Professor: Dan Schult
Office: 314 McGregory
Office Hours: Thursday 10-11:15, 1:15-3:15 and ANY time by appointment.
Phone: 7651
email: dschult

Introduction: In this course, we will discuss the basic ideas involved in finding solutions to ordinary differential equations. We will also spend time learning how differential equations are used to model `real world' phenomena. You have already learned to solve some differential equations in the Calculus sequence. Indeed the simplest differential equation $$y'(x)=f(x)$$ is solved by integrating to find y(x). Many other differential equations are the basis of the exponential functions. For example, $$y'(x)=y(x).$$ We will discuss additional solution techniques, limitations of these techniques, and modeling as it relates to creating differential equations that describe the world AND can be solved.

Textbook: Elementary Differential Equations, W.E. Boyce and R.C. DiPrima, Wiley, 2008. Ninth Edition. (Eighth edition will work as well but a few problems are different.)

Course Web Page: http://math.colgate.edu/math308/

Course Structure:
Weekly Assignments: Weekly problem sets from exercises in the book and supplemental problems will be due approximately weekly. Writeups of the problem solutions should be carefully prepared documents expressing complete ideas and sentences. State the problem before you launch into a solution. Explain what methods or algorithms you will be using to solve the problem. These problems will be different from those you may be used to from Calculus as they will require you to extend the material covered in the book and class. Satisfactory completion of these assignments will be crucial to success in this course. You may work together on the problem sets, but the final writeup should be yours and yours alone.

Mid-term Exam schedule: Two cumulative `mid-term exams' will occur near the dates of October 18 and November 15.

Final Exam: A cumulative final exam will be given Friday, December 20 from 12-2pm. The date and time for this exam may not be altered.

Grades: Your grade will be determined by your work on weekly assignments (30%), mid-term exams (20% each), and the final exam (30%).