Syllabus for MAP 2302 U09, Spring 2016  Last modified on

Professor:  Steven M. Hudson, Phone: 305-348-3231, but email is suggested. 
Office Hours:
TR 1:00pm - 1:45pm, and T approx 3:15pm. Or, by appt. My office is DM 419B.  
E-mail
: hudsons@fiu.edu, Web Page: http://www.fiu.edu/~hudsons
Learning Assistant: Samantha Dimauro [sdima003@fiu.edu], Her hours are TR 9-11 AM, and F 10am - 12pm in DM 409A.
Text:
Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations, by Shepley L Ross, Fourth Edn. We'll cover most of Chs 1-6 and 9 (but Chs 1, 3 and 5 only lightly). The student solution manual is also recommended, but not required.
Partial Schedule:  Check  the Schedule and Homework page regularly for more info, holidays and updates.

T 1/12 - First lecture in PCA 171. Tues / Thurs 2pm to 3:15pm
T 1/19 - Homework (HW) 1 is due.
R 2/4 - Exam I.
M 3/21 - Last day to drop the course (without refund) - but check this.
R 4/28 - Last lecture day; but all homework etc. must be in sooner.
Final Exam : R 5/5, 12pm to 2pm -  the final exam covers the entire course.

I am posting some optional notes, even before the term starts, and suggest that you review them asap. These are topics you have probably seen before, but may need more work on. The prerequisite for this course is Calc II (MAC 2312) with at least a C. You'll need to differentiate and integrate functions (including trig , exp and ln) and to work with power series. Your semester grade will be based on your average score - not on improvement, effort, etc. Incompletes will not be given, except in special cases such as last-minute medical emergencies. 

Percentages of course grade - Exams I, II and III are 20 percent each. Final exam, 30%. Homework 10%. Each student will have a score between 0 and 100% at the end of the course. Letter grades will be assigned approximately as follows; 

 A 85-100%,   B 75-84 %,   C 65-74 %,   D 55-64 %, F 0-54 %. 

(but +'s and -'s will also be used). I will set the official scale at the end of the semester, after all grades are in, but will usually announce a new unofficial and approximate scale after each exam, based mostly on the class average. If interested, you can see how the scale was lowered in Fall 2015 by looking at the online answer keys to the exams.

Expectations: You are expected to spend about 10 hours a week outside of class, on homework and reading. DO NOT fall behind! The lectures are intended to give you a light introduction to the material (with attention to the rough spots). The reading and HW may go a bit beyond the lectures. You are expected to come to me or your LA as needed, with questions. Occasionally, you may be expected to write a simple proof, with clear sentences and good explanations. This should not be too hard, if you have already taken moderately rigorous Calculus courses.

Various Policies:  There will be about 7  homework assignments, which will be graded briefly and returned. Do them by yourself and turn them in on  stapled loose leaf paper. For maximum credit be neat, show all your work, and explain your reasoning. Homework is due at the {\it beginning} of the class. Late homework (up to 1 week late) is worth half the normal credit. If you do not want your HW to count into your grade, you must tell me in email by Friday 1/15/16. The exams will consist mostly of problems similar to the previous homework assignments. There may also be 1-2 conceptual questions, such as True-False, a textbook proof and/or a definition on each exam. I sometimes give limited extra credit for special projects, or for helping the class, but these will not have a major effect on your grade. See "My Policies", link below..

The Main Rules:

I will try to identify any cheating that may occur in the course. To avoid unfounded suspicion, please show all your work, turn in any scratch paper you use in exams, and avoid sitting next to your study partners during exams. This covers the basics, but read over My Policies (the long version) so that you are not surprised by anything. I may inform your advisor if you fall behind, as part of FIU's "Early Alert" system.

LINKS:

Schedule and HW daily list of topics, events, and HW lists

Help - tutoring, websites, online tutorials, advice etc (I usually post these pages when asked - until then, this link may not work).

Exam Page - keys to your exams, possibly some sample exams

Back to my Home page