MATH 427-1 DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS I

FALL SEMESTER 2007 (August 27 - December 8)

Instructor: Dr. A. Muleshkov, Associate Professor of Mathematics

Location: CBC C215 Time: Mo We 4:00 - 5:15 P. M.

Office: CBC B206 Phone/Voice mail: 895-0387

Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 3:00– 4:00 P. M.

Tuesday and Thursday 11:45–12:30 P. M.

and 4:15 – 5:00 P. M.

E-mail address: muleshko@unlv.nevada.edu

Web site: http://www.scsv.nevada.edu/~muleshko/

Textbook: ELEMENTARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS AND BOUNDARY VALUE PROBLEMS, 8e Edition - William E. Boyce & Richard C. DiPrima

Prerequisite: MATH 283 (min. grade C)

The final grade for the course is obtained from the total (max 500) of:

-- biweekly quizzes and homework - 120 points

-- midsemester test - 100 points

-- final exam (partially comprehensive) -240 points

-- instructor's discretion - 40 points

In this class, the textbook is only a tool rather than a self-study text. Very often, easier and more powerful methods are going to be presented in class. This textbook was chosen by the instructor because of the good choice and order of topics and also because of the quality and relevance of the problems. All chapters plus an additional topic (First order Partial Differential Equations), that is not in the book, are intended to be covered in the sequence of classes MATH 427 and MATH 428. The latter of these classes will hopefully be offered to the students who have at least a C in the former in Spring 2008. Further natural continuations of these classes are the graduate Ordinary Differential Equations class (MATH 723), as well as the undergraduate and graduate Partial Differential Equations classes. Mastery of integration techniques, especially integration by parts as well as series, especially power series is absolutely necessary for understanding the course from the beginning. Students are encouraged to review these topics and study the distributed handouts extensively from the beginning and to seek the instructor's assistance, if needed. Later on, Linear Algebra and other mathematical disciplines will start being involved. Since Differential Equations (and Complex Analysis) are the first and most important parts of Applied Mathematics, the main goal of this and the other above mentioned classes (at least when I teach them) are going to be analytical, semi analytical (approximate), and some numerical solutions of differential equations. Issues of existence, uniqueness, stability, convergence, etc. will also be considered, but their formal treatment will be secondary in these classes. Use of Fortran, C++, etc. codes and software packages such as Mathematica, Maple, MATLAB, etc. is encouraged but will not be considered in this and the other above mentioned classes. As it is seen from the previous remarks, this is a very serious and time consuming class. Besides coming to class, students need to review past material, work on homework, prepare for quizzes and tests, read the text, and consult the instructor and/or tutors. Accordingly, students should plan to allow sufficient time. Regular attendance, prompt arrival, and taking elaborate notes are strongly recommended; students who do not maintain these good habits do not usually succeed in this course. Knowledge of phone number of and keeping in touch with a classmate could be very helpful. Participation in a study group is even better.

Please keep this syllabus for future reference. If you have any questions about the issues raised here or other issues, please come to my office hours.