A first course in ordinary differential equations
- Formulating differential equations to model physical, biological, economic systems, etc.
- Analytical methods for finding solutions, where possible, and to understand the qualitative behavior predicted by solution formulas.
- Methods for predicting qualitative behavior when exact solution formulas are not available.
- Using scientific computing software to find quantitative solutions when exact solution formulas are not available.
Prerequisites: Calculus through Taylor series, linear algebra through eigenvalues (real or complex) and eigenvectors.
Textbooks: It is recommended to buy rather than rent. People wind up looking things up long after the Differential Equations course is over.
Main textbook: Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 12-th edition, by Boyce, DiPrima, and Meade.
Be sure to get the one that inculdes Boundary Value Problems Recommended: Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos by Steven Strogatz
Assignments, exams, grading: The final grade will be based on weekly homework assignments (worth 30% of the grade), an early quiz (5%), a midterm exam (20%) and a final exam (45%).
Communication: Please use the Brightspace site for content and homework communications. This way everyone sees and benefits from questions and answers, and there can be class discussion. Email the instructor for issues that do not involve others such as scheduling appointments, homework extensions, advice, etc.
Academic integrity:
- Skills from this class are probably more important than the grade. Faking it may (or may not) improve your grade, but it will hurt you in job interviews, future classes and research.
- Collabortion on assignments is encouraged, but you must write the solutions individually in your own words.
- It is forbidden to allow another student to copy your solutions.
- Students may not plagairize solutions from other sources such as books or web sites.
- Use of AI tools to create homework solutions is not allowed. Warning: Do not trust AI generated facts or solutions that you do not understand. As of 2026, AI generated math content is often wrong.
- Please report (privately or even anonomously) any academic integrity violations you become aware of.
- Violation of these policies may result in grade lowering or more serious penalties, depending on severity and following math department guidelines.