Class Information
MATH 520: Ordinary Differential Equations
Section: H01
Semester: Spring 2019
Credit Hours: 3

Meeting Information
Classroom Location: Leconte College 405
Days and Times: TTH 11:40AM-12:55PM

Instructor Information
Xinfeng Liu
Email: xfliu@math.sc.edu
Phone: 576-5849
Office Location: LC 317Q
Office Hours: TTH 10:00AM-11:30AM or by appointment


Syllabus

Homework Assignment

Textbook: Elementary Differential Equations, 10th Edition, by William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima

Prerequisite: A grade of C or higher in Math 344 or 544.

Important Date: The deadline to change/drop or withdraw the course without a W being recorded is Tuesday, January 22, 2019.

Subject Materials: We shall cover most of the material presented in Chapters 1-9.

Learning Outcome: Students who successfully complete Math 520 will be able to accomplish the following: a): solve initial-value problems and find general or particular solutions to ordinary differential equations; b): develop skills to use various solution methods such as integrating factors, substitution, Laplace transforms, and etc. c): use differential equations to solve practical problems. Students are also expected to master mathematical concepts and apply these concepts to solve problems of first order and higher order linear/nonlinear ODEs based upon the methods they learn from this class.

Reading: Reading the textbook in advance of the lecture is strongly encouraged. Benefits of this preparation include obtaining a familiarity with the terminology and concepts that will be encountered (so you can distinguish major points from side issues), being able to formulate questions about the parts of the presentation that you do not understand, and having a chance to review the skills and techniques that will be needed to apply the new concepts.

Course Outline

Tentative Weekly Syllabus of Sections Covered
Week Dates Tuesday Thursday
1 Jan. 14 -- Jan. 18 1.1-1.2 1.3-2.1
2 Jan. 21 -- Jan. 25 2.2 2.3
3 Jan. 28 -- Feb. 1 2.4-2.5 2.6
4 Feb. 4 -- Feb. 8 2.7, 2.8 3.1
5 Feb. 11 -- Feb. 15 3.2 3.3-3.4
6 Feb. 18 -- Feb. 22 3.5 3.5
7 Feb. 25 -- March 1 Review of Exam 1 Exam 1
8 March 4 -- March 8 Solutions to Exam 1 3.6
9 March 11 -- March 15 Spring Break Spring Break
10 March 18 -- March 22 3.7-3.8 4.1-4.4
11 March 25 -- March 29 5.1-5.2 6.1
12 April 1 -- April 5 6.1-6.2 6.3
13 April 8 -- April 12 6.3 Exam 2
14 April 15 -- April 19 6.4 6.5
15 April 22 -- April 26 6.5-6.6, 7.1-7.3 7.4-7.5
Final Exam: May 7, 2019 (Tuesday), 12:30PM-3:00PM


Homework and Quiz:

Homework will not be collected, but you are supposed to do them all. REMEMBER: the more problems you do, the better you understand the material. Students are encouraged to work independently on homework sets. There will be approximately one quiz per week on Thursday, and no quiz during the exam weeks. There are two to four problems for each quiz. The quiz problems will be either the same as, or very similar to those from the homework. Thus, if a student has made a good attempt at the homework, he/she should do well on the quiz. One lowest quiz grade will be dropped from the final grade calculation.

Exams: There will be two midterm exams and a comprehensive final exam.
Exam 1: Thursday, February 28, 11:40AM - 12:55PM
Exam 2: Thursday, April 11, 11:40AM - 12:55PM
Final Exam: Tuesday, May 7, 12:30PM - 3:00PM

The exams are "closed book" – no books, no notes, no calculators, no labtop computer or equivalent technology, etc. There are no early exams. A make-up exam is only possible for written legitimate documented reasons of illness, family emergency, or participation in a University sponsored event. You must take your exams with the lecture for which you are registered.

Grades:
 Exam 1  20%
 Exam 2  20%
 Final Exam  35%
 Quizzes  25%
 Total  100%

A straight scale will be used so that A's, B's C's and D's correspond to the percent ranges 100-90, 90-80, 80-70 and 70-60 respectively. Plus grading will be used. For example:

90-100:A 86-89: B+ 80-85: B 76-79: C+
70-75: C 66-69: D+ 60-65: D 0-59: F


Attendance: Attendance at every class meeting is important - and expected. Students missing more than 10% of the class meetings (4 days) can have their grade lowered.

Class Files (Check Blackboard)

Academic Dishonesty: Cheating and plagiarism in any form is not tolerated. If a student is caught cheating, I will follow the guidelines as set forth in the USC Honor Code and other University guidelines.