Syllabus
Course: Math 20D (Course Catalog)
Title: Introduction to Differential Equations
Credit Hours: 4
Prerequisite: Math 20C (or equivalent).
Catalog Description: Ordinary differential equations: exact, separable, and linear; constant coefficients, undetermined coefficients, variations of parameters. Systems. Series solutions. Laplace transforms. Techniques for engineering sciences. Computing symbolic and graphical solutions using Matlab.
Textbook: The required textbook for the course is Fundamentals of Differential Equations (9th Edition), by Nagle, Saff, and Snider; published by Pearson. A list of the topics scheduled to be discussed are listed on the Course Calendar.
Course Readings: Reading the sections in the textbook that correspond to what we are discussing in class is a very important part of learning the subject. Lecture time is very limited and not every subject can be fully covered in the time allotted for lecture. Consequently, it is in your own interests to read the related chapters in the textbook. You should read the section of the book prior to the lecture in which that section is discussed.
Supplementary Textbooks: Other books that cover the same or similar topics include
Homework: Homework is a very important part of the course and in order to fully master the topics it is essential that you work carefully on every assignment and try your best to complete every problem. Homework assignments will be posted to Canvas and will be submitted (by the students) to Gradescope. See the Homework page for more details.
- Your course homework score will be computed by adding together all individual assignment scores.
- No homework assignment scores will be dropped at the end of the quarter.
- You can get help with the textbook homework in TA/instructor office hours or in the Teaching+Learning Commons Tutoring Center.
MATLAB Assignments: The MATLAB assignments are a required part of the course. The assignments, due dates, and instructions on how to submit the assignments can be found on the Math 20D MATLAB webpage. There will be MATLAB tutors available in B432 to help you with your assignments.
MATLAB Assignment Due Dates:
- Introduction to MATLAB — Oct 21 at 11:59PM
- Visualizing Solutions to ODEs — Nov 04 at 11:59PM
- Numerical Methods — Nov 18 at 11:59PM
- Systems of ODEs — Dec 02 at 11:59PM
The MATLAB Quiz: There will be a MATLAB quiz given at the end of the quarter. The quiz will be held during your scheduled MATLAB time in AP&M B432. If you are unable to make the scheduled time, you will be able to schedule an alternate time online. See
the Math 20D MATLAB webpage for more information.
Electronic Computing Devices: Graphing calculators and computer programs (or online computing websites such as Wolfram|Alpha) can be very helpful when working through your homework. However, a calculator/computer should be used as an aid in the learning concepts, not just as a means of computation. You should use these devices when working on math problems at home, but always keep in mind that you will not be allowed access to any electronic computing devices during exams. Of course, this also means that you will not be asked to solve problems on exams that require the aid of an electronic computing device.
The use of electronic devices is not permitted during exams.
Exams: There will be two midterm exams and a final exam. Check the Course Calendar for the dates of the exams.
- You may use one 8.5 x 11 inch sheet of handwritten notes. You may use both sides. (No photocopies!)
- No calculators or electronic devices may be used during the examinations.
- Bring your student ID to the exams.
- We will not be using Blue Books for exams this quarter.
Final Exam:
- It is your responsibility to ensure that you do not have a schedule conflict involving the final examination.
You should not enroll in this class if you cannot sit for the final examination at its scheduled time.
- You must pass the final exam ( >59% ) in order to pass the class. (The actual required percentage may be lowered, depending on overall class performance.)
Make-up Exams: Make-up exams will not be given, nor will we offer exams at an alternate time. If you miss a midterm exam for any reason, then your course grade will be computed using Method 2. (See below.)
Grading: There are two methods to determine your course grade:
- Method 1: 10% Homework, 10% MATLAB, 20% Midterm Exam I, 20% Midterm Exam II, 40% Final Exam
- Method 2: 10% Homework, 10% MATLAB, 20% Best Midterm Exam, 60% Final Exam
Your grade will be computed using both methods and then the better grade will be used. After your weighted average is calculated, letter grades will be assigned based on the standard grading scale:
| A+ |
A |
A- |
B+ |
B |
B- |
C+ |
C |
C- |
D |
F |
| [99,100] |
[93,99) |
[90,93) |
[87,90) |
[83,87) |
[80,83) |
[77,80) |
[73,77) |
[70,73) |
[60,70) |
[0,60) |
Note on MATLAB grades: There are four MATLAB assignments and one MATLAB quiz. Each of these five is worth 2% of your grade (for 10% total).
There will be no curve, but we may adjust the scale to be more lenient (depending on the performance of the class). While we may adjust the scale to be more lenient, we guarantee that the grade corresponding to a given percentage will not be lower than specified by the above scale.
Please notice that outside factors, including the need for a certain grade for admission/retention in any academic program, scholarship or transfer credit, graduation requirements or personal desire for a specific grade DO NOT appear in the above calculations, and thus are not considered in any way in the determination of your course grade. Effort, improvement, class attendance and participation will all dramatically improve your grade in the course in that they will allow you to do well on quizzes, exams, and the final exam. They will NOT, however, actively participate in the calculation of your course grade.
No extra credit will be given in this class.
Gradescope: Exam grading will be done using an online tool called Gradescope (https://gradescope.com/). Exams will be scanned and uploaded to Gradescope and will be graded within it. As a consequence, exams will not be returned to the students. Instead, a digital version of your exams will be made available after the grading has been completed. An email will be sent from Gradescope when the exams are made available.
Regrades: Regrade requests will be made using the built-in regrade request feature in Gradescope. There will be a limited window of time after the exams are made available during which the regrade request feature will be active. This time window will be announced when the exam scores are released to the students.
Academic Dishonesty: Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense at UCSD. Students caught cheating will face an administrative sanction which may include suspension or expulsion from the university. It is in your best interest to maintain your academic integrity. (Click here for more information.)
Filing for a Incomplete: Sometimes it is not possible to complete all of the work in the course due to circumstances beyond your control. (Being unable to take the final exam because of accident or sickness, for example.) In such a case, it may be possible to file for an Incomplete grade. If an Incomplete is granted, you will be given the opportunity to complete the work during the next quarter. (All work must be completed before the end of Week 10 the following academic quarter.) In order to be eligible for an Incomplete, you must meet the following criteria:
- Your incomplete work must be due to circumstances beyond your control. (Sickness, accident, etc.)
- You must be able to verify the circumstances with official documentation.
- Your course work must be of "non-failing quality" (from the Academic Senate Regulations). This means that you must be currently passing the course according to the Method 1 grading calculation. If you missed a midterm exam, you are not eligible for an Incomplete grade.
Follow this link to find more information about filing for an Incomplete on TritonLink. To apply for an Incomplete, you must
fill out and submit the official form.
Study Suggestions: Below are some suggestions that I hope will help you to succeed in this course:
- Spend sufficient time on the course. According to the policy of UCSD's Academic Senate, "The value of a course in units ... shall be reckoned at the rate of one unit for three hours' work per week per quarter on the part of the student." During a ten-week quarter, for a 4 credit course, you should be willing to spend about 12 hours per week on the course.
- Keep up with the homework and do not miss a midterm. Missing a homework assignment will hurt your grade because no homework scores will be dropped. This policy is designed to encourage students to complete all the assignments and reward those who do.
- Get started on the homework assignments early. And "early" means "right after the lecture in which it is discussed". This will reinforce the topics we discuss in the lecture, help you keep up with the class schedule, and allow you to make the most of your discussion section time by coming prepared with specific questions. And if you don't put the homework off until the last day, you won't have to worry about something coming up and preventing you from doing it! (Seriously, don't put the homework off until the last day.)
- Read the section of the book we are covering before the lecture. Or, if not the whole section, try skimming through it. Read the section titles, the definitions, the theorems, and anything else that the book emphasizes. Skimming the section before we talk about it in class will give you some added context, and will help you make connections between the topics we discuss.
- Take notes by hand (whenever possible). Studies have found that students retain information better if they take notes by hand.
- Always try to work out a problem before reading a solution. Coming up with a solution yourself is a very different cognitive process than understanding a solution someone else provided. Whether it is a homework problem or an example from the textbook or one given by WebAssign, you should try to solve the problem first. Work on the problem for at least five minutes. Set a timer.
- Don't worry if you make mistakes sometimes! We all make mistakes. Mistakes are great, because they show us where we might need some extra work. Mistakes on exams are a little more costly than mistakes on homework. That's why you should treat all homework exercises as if they were exam or quiz questions. Get all of the mistakes out of the way on homework, and then you won't have to worry about them showing up on exams!
- Read the book. And get a physical copy of the book, if you can. It helps more than you might expect. If you want to look up a topic, try looking in the book instead of online. Check out the index in the back of the book.
- The best way to learn something is to teach it, so try teaching the topics to your classmates, or a family member, a friend, a pet, a stuffed animal, or even an empty chair. Try to anticipate what questions someone will ask you. It is a great way to assess your own understanding, and it helps to find gaps in your own knowledge of the subject.
Name and Gender Pronouns: UC San Diego is committed to supporting its students' name and gender preferences. Class rosters provided to your instructor and TAs have students' legal names, but we will strive to honor your request to be addressed using a preferred name or gender pronoun. Please let your instructor and TA know your preferences so that we can make changes to our records. (Certain university records may be beyond our ability to change, however.)
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Visit the Office for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion for more information.