GENERAL COURSE INFORMATION

Meeting times: Monday 6:30 - 9:30PM

Location: TBA

Prerequisites: Calculus III and Ordinary Differential Equations (92.231 and 92.234 or 236). Applied Math I (92.301) is helpful but not essential.

Class attendance is not required but is strongly recommended. You are responsible for all information (course material, assignments, changes in exam dates, etc.) presented in class, whether you attend or not.

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CONTACTING THE INSTRUCTOR

Email: stephen_pennell@uml.edu

Phone: (978) 934-2710

Fax: (978) 934-3053

Office: Olney 428V

Office Hours:

Monday 4:30 - 6:00 in Olney 428V
Wednesday 10 - 11 in Olney 428V
Thursday 9 - 10 in Olney 428V
Friday 11 - 12 in Southwick 321 (Tutoring Center).

Meetings at times other than my office hours can be arranged by appointment. See me after class, call me on the phone, or send me an email message.

 

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COURSE RATIONALE

Many physical phenomena can be described mathematically by one or more partial differential equations. Examples include sound propagation, heat conduction, and diffusion, to name just three. In this course you will learn what a partial differential equation is and how such an equation can model a physical system. You will learn techniques for solving some common types of equations. You will also learn what types of boundary conditions are needed to insure that a given partial differential equation has a unique solution, usually a desirable property of an equation modeling a real phenomenon.

 

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COURSE OBJECTIVES

My goals for this course are for you to

• develop a qualitative understanding of the nature of partial differential equations, their solutions, and their applications;
• learn analytical techniques for solving commonly occurring partial differential equations;
• learn how to classify second-order equations as hyperbolic, parabolic, or elliptic;
• learn what types of boundary conditions are appropriate for hyperbolic, parabolic, and elliptic equations; and
• learn how characteristic curves can be used to understand the behavior of solutions to first-order equations and hyperbolic second-order equations.

 

       I would appreciate hearing your goals for the course.

 

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TEXT

Pinchover and Rubinstein, An Introduction to Partial Differential Equations. Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Additional References:

Strauss, Partial Differential Equations: An Introduction, 2nd ed., Wiley, 2008

Whitham, Linear and Nonlinear Waves, Wiley, 1974.

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GRADING POLICY

 

Course grades

Course grades will be based on homework, a midterm exam, and a final exam. Students enrolled in 92.545 will have additional problems on homework assignments and exams. Homework will count for 60% of your grade, and each exam will count for 20%.

Class attendance is not required but is strongly recommended. You are responsible for all information presented in class (course material, assignments, changes in due dates, etc.), whether you attend or not.

Your letter grade for the course will be determined from your course average according to the following tables.

For 92.445

 

Average	[93, 100)	[90, 93)	[87, 90)	[83, 87)	[80, 83)	[77, 80)
Grade	A	A-	B+	B	B-	C+
Average	[73, 77)	[70, 73)	[67, 70)	[60, 67)	[0, 60)
Grade	C	C-	D+	D	F

 

For 92.545

 

Average	[95, 100]	[90, 95)	[85, 90)	[80, 85)	[75, 80)
Grade	A+	A	A-	B+	B
Average	[70, 75)	[65, 70)	[60, 65)	[0, 60)
Grade	B-	C+	C	F

 

 

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