Math 471-02 - Spring 2010
PDEs

The course: This is Partial Differential Equations (Math 471), section 02.

Contact:

	Name:		Dennis Pixton
	Home page:		Dennis
	Email:		dennis@math.binghamton.edu
	Office:		LN 2245
	Office hours:		MWF 2:30-3:30

If you can't meet with me during my scheduled hours then check with me after class, or send email, to arrange a meeting time.

Class times:

		MWF	1:10 - 2:10	LN-1120
		R	1:15 - 2:40	SL-306

The Thursday meeting is not a discussion session. In each class meeting we will review the previous day's material, including the homework, and we will cover new material.

Attendance at all class meetings is required.

Prerequisites: Ordinary Differential Equations (Math 371) or Dynamical Systems (Math 372). Calc 2 (Math 222) is a prerequisite to Math 371 or 372, so you will need to know the material from Calc 2, especially techniques of integration and sequences and series.

Other background: This is a course in partial differential equations, so you will need to know how to deal with partial derivatives. It is not necessary that you have taken Calc 3 (Math 323), but if you have never dealt with partial derivatives you need to find a textbook that covers the basics, and work through it before the third week of class.

Some familiarity with linear algebra (Math 304) will be helpful. Also, the only partial differential equations that we will cover come from Mathematical Physics. I will not expect any prior knowledge of Physics, but, obviously, it can't hurt.

Text: Fourier Series and Boundary Value Problems, Seventh Edition, by Ruel Churchill and James Brown, published by McGraw-Hill. Earlier editions are very different, so make sure you have the 7^th edition.

Course outline: We will cover large parts of the following chapters:

• 1. Fourier Series.
• 2. Convergence of Fourier Series.
• 3. Partial Differential Equations of Physics.
• 4. The Fourier Method.
• 5. Booundary Value Problems.
• 7. Orthonormal Sets.
• 8. Sturm-Liouville Problems and Applications.
• 10. Legendre Polynomials and Applications.

Schedule: I'll try to post a weekly schedule.

Tests: There will be two midterms and a final exam. The midterms will be on:

• Thursday, March 4.
• Thursday, April 22: Postponed: the test will be on April 29.

Test results:

• Test 1 solutions and statistics.
• Test 2 solutions and statistics.

Homework and quizzes: Homework will be assigned most days, and will be posted on the homework page. The homework will be graded according to the following scheme:

• 1 point for each problem on which you do serious work.
• 3-5 points on each of a few selected problems, based on correctness and quality of work.

I've posted solutions to some of the problems. I'll try to post one or two from each week's homework. Let me know if you have any requests for solutions.

Late homework will not be accepted.

There may be occasional quizzes.

Grading: You will have four grades for the course: Two test grades, a final exam grade, and a "section grade" based on quizzes and homework. Your course grade will be based on a weighted average of these four grades. The final will count 30%; the two tests will count 25% each; and the section grade will count 20%.

The weighted average will be based on "normalized scores", which incorporate any "curving" needed to adjust the raw scores. Details will be posted later.

Attendance: See the University's basic attendance policy.

Academic honesty: See the Student Academic Honesty Code. If you cheat on a test then you will be required to sign a Report of academic dishonesty form, which will be forwarded to the chair of the Harpur College Academic Honesty Committee, and you will receive a zero for the test. Cases of repeated or especially serious cheating will be referred to the Harpur College Academic Honesty Committee as a Category II offense.