Math 5246

Differential Equations


Course Description

From Catalog:

Existence theorems, linear theory, stability theory, periodic solutions, Poincare-Bendixon theory, boundary-value problems, functional differential equations.

The first semester of this course develops a lot of the classical theory of differential equations: existence, uniqueness, continuous dependence, and stability theory. These results are presented for systems ordinary differential equations. We will also provide the linear theory and setup the framework for stability theory. When applicable, we will discuss extensions to more general dynamical systems.

Course Instructor: Jeff Borggaard

Regular office hours will be held in McBryde 528, times will be arranged at the first class meeting. Additional meeting times can be arranged by e-mail.

Course Resources

Selected reading material will be placed on the canvas website in addition to the two reference texts for the course. The reference texts are on reserve at the library and purchase is optional. The flow of the material will follow the discussions in Chicone, "Ordinary Differential Equations with Applications," second edition, Springer, 2006 (available as an eBook) as well as Miller and Michel, "Ordinary Differential Equations," Academic Press, 1982. Both of these books have been placed on reserve at the library.

This course will be managed using the Virginia Tech Canvas site.

Course Policy Sheet

Math 5246 - Differential Equations - Spring 2017

Professor

Jeff Borggaard, regular office hours will be held in McBryde 528. Students are invited to e-mail me at (jborggaard@vt.edu) to arrange an appointment.

Texts

Chicone, "Ordinary Differential Equations with Applications," second edition, Springer, 2006.

Miller and Michel, "Ordinary Differential Equations," Academic Press, 1982.

Both of these books have been placed on reserve at the library.

Software
MATLAB is required for the computational exercises in this course. This can be purchased from the Software Distribution Office located in 3240 Torgerson Hall. Note that MATLAB is available on the computers at the Math Emporium. Use of any other software or programming languages is possible, but only after demonstrating adequacy and proficiency to the instructor.
Evaluation and Grading

There will be three in-class quizzes each worth 10% of the grade. The remainder of the grade will be determined from individual or group projects that include homework exercises and computational studies.

A final grade of 94% and higher will guarantee an A.

Honor Code

You are encouraged to discuss regular individual homework assignments with other members of the class, however any submitted write-up and code to be graded should be your own work from a clean sheet. Group projects should be worked on with only the group members. All quizzes must be worked on independently.

Failure to follow these restrictions, and giving or receiving unauthorized aid or assistance on homework, in-class exams on the take-home final are Virginia Tech Honor System violations and cases will be filed.