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Description
The subject of differential equations can be described as the study of
equations involving derivatives. It can also be described as the study of
anything that changes. The reason for this goes back to differential calculus,
where one learns that the derivative of a function describes the rate of
change of the function. Thus any quantity that varies can be described by an
equation involving its derivative, whether the quantity is a
position, velocity, temperature, population or volume.
There are three main ways to study differential equations. There are analytic
methods, wherein a mathematical formula for a solution of a differential
equation is obtained. There are Numerical techniques, which provide an
approximate solution, generally using a computer or programmable calculator.
Differential Equations can also be studied qualitatively, determining
general properties of solution without concern for exact behavior.
In this course, we will emphasize analytic methods, though qualitative and
numerical techniques will make brief appearances.
News
Sunday 11 December: Please remember to fill our your FCE's for
21-260. This feedback provides valuable information for future semesters.
Sunday 11 December: Solutions to HW#15 are available outside my
office door (WEH 6214).
Sunday 11 December: Guillermo Leiva will be holding office
hours today starting at 5:00. If you have additional questions, you
can stop by.
Thursday 8 December: Some old exam problems are now available
on the Final Exam Review Page.
Thursday 8 December: A Final Exam Review Session will be held
on Sunday 11 December, from 1:30-3:00pm in DH 1112.
Tuesday 6 December: The Final Exam review page has been posted.
Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Friday 2 December: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #15 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule
page.
Thursday 1 December: Here are some statistics for the course, including
information about the second and third midterm exams.
Monday 28 November: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #14 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule
page.
Sunday 20 November: Solutions to HW#12 (which you turned in on
Friday) are available outside my office door (WEH 6214).
Friday 18 November: I've updated the Exam #3 Review page with
old exam problems, and the table of Laplace transforms you'll be given
to use during the exam.
Thursday 17 November: I've updated the exam review page to
include Section 9.3, Almost Linear Systems.
Thursday 17 November: Dr. Handron will hold a review session
for Exam #3 on
Sunday afternoon, from 1:00-2:30 in DH 1112.
Thursday 17 November: Guillermo Leiva will be holding office
hours on Sunday evening starting at 7:30pm.
Tuesday 15 November: The reading assignment for
Week #13 and Exam #3 review
page have been posted. Follow the links from the Schedule page.
Saturday 12 November: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #12 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule
page.
Friday 4 November: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #11 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule
page.
Friday 29 October: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #10 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule
page.
Tuesday 25 October: Solutions to the most recent homework are
available outside WEH 6213.
Friday 21 October: I've added some old exam problems to the
review page.
Thursday 20 October: The reading assignment for
Week #9 and Exam #2 review
page have been posted. Follow the links from the Schedule page.
Wednesday 19 October: I need to make a change
(Simplification!) to one of the homework problems. For problem 7.1.5,
replace 2cos(3t) with 0, to make a homogeneous equation.
Monday 17 October: There are some changes to office hours this
week. I will hold office hours on Tuesday 2:30-4:30. My Wednesday
office hours must be cancelled. Thusrday, I'll hold office hours from
2:30-4:30. The homework, due on Thursday this week can be
turened in either in recitation, or in your TA's mailboxes by
4:55pm. Cristina Canepa will cancel her Thursday office hours
and hold office hours Monday 12:30-1:30. These changes are for this
week only.
Friday 14 October: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #8 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule
page. Note that the assignment is due on Thursday this week.
Wednesday 12 October: My office hours for today will be
canceled. I will hold my normal office hours on Thursday (3:30-5:30).
Tuesday 11 October: Here are some statistics for the course, including
information about the first midterm exam.
Friday 7 October: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #7 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Wednesday 5 October: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #6 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Wednesday 28 October: The short assignment that was originally
due on Friday has been postponed until Monday. That will give you a
bit more time to recover from today's exam.
Monday 26 September: Check the Exam #1 review page for your
TA's office hours on Monday and Tuesday. You can pick up graded
homework and homework solutions from them.
Sunday 25 September: I've updated the homework assignment page
for Week #5. The problems assigned are due on Friday, but should not
be too onerous.
Friday 23 September: I'll hold a reveiw session for Exam #1 on
Monday 26 September, from 6:30-8:00pm in HH B103.
Friday 23 September: Upon reflection, I think it would be best
to have a short homework assignment due on Friday 30 September,
covering some of the matrix algebra ideas from this week's lectures.
It would be a mistake to let that material go for two weeks without
some practice.
Thursday 22 September: The reading and exam review problems for
Week #5 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Wednesday 21 September: Here is a brief
tutorial on matrix algebra that may be used to supplement what the
textbook offers. If you've not seen this material before, it may help
to read through it.
Friday 16 September: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #4 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Friday 9 September: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #3 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Wednesday 7 September: My office hours for the rest of the
semester (or until further notice) will be Wednesdays and Thursdays
from 3:30-5:30, or by appointment.
Thursday 1 September: The reading and homework assignment for
Week #2 have been posted. Follow the link from the Schedule page.
Wednesday 31 August: I've made a correction to the homework
assignment for Week #1. The problems listed for Section 1.1 were
meant to be from Section 1.3. I've made the change on the homework
page. I'll make sure the problems from 1.1 are used on a future (next
weeks) assignment. So if you've done them already, hang onto your work.
Monday 29 August: Starting next week, we will be using the Java
applets dfield and
pplane for some of our work. You may want to take a look and try
them out beforehand. Dfield will make more sense after reading the
examples in Section 1.1 of the text. The name dfield is short for
"direction field."
Monday 29 August: Welcome to 21-260 Differential Equations.
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