Exam dates and some miscellaneous items may also appear below.
If the assignment due one day seems lighter than average, it's a good idea to read ahead and start doing the next assignment, which may be longer than average.
Unless otherwise indicated, problems are from our textbook (Nagel, Saff, and Snider, 3nd edition). It is intentional that some of the problems assigned do not have answers in the back of the book or solutions in a manual. An important part of learning mathematics is learning how to figure out by yourself whether your answers are correct.
Read the corresponding section of the book before working the problems.
| Date due | Section # / problem #'s |
|---|---|
| W 1/10/01 | Read the syllabus and the "Attendance: frequently asked questions" handouts. |
| W 1/10/01 | 1.1/ 1-16. Also, do non-book problem #1. |
| F 1/12/01 | 1.2/ 1-5, 10, 11, 14, 15, 19. Also, read the handout "What is a solution?", obtainable from the Web. |
| W 1/17/01 | 1.3/ 3, 6 |
| W 1/17/01 | Read pp. 12-14 and do problems 1.2/ 18, 23, 27, 29, 30 Also, do non-book problem #2. |
| F 1/19/01 | Read sections 2.1 and 2.2. Make sure you understand the discussion on pp. 49(bottom)-50. |
| M 1/22/01 | 2.2/ 1-3, 6, 8, 9, 11, 13, 16-18, 22, 23. |
| W 1/24/01 | 2.2/ 27abc, 29, 30-34 |
| W 1/24/01 | Read section 2.3 and do problems 2.3/ 1-6 |
| F 1/26/01 | 2.3/ 7, 8, 13, 14, 17-20, 23, 24, 27a, 28, 30. |
| F 1/26/01 | Read section 2.4 through the top of p. 67 and do problems 1-8. |
| M 1/29/01 | 2.3/31-35. In #33, note that what you might think is only a minor difference between the DE's in parts (a) and (b)--a sign-change in just one term--drastically changes the nature of the solutions. When solving differential equations, a tiny algebra slip can make your solutions utter garbage. |
| M 1/29/01 | Read the remainder of section 2.4 and do problems 2.4/11, 12, 16, 17, 19, 20-22 (note that #22 is the same DE as #16, so you don't have to solve a new DE, you just have to incorporate the initial condition into your old solution), 27a, 28a,32. |
| W 1/31/01 | Read the handout "A terrible method for solving exact equations", obtainable from the Web. |
| W 1/31/01 | Read section 2.6. (For now, we are skipping section 2.5. If time permits, we'll come back to it later in the semester.) Since you have no problems to do for this assignment, use your time wisely by starting to review for next week's exam (see note at end of next assignment) as well as for Wednesday's potential quiz. If you feel ready to do problems from 2.6, move on to the next assignment. |
| F 2/2/01 | 2.6/ 1-8, 9-13, 16. Note: unlike the book problems, your exam problems will not come with any hints as to what method to use on which problem. Take this into account when you study for Monday's exam. |
| M 2/5/01 | MIDTERM EXAM (date changed as announced in class) |
| W 2/7/01 | 2.6/ 21, 24, 28, 29, 32. |
| F 2/9/01 | Read section 4.1 and section 4.2 through Example 1 on p. 163. Do problems 4.2/1-8 |
| M 2/12/01 | Finish reading section 4.2 and do problems
4.2/ 9-13, 15, 16, 19, 20. Note: the notation in 9 and 10 is
convenient, and is commonly used, but some of it is imprecise. For
example, 9a should say L[cos](x), not L[cos
x]. Writing 9b and 9c more precisely is clumsier, since
unlike "cos", the functions that are input into L don't have a
short name. One way to state 9b more precisely is to write the entire
phrase "L[f](x), where f(x) =
x-1". The authors should have gotten around this
problem by making the intructions say "Compute
L[f](x)
for each of the following functions f: (a) f(x) = cos x; (b) f(x) = x-1; (c) f(x) = xr, where r is a constant." |
| W 2/14/01 | 4.2/ 23-26, 27, 32, 34a, 35, 36. (Note: For notational precision, 25 and 26 should say L[y](x)=..., not L[y]=... ) Also do non-book problem #3. |
| F 2/16/01 | Read the the definition of the Wronskian (Definition 1, p. 170) and the paragraph following Definition 1. Also read p. 172 through Example 2. Do problems 4.3/ 1-6. |
| Special notice |
Write a math history paper and win money! Click for details on the Robert Long Prize. |
| M 2/19/01 | Read section 4.3 and do problems 4.3/ 7-10, 13, 16, 17, 18, 24, 25, 26 |
| W 2/21/01 | Read section 4.5 through Example 4 (we will cover section 4.4
later in the semester) and do problems 4.5/ 1-7, 13-16. For some of
these you will have to use the fact about "repeated roots" in the box
on p. 185. For now, you are not responsible for Cauchy-Euler
equations (pp. 187-189). Special Note: If we have next week's midterm on Wednesday, it may be possible to have a review Tuesday night, provided we can secure a room. I've asked a secretary to try to reserve one. |
| F 2/23/01 | 4.5/53 |
| F 2/23/01 | Read Section 4.6 and do problems 4.6/ 1, 3, 5, 6, 9-12, 28, 31ab, 36-38 |
| M 2/26/01 | Read Section 4.7 and do problems 4.7/1-10,11,12,16,17; in #17, delete the word "general". Note that in 11, 12, and the modified 17 you are asked to find only a solution to each problem, not the general solution. |
| W 2/28/01 | 4.8/ 1-4,11,13,27,28 (for what a is the right-hand side of the form "const. eax" ?),30 |
| F 3/2/01 | MIDTERM EXAM (date changed as announced in class) |
| M 3/12/01 | Come back refreshed from a nice vacation. Special Notice: On Monday Mar. 12 at 4:00 p.m. in the University Auditorium, there will be a talk by magician, MacArthur fellowship recipient, and Stanford mathematician Persi Diaconis, who is also known as an excellent and very entertaining speaker. The talk, "On Coincidences", should be accessible to a general audience, and should be very enjoyable to just about anyone. You and your friends are all invited! For more information about the talk and the speaker, click here. |
| W 3/14/01 | No new homework. You could get a headstart on Friday's homework by doing the reading (there's some from Chapter 4 and some from Chapter 6). |
| F 3/16/01 | Finish reading section 4.8 and do problems 4.8/ 6-10, 12, 14, 15, 17-23, 29, 33-38 (do these with as few undetermined coefficients as possible), 39-44 |
| F 3/16/01 | Read sections 6.1 and 6.2. (We will come back to Chapter 4 later.) |
| M 3/19/01 | 6.1/ 7-10,13,14,15,16,18 |
| M 3/19/01 | 6.2/ 1, 4, 13, 15-18, 20. Hint: in #'s 4 and 20, r+1 is a factor of the characteristic polynomial. Use long division to find the quotient (char. poly.)/(r+1), a quadratic polynomial which you can then factor (using the quadratic formula, if necessary). |
| W 3/21/01 | No new homework. My lecture hasn't quite caught up to the previous assignment, but from the reading, plus the hint I just added to the previous assignment, you should be able to do all the problems. Potential quiz problems are the ones due last week from section 4.8 and the ones above from sections 6.1 and 6.2. |
| F 3/23/01 | 6.2/ 21 |
| F 3/23/01 | Read section 6.3. |
| M 3/26/01 | 6.2/ 9,13 |
| M 3/26/01 | 6.3/ 5-10. |
| M 3/26/01 | Read section 4.9 |
| W 3/28/01 | Re-read section 4.9. If you understand it, get started with the problems that are due Friday. Potential quiz material this week is only the HW from Chapter 6 that was due Friday and Monday. Special note: On Tues. Mar. 27 my office hour will be 4th period (10:40-11:30) rather than 5th period. |
| W 3/28/01 | Read section 4.4. |
| F 3/30/01 | 4.9/ 1-6,10,13,14,18,22 |
| F 3/30/01 | 4.4/ 3, 5, 6, 10ac |
| F 3/30/01 | Read section 4.11 |
| F 3/30/01 | Read section 4.12 |
| M 4/2/01 | 4.11/ 1, 6, 9, 13 |
| M 4/2/01 | 4.12/ 3, 9 |
| W 4/4/01 | MIDTERM EXAM (date changed as announced in class) |
| F 4/6/01 | No homework |
| M 4/9/01 | Read sections 7.1 and 7.2, and do problems 7.2/ 1-7, 13-17, 21-23, 27-29. In problems 1-7, the instruction "use Definition 1" means that you are to do the integrals, not use a table. |
| Special notice. In case you've been wondering who's currently scheduled to teach what math courses in the fall, besides Dr. Staff, I've posted the information that I've been given here. | |
| W 4/11/01 | Read section 7.3 and do problems 7.3/ 1-10,25,31-34 |
| F 4/13/01 | Read section 7.4. This includes a review of partial fractions, on which I don't want to spend class time. If you feel comfortable enough |
| F 4/13/01 | 7.4/ 1, 4, 7, 10. If you feel comfortable enough with partial fractions, get started on the problems from 7.4 due Monday. |
| Office hour change for Friday 4/13. I'll be substitute-teaching for another professor during 4th period, so I'll hold my office hour 9th period instead. | |
| M 4/16/01 | Read web handout "Partial fractions and Laplace Transform problems" (pdf file) |
| M 4/16/01 | 7.4/21, 24, 27, 30 |
| M 4/16/01 | 7.5/ 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 19-21, 23, 25, 26 |
| W 4/18/01 | 7.6/ 1-15, 19, 20, 29-32, 36, 37, 40. Potential quiz material is the homework with due dates 4/13 to 4/18/01. |
| Note: For quizzes or exams that involve Laplace Transforms, I will give you a table that is similar to the one on the inside back cover of the book. You do not need to memorize any specific Laplace transforms, but you do have to know how to use the table. | |
| F 4/20/01 | Read the material on periodic functions, pp. 412-414 Example 6, and do problems 7.6/ 21, 22, 25-28, 43-46 |
| M 4/23/01 | Read section 7.8 (skip 7.7) through p. 433. |
| W 4/25/01 | 7.8/5,7-10,13-15,17,19,23,24 |
| F 4/27/01 | On Friday I'll hold a question-and-answer review session at 12:50 p.m. in our usual classroom for anyone who wants to come; attendance is completely optional. I'll hold my usual office hours this week. I'll also have an office hour or hours on Monday and Tuesday; I'll post them on this page when I decide the time(s). |
| Naughty or nice? Click here to see if you qualify for a quiz drop. | |
| Exam week | Exam week office hours: Monday 1:30-2:30; Tuesday 11:00-12:00. |
| W 5/2/01 | FINAL EXAM begins at 3:00 p.m. in our usual classroom. |
| After the exam, please do not email me with questions about your grade for the class, your performance on the exam, etc. I will not email any information relating to the final exam or grades. Course grades should be available from ISIS starting sometime on the Monday after exam week. I will post some exam statistics, and perhaps some other statistics, on your grade scale page. (I won't be posting anything outside my office door.) Do not contact me before Friday afternoon May 4. |