Math 45

Syllabus

Course:  Math 45 (Section 1)

Title:  Differential Equations for Science and Engineering

Credit Hours:  3

Modality:  Fully in-person (Location: Brighton Hall 218)

Prerequisites:  MATH 31.

Instructor: Ali Behzadan (You may click on your instructor's name to send an email to your instructor.)

Tentative List of Topics:  First-order ODEs: linear, separable, and exact. Qualitative methods. Second-order ODEs: constant coefficients, method of undetermined coefficients, method of variation of parameters. Series solutions. The Laplace transform.

The main objective will be to have a clear understanding of certain basic concepts and procedures in the study of differential equations. Upon completion of this course students will have developed demonstrable understanding of the topics outlined above and will be able to successfully engage in mathematical thinking, reasoning, and problem solving.

Textbook:  There is no required textbook. The recommended textbook is

Elementary Differential Equations (10th Edition) by William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima; published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; 2013.

You should regard the notes you take in class as your primary source; the textbook is a companion source, for those moments when I have been incomplete in class, or when you want to read further in a topic that interests you.

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. The homework assignments will be announced on the course homework page. You should make every effort to complete the homework assignments and seek help with problems you have not been able to solve. Assignments should be submitted through Gradescope.

• Late homework will not be accepted.
• You will be able to access Gradescope through the course Canvas page.

MATLAB:   We may occasionally use the computer language MATLAB. As a Sac State student, you can install and use MATLAB on your personal computer for free. Please click here. If you have any questions about the process, please contact IRT

Course Readings:  Please carefully study the lecture notes of the previous lecture at least twice before the next lecture and bring your questions to my office hours. You are responsible for material in the notes whether or not it is discussed in the lecture. Reviewing the material covered in the previous lesson will provide a framework to which the new information can be attached in the next lesson. Research has proven that new information can be more easily understood when it can be integrated with previous information and organized into larger schemata. I recommend that you summarize the key points that are taught in each lecture on a separate sheet of paper.

Lectures:   You are responsible for material presented in the lecture whether or not it is discussed in any notes or textbook. The lectures will emphasize ideas and concepts, rather than just computational examples. You should expect questions on the exams that will test your understanding of concepts discussed in the lectures.

Attendance: I personally always come to class at least 10 minutes before the start of the class. Your assumption should be that you are a responsible teacher who is teaching the course. So it does not make sense to miss any class or arrive late or leave early. Attendance is worth 5 points; lectures for which attendance data is recorded will be weighted equally. In order to receive the attendance score, please arrive on time (it will help if you make sure to be in class at least 5 minutes early), give correct answers to the questions asked in class, and please do not leave class early. Missing more than five lectures will result in an automatic "F" in the course (if you miss more than five lectures, then your course letter grade will be F). This policy may appear to be harsh, but please know that the aim of our attendance policy is by no means to add to your stress. The goal is to ensure that everyone is keeping up with the course. Many of us have the habit of procrastination. It has been repeatedly proven to me that it is less likely for my students to fall behind if they attend the lectures. Your education is of paramount importance and I care about you and your education.

• Note: There is no need to email me if you miss a lecture. Each missed lecture (for any reason) will be counted as one of the five lectures you are allowed to miss. If you miss more than five lectures, then your course letter grade will be F.
• Note: If for reasons of illness, injury, or emergency health issues, you will not be able to regularly attend the lectures, you must email me by the end of Week 1. I will help you in any way I can. I promise together we will find an alternative method for calculating your attendance score.

Announcements:   It is absolutely essential that you check your Sac State email and course announcements on Canvas at least once a day. I may give you important information with 24 hours' notice. Also please check our course homework page regularly for possible updates.

Exams:  There will be six midterm exams and a final exam. The exams will be either in-class or take-home (this will be decided later). For take-home exams you may be contacted after the exams have been graded to set up a zoom meeting to eliminate any cheating suspicions.

• Midterm Exams: Every other Wednesday starting with Wednesday of Week 3
• Final Exam, Section 1: Monday 12/09/2024 (8-10 am)

Grading:  Your Math 45 weighted average will be calculated as follows:

• 5% Attendance,  10% Homework,   45% Midterm Exams,   40% Final Exam

After your weighted average is calculated, letter grades will be assigned based on the following grading scale:

A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+	C	C-	D+	D	D-	F
≥95	[91,95)	[87,91)	[83,87)	[80,83)	[77,80)	[73,77)	[70,73)	[67,70)	[64,67)	[60,64)	[0,60)

In addition,

you must receive a perfect score on the "Prerequisite Exam" to pass the course. The prerequisite exam will be given on the Wednesday of week 2. The purpose of this exam is to ensure that students start out with a solid grasp of the prerequisites.

you must pass the final examination (score≥60) in order to pass the course,

your average score on midterm exams must be greater than or equal to 60 (out of 100) in order to pass the course,

your average score on any two consecutive homework assignments must be greater than or equal to 50 (out of 100) in order to pass the course,

you must receive a perfect score on the "Syllabus/Introductory Email Quiz" to pass the course; if you do not receive perfect score in the syllabus quiz, your course letter grade will be F (or you will be automatically dropped from the course),

according to the University's grading policy, a grade of "C-" or better is required for prerequisite courses.

There will be no curve. Your score will be solely based on your own performance and not how others perform in class. Also your final percentage grade will NOT be rounded up. So 94.9999% is an A-. Please do not be more concerned with your grade than with what you learn. Remember "Grades don't measure your intelligence, age doesn't define your maturity and disabilities don't define your worth."

Note: 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. Your letter grade will be determined solely based on your performance as described above. Financial aid status, delay in graduation, etc. cannot be used as reasons for a grade change. Such requests are absolutely unacceptable and will be processed as a form of academic dishonesty.

Grade Recording Errors:  This course will have a Gradescope page; your homework and midterm grades will be recorded on the Gradescope page (or the Canvas page) for our class. Please always make sure that your grades have been inputted and inputted correctly. In particular, if there is any mistake in the recording of your exam or homework scores, you must notify me within two days after the score was posted to Gradescope page (or the Canvas page) for our class (otherwise your request will not be considered).

Make-up Exams:  Make-up exams will not be given. You cannot take any exam early or late. In particular, 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 take the final exam at the scheduled time.

Extra Credit:  Almost every pen-and-paper homework assignment includes some questions marked in bold. You will get extra credit if you come to my office hours and explain your solutions to the bold questions of the week. For each successful presentation you will earn 1/2 point extra credit which will be added directly to your final grade.

Be on Time:  Please arrive on time; in fact, it will help if you make sure to be in class at least 5 minutes early. Also please do not leave class early.

Office Hours:   I have scheduled a large number of office hours. Study the lecture notes regularly and make sure to bring your questions to my office hours. There is nothing that I like more than talking with you about math. In the unlikely case that all my office hours will conflict with your classes, you must let me know by the end of Week 1 so that we investigate the issue and possibly schedule even more office hours.

How to Succeed in My Course:   The main purpose of my Math 45 class is not to measure how smart you are compared to others. Your grades will not be curved and your score will be solely based on your own performance and not how others perform in class. The main objective of my class is to ensure that you will learn the basics of differential equations, and to achieve that goal it is absolutely essential that you do the following:

• 1- Please attend EVERY SINGLE class and be engaged by active listening. You must not arrive late or leave early.
• 2- Please carefully study the lecture notes of the previous lecture at least twice before the next lecture and bring your questions to my office hours. Please study every lecture line by line and try to understand every detail. Please make sure that you fully understand the meaning of each statement and the purpose of each single statement in the lecture notes and bring your questions to my office hours.
• 3- You must spend adequate time on each homework assignment and bring your questions to my office hours.

Spend Sufficient Time on the Course:  Since Math 45 is worth 3 credits, you should be willing to spend at least 9 hours per week on the course during a regular semester.

Electronic Devices:   Please do NOT use devices such as laptops, tablets, cell phones for non-class-related purposes while in class.

Academic Dishonesty:   Academic dishonesty is considered a serious offense at CSUS.  All problems in exams should be solved using terminology, ideas, and methods that were introduced in lecture. If in any of your solutions you use ideas, notations, or techniques that have not been discussed in lecture, that will be considered as cheating.  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.)

Lastly,  I believe that we are so incredibly fortunate to live in this wonderful place and have the opportunity to work or study at CSUS. If you share this sentiment, if you believe in the power of honesty and integrity, if you believe in the power of hard work and determination, and if you believe in lifting people up and not tearing them down, please do take my class. I will stop at nothing to help you succeed in this class.