Last updated Tue Jan 2 2024 EST 23:16
The schedule below is just my (Dr. Groisser's) best guess and hope, as of the start of the semester, of which sections of the textbook (Nagel, Saff, & Snider, Fundamentals of Differential Equations, 9th edition) will be covered and when. In assignments, most (not all) of the exercises will be from the textbook, but many of the readings will be from my notes on first-order ODEs and other handouts of mine.
Omitted book-sections are sections that Dr. Groisser is not currently planning to cover.
I have taught MAP2302 more than 35 times, every time a little differently from the last; I do not teach large-lecture, cookie-cutter courses. Exactly what I cover, and when, depends on many factors, including but not limited to students' preparation, students' questions, difficulties that students had the last time I taught the class, attempts to improve my presentation of particular topics, and any deficiencies with the textbook that I (newly) discover this semester. (There are a great many deficiencies I'm already aware of; these are what gave rise to my notes on first-order ODEs.) Therefore I cannot give an exact schedule of weekly topics (let alone precise assignments) before the semester starts. I assign homework after every class. After each lecture, I finalize the assignment that goes with that lecture, update the assignment on the homework page, and (usually) post an estimate of the assignment that will go with the next lecture.
However, there will be a very high degree of overlap between what I assigned in last spring's MAP2302 honors section and what I end up assigning this year. Therefore you can get a rough estimate of the homework you'll be responsible for by looking at my Spring 2023 homework page.
week
of
semesterdates book sections 1 M 1/8 – F 1/12 1.1; some material from 1.2; 2.1; 2.3 begun (Section 2.2 will be covered later) (Chapter 1 concerns introductory material, including [inadequate] definitions that are made precise in my notes over several weeks of reading. Chapter 2 concerns [inadequately justified or exploited] methods for solving first-order differential equations, methods that are justified and better exploited over several weeks of reading in my notes.)
Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
2 W 1/17 – F 1/19
(M 1/15 is MLK Day)2.3 concluded; 1.2 concluded Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
3 M 1/22 – F 1/26 1.3, 2.2 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
4 M 1/29 – F 2/2 2.4; possibly 2.6 and/or 3.2 and/or 3.5. (Sections 3.2 and 3.5 concern certain applications of the first-order material in Chapter 2. These applications will be covered only if time permits, which is unlikely.)
Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
(Tentative date for 1st midterm is Friday Feb. 2. This date may change.)
5 M 2/5 – F 2/9 4.1 – 4.2 (Chapter 4 concerns second-order linear differential equations.)
Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
6 M 2/12 – F 2/16 4.3 – 4.4 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
7 M 2/19 – F 2/23 4.4 – 4.5 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
8 M 2/26 – F 3/1 4.6 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
( Tentative date for 2nd midterm is Friday Mar. 1. This date may change.)
9 M 3/4 – F 3/8 4.7; possibly 4.9 and/or 4.10; 6.1 (Chapter 6 concerns higher-order linear differential equations.)
Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
10 M 3/18 – F 3/22 6.2 – 6.3 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
11 M 3/25 – F 3/29 7.1 – 7.3 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
12 M 4/1 – F 4/5 7.4 – 7.5 (Chapter 7 concerns Laplace Transforms.)
Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
(Tentative date for 3rd midterm is Wednesday Apr. 4. This date may change.)
13 M 4/8 – F 4/12 7.5 – 7.6, 7.8 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
14 M 4/15 – F 4/19 8.1 – 8.3 (Chapter 8 concerns series solutions, primarily of second-order linear differential equations.)
Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page
15 M 4/22 – W 4/24
(W 4/24 is last day of classes)8.3 – 8.4 Assignments (daily): readings and exercises detailed on homework page