MAT234S: Differential Equations

Winter 2007

University of Toronto

Click for a Syllabus, including a list of homework assignments.

The aim of the course is to provide students with a solid basic background on methods for solving differential equations with an emphasis on problem-solving and applications to mechanical engineering. The following topics will be covered: first order equations, second order linear equations, first order linear differential systems, Series solutions, partial differential equations and Fourier series.

Textbook:
Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems: 8th Edition,
by William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima,
Wiley, 2005.

Prerequisite:

MAT186 (Calculus I), MAT187 (Calculus II) and MAT188 (Linear Algebra).

Coordinator: Frédéric Rochon , BA6224, Office Hours: M 11am-12pm, Tue 1-2pm BA6224
Phone: 416-946-7193 email: rochon@math.toronto.edu

Lecuter for LEC02 Khye Loong Yew, Earth Sciences Building 2144, Office Hours: Thursday 4-5pm ES2144
Phone: 416-9786805 email: khye.yew@utoronto.ca

Lectures: New material is presented each week at the lectures.You are encouraged to read the corresponding section of the text before attending each lecture.

Lecture Section	Time	Location	Instructor	Email	Office hour
LEC 01	M 10-11 T 2-4	MC 254 MC 254	Frédéric Rochon	rochon@math.toronto.edu	M11am-12pm, Tue 1-2pm BA6224
LEC 02	M 10-11 T 2-4	MP202 SF1101	Khye Loong Yew	khye.yew@utoronto.ca	Thurday 4-5pm ES2144 Special office hours: Tu April 15 and Th April 17: 3:30-5pm

Tutorials:

The tutorials will start the week of January 14. All students must enroll in a tutorial section. The last day to change a lecture section is January 20th. The tutorial sections are as follows.

Tutorial Section	Time	Location	TA	Email	Office hour
TUT 01	M 16-17:30	GB 304	Stephan Stoyan	stoyan@mie.utoronto.ca	5:30-6:30pm RS316
TUT 02	M 16-17:30	SF 2202	Qingan (Andy) Zhang	qzhang@mie.utoronto.ca	M3-4pm MC336
TUT 03	T 9-10:30	GB 404	Jing Wang	wangjing@mie.utoronto.ca	Wed 12-1pm RS104A
TUT 04	T 9-10:30	GB 412	Jonathan Lesage	jlesage@mie.utoronto.ca	F 1-2pm MC 207

Homework: Homework is a fundamental part of this course, and you will have to work hard on the assigned problems in order to succeed. Assignments will be posted on the web and have to be submitted in the drop box near RS211 every week. Late homework will not be accepted. No exceptions. However, for the final grade, only the 8 best homework assignments out of 9 will count.

The homework consists entirely of analytic problems, the solutions to which require only pencil and paper. While some students may nonetheless wish to check their homework solutions using a computer program like Maple, Mathematica or MATLAB, they are strongly cautioned against becoming overly dependent on such technological assitance.

Exams:

Midterm I: The grades of the midterm are now available on Blackboard. The average of the midterm is 51%. Here is how one should interpret the grades in terms of letters:

80% or more: A
between 60% and 79%: B
between 40% and 59%: C
between 30% and 39%: D
strictly less than 30%: F
Midterm: Exam , Solutions: p0 , p1 , p2 , p3 , p4 , p5 ,

You will get back your exam in your next Tutorial. If you have any complain about the grading, you should do so to your TA at the end of that tutorial. Precisely, you should give back your exam with a note explaining your complain. We will then review the entire grading of your exam. In the process, your grade could go up, but it could also go down. After that, no complain will be considered.

Below are two practice exams (from a different but related course).
Practice Midterm I, Solutions to practice Midterm I
Practice Midterm II, Solutions to Practice Midterm II

Final Exam: April 18th at 9:30am A special yellow sheet will be distributed in tutorial for the formula sheet of the final exam. You can see some of the problems of the exam of last year on the review sheet . The exam is in McMurris hbuilding in 3 different rooms. The room where you should go depend on the first letter of your last name as follows:

Last name Exam room

A to Kraz MR-202

Kris to Patz MR-215

Peri to Z MR-103

Last name	Exam room
A to Kraz	MR-202
Kris to Patz	MR-215
Peri to Z	MR-103

Make sure that you are available at these times, as there will be no make-ups for missed midterm exams. Laptops, cell phones, calculators, books, notes, etc., are not allowed during exams. If you miss the midterm for a serious acceptable reason and provide a valid written excuse, it will be dropped in the computation of the final grade. The final exam will be cumulative, but its emphasis will be slightly skewed in favor of the material most recently covered in the course.

Grading: Your course grade will be based on your examination performance and homework, weighted as follows: Midterm 35%, homework 15%, and the final exam 50%.

Last modified: Thursday, April 3rd 2008.