Ordinary Differential Equations for Poolesville Students

Fall 2012 -- Spring 2013, Dr. Ron Lipsman

Texts

  1. [B&DiP] Elementary Differential Equations, Ninth Edition, W. Boyce and R. DiPrima. John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2009.
  2. [DEwM] Differential Equations with MATHEMATICA, Third Edition, B. Hunt, R. Lipsman, J. Osborn, D. Outing and J. Rosenberg, John Wiley & Sons, New York, 2009.
A special softcover book encompassing the sections of these books that we will use in this Poolesville course is being prepared by the publisher, John Wiley and Sons. To order, go to: this Wiley site.

Prerequisites

The main prerequisite is a one-year course in one-variable calculus offered at Poolesville High School. Since most students will have taken the Magnet Analysis version, it will be ASSUMED that the student is very familiar with the contents of Chapters 1-10 in Calculus of a Single Variable (4th ed. or later) by Larson et al -- or the equivalent. Chapter 6 of the Larson book contains a brief introduction to ordinary differential equations. We will cover the topics in that chapter in much greater depth, as well as other classic topics in ODE not addressed in Larson.

It will be helpful -- but not essential -- to have some rudimentary knowledge of linear algebra and/or multivariable calculus. For those who don't, the few topics from those subjects needed for the course will be discussed.

Exams

Exam Schedule

There will be three hourly exams and a final exam. The tentative schedule is as follows:
First Exam:
Thursday, November 15
Second Exam:
Thursday, February 14
Third Exam:
Thursday, April 18
Final Exam:
Thursday, June 6

Exams, Templates and Solutions

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Quizzes

Quiz Schedule

There will be roughly a dozen quizzes. The highest 10 scores will count toward your quiz grade. Quizzes will be posted on this web site on Thursday evenings after class. They will be due (electronically) within 72 hours (i.e., by Sunday evening). They will be returned (graded) on the ensuing Thursday.

Quizzes and Solutions

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Grading Policy

The maximum possible number of points you can score in this course is 750. Your final grade will depend upon the total points you score on the MATHEMATICA homework, the quizzes, three hourly exams, and the final exam, distributed as follows:

CategoryTotal Points
Homework (DEwM)200
Quizzes50
Three Hourly Exams300
Final Exam200

There will be no make-up exams for any of the three in-class exams. If you miss ONE in-class exam (due to an excused absence), then your score for that exam will be one half of your final exam score. In all other cases if you miss one or more in-class exams, then no final grade will be issued for the course.

Class Schedule

The class meets on Thursdays, 3:00PM -- 4:00PM in room 38 at Poolesville High School.

Office Hour

Dr. Lipsman will be available for consultation each Wednesday evening from 7:00PM - 8:30PM via phone at 301-538-8381. In addition, for those students whose schedule permits, he will occasionally be available either before or after class at Poolesville High School.
Disclaimer: This page is updated once or twice per week during the school year. It is entirely possible that events have superseded the information contained herein. If so, announcements will be made in class. In urgent situations, e.g., snow cancellations, email will be sent. In any case, you may send me email inquiries.

Ron Lipsman
Professor Emeritus of Mathematics
Department of Mathematics
University of Maryland
College Park, MD 20742

Office: Mathematics Building, Room 4301
Phone: (301) 405-7061
Cell Phone: (301) 538-8381
Email: rll@math.umd.edu
Backup Email: rlipsman@umd.edu