Math 372 - Spring 2009
Dynamical Systems

The course: This is Dynamical Systems, Math 372.

Meeting times:

MWF	2:20 - 3:20	SW-321
T	2:50 - 4:15	LN-1120

The Tuesday meeting is not a discussion session.

Attendance at all class meetings is required.

Prerequisites: Calculus II (Math 222 or equivalent) and Linear Algebra (Math 304 or equivalent).

My office hours are posted on my home page. If you can't meet me during my scheduled hours just check with me after class, or send email, to arrange a meeting time.

Class notes: There is no textbook for the course. I will be writing class notes throughout the semester. The notes are available as the following files. "Everything" is the current copy of the entire set of notes. However, the earlier sections will not change very frequently, so I am also making the notes available as individual sections. The individual chapters have the "last modified" time on each page except the first so you can keep track of which version you have.

Please let me know about problems with the notes (errors, confusing language, etc.)

Maple: A number of the homework assignments will require that you use a computer algebra system. My preference is Maple, and I will discuss using it in class. It will also be discussed in an appendix to the notes. To help you get started using it I will produce some sample Maple worksheets. Here is a start:

• The DEtools worksheet example, as discussed in Appendix B.3.
• The pendulum example, as discussed in class.

You may use another system if you prefer. Popular alternatives are Mathematica and Matlab, which are available on campus, and octave, which is free. However, I may not be able to help you if you run into technical difficulties using anything but Maple.

Homework: I will try to assign homework frequently, and I will record the homework in the list below. The due date is generally the Wednesday after the week in which the problem was assigned.

I will record whether you turn in each problem, and I will grade a number of problems from each week's assignment. I will count your homework toward your course grade, and I expect that you will turn in a reasonable number of the assigned problems (at least one per week). There will be a lot of variation in the problems, so you should be able to find something that you are interested in. Later in the course there will probably be computer simulations, and possibly group projects.