Math 20D

MATLAB Assignments

This is the gateway page for the Math 20D MATLAB assignments.  This portion of Math 20D is an introduction to using computer software to solve ordinary differential equations.  The labs will explore not only how to use the software but also some of the ideas behind the underlying algorithms.  The material will also give additonal persepective and add to topics covered in lecture.

There are three main packages for general purpose scientific computation: Maple, Mathematica, and MATLAB, known as the 3Ms.  While this course focuses solely on MATLAB, all three packages are similiar and if you know one, you can usually pickup another one within an hour or two.  Many students enrolled in Math 20D will use one of these packages (or more specialized software of a similiar nature) heavily in their major.

Basic information about the MATLAB assignments and using MATLAB on campus ACS computers can be found on the What You Need To Know About MATLAB portion of 20D page, while due dates for homeworks can be found on the MATLAB Assignment Due Dates page.  In general, though, each lab is self-contained and can be completed without prior MATLAB experience, although some assignments depend on commands learned in previous assignments

There are no limitations on when you may use the computer lab in AP&M B432 and how much time you may spend on a MATLAB assignment. Just make sure to submit homework by its due date and time.

Assignments:

1. Introduction to MATLAB
2. Visualizing Solutions to ODEs using DFIELD and  PPLANE
3. Numerical Methods with First-Order Equations
4. Systems of ODEs

Appendices:

1. Appendix 1: Modeling with Differential Equations (Prerequisite: Lab 2)
2. Appendix 2: Second-Order ODEs (Prerequisite: Appendix 1)
   
3. Appendix 3: Series Solutions (Prerequisite: Appendix 2)
4. Appendix 4: The Laplace Transform (Prerequisite: Appendix 3)
   

Matlab Final Quiz

Information about the MATLAB Final Quiz

Feedback:

    If you have any suggestions or comments about the lab assignments, we'd love to hear from you.  Also, if you encounter any mistakes or broken links, let us know.  Send an e-mail to the Senior MATLAB TA.

References:

Books:

• Boyce, William E. and Richard C. DiPrima. Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems. 8th ed. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 2005.
  This is the textbook for most of the Math 20D course.
• Kreysig, Erwin. Advanced Engineering Mathematics. 7th ed. New York: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 1993.
  This book explains many of the applications of differential equations to science and engineering.
• Polking, John C. and David Arnold. Ordinary Differential Equations Using MATLAB. 2d ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1999.
  Here we discover many of the MATLAB tools for solving differential equations. Also included are tutorials for MATLAB-specific applications developed by the authors, such as DFIELD.
• Stewart, James. Calculus - Early Transcendentals. 5th ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole, 2003.
  This is also a textbook for Math 20D, covering the first few weeks of the course.

Web Sites:

• http://www.wikipedia.com
  An excellent resource for articles on mathematical topics.
  
• http://archives.math.utk.edu/topics/ordinaryDiffEq.html
  Just about anything on the web concerning differential equations can be found in this comprehensive list of links.
• http://math.rice.edu/~dfield/
  You can download the software for the DFIELD application here.
• http://www.claymath.org/millennium/
  The Clay Mathematics Institute has offered a million dollar prize for the solution of a variety of open problems in mathematics. One such problem involves solving the Navier-Stokes equations, which are a set of differential equations.
• http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/index.html
  The MacTutor History of Mathematics Archive is a comprehensive reference for information about mathematicians and the history of mathematics.  Biographies of mathematicians mentioned in these assignments are found on this site.
• http://www.math.ucsd.edu/
  This is the home page for the UCSD Department of Mathematics.
• http://commons.bcit.ca/math/examples/
  This site is a great resource for finding applications of math to the real  world.
  
• http://www.mathworks.com/
  The Mathworks is the creator of MATLAB. Product information and help can be found here.
• http://www-acs.ucsd.edu/
  This is the ACS (Academic Computing Services) home page, containing resources for computing at UCSD.

Acknowledgments:

Last modified:

10/05/2012