Mathematics 215 (Differential Equations I), Spring 2001



Instructor: I. Laba. Office: Math Annex 1225. Phone: 822 3785. Email: ilaba@math.ubc.ca

Office hours: Monday 11:30-12:30, Wednesday 12-1, Thursday 4-5, starting Wednesday Jan. 10 and ending Thursday April 5. During the exam period April 9-20 my office hours will be Thursday-Friday 3-5.

Textbook: W.E. Boyce and R. C. DiPrima, Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 6th ed.

Corequisite: Math 200, 217, or 226.

Course web page: http://www.math.ubc.ca/~ilaba/math215

This course will cover a variety of topics in differential equations, both the theory and the applications. We will cover most of the material in Chapters 2, 8, 3, 7, and 9 of the textbook. This includes first and second order linear equations, first order linear systems, numerical methods, and some classes of nonlinear systems. We will also discuss a wide variety of applications, including problems in engineering, physics, biology, and economics.

Your course mark will be based on the homeworks (10%), two midterms (20% each), and the final exam (50%). The midterms will be held in class on Mondays, February 5 and March 5. The date of the final examination will be announced by the Registar later in the term. Attendance at the final examination is required, so be careful about making other commitments (such as travel).

Homeworks will be due every Monday, starting January 15, except that no homework is due on the midterm days. If you cannot come to Monday's class, ask a friend to hand in your homework, or bring it to my office by 2 PM. The lowest two homework scores will be dropped. You are encouraged to discuss the homework with other students, but please write up the solutions on your own. I strongly recommend that you get started on the homework early in the week. If there is anything that you do not understand or would like to see explained in more detail, do not hesitate to ask! Remember that mathematics is learned mostly by working on problems. We do our best to help you, but it is your participation that can make all the difference.

The first midterm was on Monday, February 5th.

The second midterm was on Monday, March 5.

Practice exam problems are available on the Web (in PDF format) at http://www.math.ubc.ca/~loew/m215/exampak.pdf.

Course schedule (tentative)


[Mathematics Department] [University of British Columbia]