Philosophy: As opposed to a standard "cookbook recipe" calculus course, this one will involve significant modelling and computational components. This doesn't mean that the course will be easy, as we will concentrate on "what can one do with differential equations?" as opposed to "how to solve such and such equation?"
Computers & CWRUnet: Some of the course (both in-class and on the homework) will involve use of a computer with some mathematical software. You must have access to a computer and CWRUnet. In particular, you must be able to send and receive email and to access the campus WWW servers. If you sense a trouble here, see me. The material for in-class demonstrations will use Mathematica , which is available on CWRUnet (as are Maple and Matlab). It may be helpful to purchase a software package Visual D-Solve ; the details will be forthcoming.
Grades: Your Final Grade in the course will be based on the Tests, the Final Examination, the Projects and, finally, the Homework/Quizzes-if-any/Class Participation.
Tests & Final Examination: There will be 3 one hour Tests and the Final Examination. The tests will be given in class. The tentative dates of the tests are Sep.17, Oct.20 and Nov.15. See syllabus on WWW for updates and checklists. The final examination will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 8, 3:30-6:30 p.m., location TBA. (Please note that this is a special time for mathematics exams; not the standard time for MWF 11:30 classes.) The final examination is comprehensive. Each test counts 100 points toward the final grade; the final examination counts 200 points.
Projects: There will be (approximately) three take-home projects during the semester. Typically, a project will have a theoretical (modelling) and a computational components. Working on the projects in groups of 2-3 persons is encouraged. The worth of each project (toward the final grade) will be of order of 50 points and, typically, part of the project will be "for extra credit". The topics and deadlines shall be announced in class, by e-mail and on the WWW syllabus.
Homework: There will be a homework assignment corresponding to each topic covered, usually assigned and collected daily. See syllabus for the regularly updated assignments. Homework, class participation and quizzes (if any) will count for up to 50 points towwards the final grade. It goes without saying that doing and understanding the homework problems has indirectly a major influence on your final grade.
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