Course:  Math 20D

Title:  Introduction to Differential Equations

Credit Hours:  4

Prerequisite:  Math 20C (or equivalent)

Catalog Description:  Ordinary differential equations: exact, separable, and linear; constant coefficients, undetermined coefficients, variation of parameters.  Series solutions.  Systems, Laplace transforms.  Computing symbolic and graphical solutions using MATLAB.

Textbook: Elementary Differential Equations (10th Edition), by William E. Boyce and Richard D. DiPrima; published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2013.

• If you want to buy a hard copy of the book, then make sure to buy a book that has the WileyPLUS online homework code.
• If you want electronic access only, you can buy an online textbook together with the WileyPLUS code on the WileyPLUS website.

Subject Material:  We shall cover parts of Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7 of the text.

Homework:  Homework is a very important part of the course, and in order to fully master the topics, it is essential that you work carefully on every assignment and try your best to complete every problem.  We will have two different kinds of homework assignments in this class: online homework (which will be graded) and "paper-and-pen" homework (which will not be graded).

• The "paper-and-pen" homework assignments are on the course homework page.  These assignments will not be turned in and will be not graded; however, if you seek help from the instructor or TAs, they will do these problems, not the online homework problems.
• Online homework will be done through WileyPLUS, a service hosted by Wiley, the publisher of our textbook.
• No homework scores will be dropped at the end of the quarter.

Reading Assignments:  Reading and doing the examples in the sections of the textbook corresponding to our discussions in lecture will help you learn and understand the course material better.  If you work through the relevant examples in the book before you start your homework problems, you will probably solve the homework problems more easily and perform better on your exams than if you do not do the reading.  Your reading assignments are on the course calendar; for example, 2.3 is written on April 1, so your assignment is to read section 2.3 before our class meeting that day.

MATLAB:  You have four MATLAB assignments and a MATLAB quiz that count for a total of 10% of your course grade (the assignments count for 5%, and the quiz counts for 5%).

• MATLAB Assignments:  The assignments are here:
  
  http://www.math.ucsd.edu/~math20d/
  The due dates for the assignments are on the course calendar.  Please turn in your completed MATLAB assignments to the appropriate homework dropbox in the basement of AP&M.  All assignments are due by 3:00pm on the indicated due date.  We will not accept any late assignments, but we will drop your lowest MATLAB score when calculating your final grade.  If you need help with your MATLAB assignments, there will be MATLAB tutors available in B432; the tutoring schedule can be found on the MATLAB assignment page.
• MATLAB Quiz:  There will be a MATLAB quiz at the end of the quarter.  The quiz will be held during your scheduled MATLAB lab section in AP&M B432.  If you are unable to take your quiz during your scheduled time, instructions for scheduling an alternate time are on the MATLAB assignment page.

Midterm Examinations:  There will be two midterm exams during the regular lecture hour on two Wednesdays; see the course calendar for the specific dates.  You must take your midterms on the scheduled dates at the scheduled times; they will not be offered at an alternate time.  You will not be allowed to use a calculator during exams, but you may bring one handwritten 8.5 by 11 inch sheet of notes with you (yes you can write on both sides of the paper).

Final Examination:  The final exam will be held from 8:00am - 11:00am on Wednesday, June 8.  Please note:

• It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have a schedule conflict involving the final exam; you should not enroll in this class if you cannot sit for the final exam at its scheduled time.

Regrades:  Midterm exams and graded MATLAB assignments will be returned in the discussion sections.  If you find a grading or point totalling error on an exam or MATLAB assignment, you must return it immediately to your TA.  Regrade requests will not be considered once the exam or assignment leaves the room.  If you do not retrieve your graded exam or assignment during discussion section, you must arrange to pick it up from your TA within one week after it was returned in order for any regrade request to be considered.

Grade Recording Errors:  Keep all of your returned homework and exams and check TritonEd to make sure that the grades on your papers are the same as the grades recorded on TritonEd.  If there is any mistake in the recording of your scores, you must bring us the original assignment/lab/exam in order for us to make the correction.

Grades: Your cumulative average will be the best of the following two weighted averages:

• 10% WileyPLUS Homework, 10% MATLAB Assignments and Quiz, 20% Midterm Exam I, 20% Midterm Exam II, 40% Final Exam
• 10% WileyPLUS Homework, 10% MATLAB Assignments and Quiz, 20% BestMidterm Exam, 60% Final Exam

We may adjust the above scale to be more lenient (depending on the overall class performance), but we guarantee that we will not adjust the scale to make it harder to get a better grade.  Please note:

• You must pass the final examination in order to pass the course.
• Since there are no makeup exams, if you miss an exam for any reason then your course grade will be computed with the final exam counting 60% of your weighted average.

Late Homework:  Online homework problems may be completed after the due dates; however, there is a late penalty of 50%.  This penalty is applied only to the problems which are submitted late, and not to the entire assignment.

Piazza:  Piazza is an online discussion forum that allows you to ask questions using mathematical symbols and expressions.  Piazza was designed to enable you to get help quickly and efficiently from classmates, TAs, and instructors.  Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, you are encouraged to post your questions on Piazza.  Find our class page at: https://piazza.com/ucsd/spring2016/math20d/home.  If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email team@piazza.com.

Electronic Computing Devices:  Graphing calculators and computer programs (or online computing websites such as Wolfram|Alpha) can be very helpful when working through your homework.  However, a calculator/computer should be used as an aid in the learning concepts, not just as a means of computation.  You should use these devices when working on math problems at home, but always keep in mind that you will not be allowed access to any electronic computing devices during exams.  Of course, this also means that you will not be asked to solve problems on exams that require the aid of an electronic computing device.

• The use of electronic devices (of any sort) will not be permitted during exams.

Suggestions:  Below are some suggestions that we hope will help you to succeed in this course:

• Spend sufficient time on the course.  According to the policy of UCSD's Academic Senate, "The value of a course in units...shall be reckoned at the rate of one unit for three hours' work per week per quarter on the part of the student."  Since Math 20D is worth 4 credits, you should be willing to spend about 12 hours per week on the course.
• Keep up with the homework and do not miss a midterm.  Missing a homework assignment will hurt your grade because no homework scores will be dropped.  This policy is designed to encourage students to complete all the assignments and reward those who do.
• Get started on the homework assignments early.  This will enable you to make the most of your discussion section time by coming prepared with specific questions.
• Think about mathematics every day.

Academic Dishonesty:  Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense at UCSD.  Students caught cheating will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university.  It is in your best interest to take pride in your work and to maintain your academic integrity. (Click here for more information.)