MA2051 Sections D06-D10 D'20 Canvas (2 pm EST)

Syllabus & Calendar Homework Assignments Course Materials & News

PLA 06 Neville Ingram
Section D06 - Zoom, Tuesday, Thursday 9:00-10:00 am EST
Office Hours - Zoom, Monday 3:00-4:00 pm EST
e-mail: nlingram at wpi dot edu

PLA 07 Kevin Stern
Section D07 - Zoom, Tuesday, Thursday 10:00-11:00 am EST
Office Hours - Zoom, Monday 1:00-2:00 pm EST
e-mail: kestern at wpi dot edu

PLA 08 Meng Lian
Section D08 - Zoom, Tuesday, Thursday 11:00-12:00 noon EST
Office Hours - Zoom, Monday 1:00-2:00 pm EST
e-mail: mlian at wpi dot edu

PLA 09 Hui-Xin (Emily) Chen
Section D09 - Zoom, Tuesday, Thursday 1:00-2:00 pm EST
Office Hours - Zoom, Monday 12:00-1:00 pm EST
e-mail: hechen at wpi dot edu

TA 10 Derek Drumm
Section D10 - Zoom, Tuesday, Thursday 3:00-4:00 pm EST
Office Hours - Zoom, Monday 2:00-3:00 am EST
e-mail: dadrumm at wpi dot edu

This course in differential equations, being one of the key capstones of our mathematics, uses many of the concepts introduced in previous calculus courses and gains further insights regarding their application in science and engineering. The topics in this course provide essential background and preparation for many other courses in sciences and engineering and for many activities in the post-graduate professional career.

By the end of the term, you should be able to

• solve separable differential equations via integration;
• solve first order linear equations using different methods;
• solve second order, constant-coefficient differential equations using characteristic functions, and undetermined coefficients;
• set up differential equation models for some real problems;
• set up second order differential equation models for oscillating systems;
• compute physical quantities such as amplitude, period, natural frequency, resonant frequency, and amplitude at resonance for forced spring-mass systems;
• use the Laplace Transform to solve ODEs.

• See the course Syllabus

• Four lecture meetings per week
• Two conferences per week

Quizzes 1 to 6: 47.5%, 5 (best scores) x 9.5% each
Exams I & II: 50%, 2 x 25% each
Attendance of 12 (out of 13) conferences: 2.5%*)
*) Attendance of all 13 conferences: 1(bonus)%

Point ranges for the course final grades:

• A: 100% - 90%; B: 90% - 80%; C: 80% - 70%; NR: < 70%

The Zoom conference sessions are conducted by a member (PLA or TA) of this course's Teaching Team. Material considered in lectures, homework problems, and other practical problems will be discussed during the conference hours.

Attentive participation in conference activities is a critical part of the learning process in this course. Attendance is strongly encouraged and directly reflected in the final grade for which 2.5% can be earned through attendance of at least 12 (out of 13) conferences. (All 13 attended will result in 1 bonus percent.) A missed conference won't be counted as an absence only in case of a genuine unavoidable (e.g., medical) emergency which you can document.

Homework is a required component of the course and is assigned for each section of the book covered in the lectures. Problems will be assigned daily (with a possible couple of exceptions) and posted on the course web page (Section Homework Assignments) and on the course page on Canvas.

Homework is not handed in, so each student should take a personal responsibility for doing sufficient study and practice. In order to understand the math, it is necessary to do, at a minimum, the assigned problems, but additional exercises for further practice are strongly recommended.

To evaluate your course progress, six 30-minute quizzes are offered throughout the course. The quiz problems are two-fold:

1. half of the problems (normally, two-three) are randomly selected from the preceding homework assignments;
2. half of the problems (normally, two-three) are quite similar to the problems in group 1, but they are new

For the work on problems in Part 1, the students are expected to use their notes with the solutions of the homework problems. Calculators are not allowed (and are not needed for any calculations) on the quizzes.

The quizzes will be held in the end of each Tuesday Zoom conference, see the course Calendar.

Five best quiz scores will be counted towards the final grade.

IMPORTANT: There are absolutely no make-up quizzes. If a quiz conference is missed, this will simply count as a zero on the quiz.

There will be two online Exams covering approximately equal portions of the course; therefore, the second Exam is not comprehensive. For the Exams' dates, see the course Calendar.

No notes, books, calculators, laptops, tables, gadgets, etc. may be used during these exams. Similarly to Quizzes, no make-up exams will be given.

The TA and PLAs hold their Office Hours which can be used for individual or group discussions/interactions (via Zoom) aiming to assist in learning and understanding the meanings of the course's conceptual and practical issues.

If you need course adaptations or accommodations because of a disability, or if you have medical information that may impact your performance or participation in this course, please make an appointment with your instructor as soon as possible. If you have approved accommodations, request your accommodation letters on-line through the Office of Disability Services' Student Portal.

If you have not already done so, students with disabilities who need to utilize accommodations in this class are encouraged to contact the Office of Disability Services (ODS) as soon as possible to ensure that such accommodations are implemented in a timely fashion. This office can be contacted via email (DisabilityServices@wpi.edu) or via phone: (508) 831-4908.

WPI's Academic Honesty policy, definitions and examples of academic dishonesty, and other info on the subject (including explanations of the steps that will be taken if students are suspected of violating the policy) can be found at https://www.wpi.edu/about/policies/academic-integrity/dishonesty; each student is expected to familiarize him/herself with this info. All acts of fabrication, plagiarism, cheating, and facilitation will be prosecuted according to the university's policy. If you are ever unsure as to whether your intended actions are considered academically honest or not, please see your instructor.

Syllabus & Calendar Homework Assignments Course Materials & News

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Last modified: Tue, Mar 24, 2020