Calculus IV, MTH 235
Differential Equations
Sections 001-008

Gabriel Nagy
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Mathematics
Michigan State University
A-307 Wells Hall
(517) 353-4484
gnagy@math.msu.edu

Syllabus
Schedule

Teaching
Main page

Spring 2012 Syllabus

Lecture: Mon, Wed, Fri, 10:20 - 11:10 am in 108 Ernst Bessey Hall.
Instructor Office Hours: Tue, Thu, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm in A-307 WH.

Lecture Slides   Lecture Notes

Common Final Exam: Tuesday, May 1, 10:00 am-12:00 pm.

All students are required to take the Common Final Exam. The university has strict requirements for exceptions. (See the third paragraph.)

Common Final Exam Places:

Sections 001, 005, 007: 1410 BPS (BioMed & Phys. Sciences)
Sections 003, 010, 011: N-101 NKL (North Kedzie Hall)
Sections 004, 006, 008, 012, 013: E-100 VMC (Veterinary Clinical Center)

Common Make-up Final Exam: Wednesday, May 2nd, 10:00am-12:00 noon. Place: B-119 WH.

Only students with either 2 math exams or 3 or more exams on May 1st, can apply for the Common Make-up Exam. Applications are received in A-212 Wells Halls no later than 12:00 noon Friday April 27th. Students must provide a recent copy of their schedule for documentation.

Practice Exams:

  • These old exams may not cover the same sections that our exams.
  • Guidelines: First, do the problems by yourself; only then check your solutions.
  • Several exams are provided without solutions.

Recitations:

  • Sec. 001: Tue, 8:00 - 8:50 am, C-214 WH. TA: Samuel Lin.
  • Sec. 003: Tue, 9:10 - 10:00 am, C-311 WH. TA: Hai Zhang.
  • Sec. 004: Tue, 10:20 - 11:10 am, C-316 WH. TA: Hongli Gao.
  • Sec. 005: Tue, 11:30 am - 12:20 pm, 304 NS. TA: Samuel Lin.
  • Sec. 006: Tue, 12:40 - 1:30 pm, 208 OH. TA: Jiayin Jin.
  • Sec. 007: Tue, 1:50 - 2:40 pm, 202 UP. TA: Samuel Lin.
  • Sec. 008: Tue, 3:00 - 3:150 pm, 1235 ANH. TA: Hongli Gao.

TA Emails and Office Hours.

Text Book: W. Boyce and R. DiPrima, Elementary differential equations and boundary value problems, 9th ed., Wiley (2009). ISBN: 978-0-470-38334-6.

Coverage: Sections 2.1-2.6, 3.1-3.6, 5.2, 5.4, 5.5, 6.1-6.6, 7.1-7.6, 7.8, 10.1-10.5.

Exams:

There will be four 50-minutes exams and few short quizzes; see the schedule for the dates. No notes, no books, no calculators, no phones, no tablets, no computers will be allowed in the exams. Students are expected to take all exams.

Lecture Homeworks:

Completing the assigned homework is vital to your understanding of the subject material. You should make every effort to complete the homework assignments and seek help with problems you have not been able to solve.

Optional WeBWorK assignments:

Additional homework problems and practice midterm exams will be available through the WeBWorK server at the Mathematics Department. More information will be available during the semester.

Attendance:

Students are expected to attend all class meetings and are responsible for all of the material covered in class. Any changes in this syllabus or in the scheduling of exams, WeBWorK, etc. will be announced during class meetings.

Course Grading:

Your course grade will be based on the maximum of the following two decompositions:

    • 14% HW/QZ (lowest dropped)
    • 14% Exam 1
    • 14% Exam 2
    • 14% Exam 3
    • 14% Exam 4
    • 30% Final Exam
    • 14% HW/QZ (lowest dropped)
    • 42% Best 3 of 4 Exams (14% each)
    • 44% Final Exam

In addition, you must take the final examination in order to pass the course. Since there are no makeup exams, if you miss an exam for any reason, your grade will be based on option 2.

Final grades will be assigned based on the following scale.

4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.0
[100, 90] (90, 85] (85, 80] (80, 75] (75, 70] (70, 65] (65, 60] Below 60

This scale may be curved to be more lenient, depending on the final grade distribution. However, such a curve is at the sole discretion of the instructor.

Academic Dishonesty:

Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense atMSU. Students caught cheating may face failure in the course and an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. See the MSU Academic Integrity Policies.

Important Dates:

  • 01/09/2012: Class begins.
  • 01/13/2012: Close of online enrollment at 8:00pm.
  • 01/16/2012: Martin Luther King day. No class. University open.
  • 01/16/2012 to 01/20/2012: Late add, drops to lower course, section changes: Go to A-212, Wells Hall.
  • 01/20/2012: Last day to late add or change to an approved lower level course/prerequisite course.
  • 02/03/2012: Last day to drop a curse with 100% refund. No refunds after this date.
  • 02/29/2012: Last day to drop with no grade reported. Middle of Semester
  • 03/05/2012, 03/09/2012: Spring Break. No classes. University open.
  • 04/27/2012: Last day of class.
  • 05/01/2012: Final Exam, 10:00am-12:00 noon.

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