs. The most commonly used calculator in this course is the TI-89. The TI-83 Plus, TI-84 Plus, TI-85, TI-86, TI-89, TI-92, and TI Voyage 200 are all acceptable. You may bring your calculator to class and to quizzes and exams.
For help in using your calculator, see your manual or else use web calculator help.

Help room:

The Mathematics Department runs a Help Room that is free to all students. The Help Room is in 385 Carver. Its hours are tentatively
MTWR 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.,
F 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
The Help Room is scheduled to begin September 2.

Disabilities:

Please address any special needs or special accommodations with me at the beginning of the semester or as soon as you become aware of your needs. Those seeking accommodations based on disabilities should obtain a Student Academic Accommodation Request (SAAR) form from the Disability Resources (DR) office (515-294-6624). DR is located on the main floor of the Student Services Building, Room 1076.

Information about the instructor:

For more information about the instructor, click here.

Last updated May 13, 2008.