Fall 2019
Welcome Note & Tips to Succeed in the Course
Good habits early in the semester will help you succeed in Math 441:
• Come to the Collaborative Homework Sessions
- Monday 4-5pm in 243 Altgeld Hall
- Wednesday 4-5pm in 243 Altgeld Hall
- Thursday 5-6pm in 443 Altgeld Hall
* Come to the Office Hour: Friday 2:30-3:30pm in 376 Altgeld Hall, or else talk to me after class, or make an appointment by phone (217-333-1329) or email.
• Come to class prepared: re-work your lecture notes before each last class, to check every step and fill in missing calculations.
• Work through the proofs and examples on paper.
• Read the textbook after you re-work the notes – the text helps you see the big picture.
• Ask questions early and often, about steps you don’t understand.
• Start the HW early, and get help on any problems you can’t solve.
• Don’t do the HW by plugging problems into some website. (You won’t learn the material…)
• Ask about HW questions on Piazza.
• When preparing for exams, summarize the important concepts and methods. Learn the definitions (they tell you what the words mean). Then work some problems.
• After reading a theorem or algorithm, try to summarize the important concepts. This creates a mental framework for the problems you work on.
• Debrief thoroughly on each exam as soon as you get it back.
• Learn from mistakes.
Again, go to the Collaborative Homework Sessions!
Good luck.
Class Information
- Times: MWF 11:00-11:50am (Sec D13)
- Room: 140 Burrill Hall
- Cellphone Policy: to promote interaction and concentration, mobile phones are not to be used for any purpose in the classroom – put them away before you enter the room. Anyone with a mobile phone visible will be asked to put it away. Anyone actively using a mobile phone will be asked to leave the classroom for the remainder of the lesson.
- Tablets and laptops are permitted, provided they are used for class purposes.
- DRES: please email your DRES letter to me as early as possible in the semester, so that we can make appropriate accommodations.
- Travel and leisure plans, even for family events, are never a legitimate reason for missing an exam.
- Text: Boyce & DiPrima Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems (10th edition). An electronic copy of this textbook is included with your Webassign access. If you like to study using a hard copy of the book, then you can buy a used copy of any recent edition of Boyce & DiPrima Elementary Differential Equations (either with or without Boundary Value Problems, since those chapters are not covered in our course). [See my blog about undergraduate ODE topics.]
Course Material
Collaborative homework sessions
- Monday 4-5pm in 243 Altgeld Hall
- Wednesday 4-5pm in 243 Altgeld Hall
- Thursday 5-6pm in 443 Altgeld Hall
Come and work on homework with other students and with Professors Laugesen and Leisman. We learn mathematics more quickly and deeply when we discuss it with others.
Office hour – Friday 2:30-3:30pm in 376 Altgeld Hall, or else talk to me after class, or make an appointment by phone (217-333-1329) or email.
Written homework – assigned weekly
Piazza discussion group
Webassign homework – check online for the Webassign assignment after each class. Due 4 or 5 days later. Please purchase Webassign access before the start of the semester.
Technical support: If you have any difficulty registering for Webassign and getting access to the course, of if you encounter any access problems later in the semester, please email webassign@illinois.edu to report the issue. Include as much detail as possible (name, NetID, Math 441, Fall 2019, error message you received, etc.) so that they can assist you effectively.
Software links
- WolframAlpha for direction fields, solving DEs, and more
- Iode package for direction fields, first and second order ODEs, and first order systems (Iode runs inside Matlab, which students get free from the Webstore)
- Java applets for vibrating membranes (and other vibrating systems), these are not part of the class but are fun to play around with
Grading Policy
- 45% midterms – the lowest scoring midterm is worth 5%, and the other two midterms are worth 20% each
- 30% – final exam
- 15% – Webassign homework (lowest five dropped; no extensions)
- 10% – written homework 10% (lowest one dropped)
Midterm & Final Exam Information
Midterm 1 information – Wednesday, October 2 – 7:00-8:15pm in the evening. Room: 66 Library.
Midterm Conflict 1 information – Thursday, October 3 – 8:00-9:15am in the morning. Room: 1 Illini Hall. For approved students only.
Midterm 2 information – Wednesday, October 30 – 7:00-8:15pm in the evening. Room: 1404 Siebel Center.
Midterm Conflict 2 information – Thursday, October 31 – 8:00-9:15am in the morning. Room: 1 Illini Hall. For approved students only.
Midterm 3 information – Wednesday, December 4 – 7:00-8:15pm in the evening. Room: 66 Library.
Midterm Conflict 3 information – Thursday, December 5 – 8:00-9:15am in the morning. Room: 1 Illini Hall. For approved students only.
Final Exam information – Tuesday, December 17 – 1:30-4:30pm (combined exam). Room: 1320 Digital Computer Laboratory.
Final Exam Conflict information – Tuesday, December 17 – 7:00-10:00pm in the evening. Room: 1002 Lincoln Hall. For approved students only.