Syllabus for Calculus IV
Ordinary Differential Equations (Spring 2015)
MA 214-008 (MWF 3:00 pm - 3:50 pm)
Instructor: Dr. Yue Chen
Office: 767 POT
Classroom: CB 349
Email: chenyue0715@uky.edu
Course Website: http://www.ms.uky.edu/~yuec/MA214
Office Hours:
MWF 10:00-11:00 pm or by appointment, or anytime you stop by and I am in my office
Textbook:
Elementary Differential Equations (10th Edition), by William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima
Course content:
MA 214 is a basic course in ordinary differential equations (ODE). The basic problem is to
determine an unknown function from an equation that involves only the derivatives of the
function. Differential equations are used to model a wide variety of physical and biological
phenomena, from atoms to animal populations. We'll study basic equations for which the
unknown function-the solution-depends on one real variable only, like time or position. This is
the meaning of the adjective ordinary. We will study first- and second-order ordinary differential
equations extensively, especially linear differential equations. We will discuss applications to
other natural sciences, like physics and biology. Approximate course material to be covered
includes most of Chapter 1 (Introduction), Chapter 2 (First-order differential equations), Chapter
3 (Second-order linear equations), Chapter 5 (Series solution) and Chapter 6 (The Laplace
transform).
Participation:
Students are expected to attend all of the lectures. Poor attendance will have a negative affect
on your grade, especially if you are between two grades.
Homework:
You need to log in WebWork to find your homework assignments.
http://webwork2.ms.uky.edu/webwork2/ma214-08/
No late homework is accepted. Completion of the assignments on time is VERY ESSENTIAL to
your success in this course and is one of the BEST ways to prepare exams.
Quizzes
In non-exam week I will give a 10-minute ``checkup'' quiz on material from the previous week's
lectures.
Examinations:
There will be two tests during the semester and a final exam. Each examination will be announced
at least one week in advance.
Teaching Assistant
Qiao Liang
POT 706
WF: 2:00pm-3:00pm
Mathskeller M: 9:00-10:00am
Grades:
Your final course grade will be computed using the following weighted average
WebWork
15%
Quizzes
15%
Test 1 (20 February, in class)
20%
Test 2 (3 April, in class)
20%
Final exam (4 May, 3:30 pm – 5:30 pm)
30%
Final letter grades will be assigned: A (90-100 %), B (80-89 %), C (70-79 %), D (60-69 %) and E
(0-59 %).
Important dates:
Monday
Wednesday
19 January
4 February
16-20 March
10 April
1 May
Friday
Friday
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day
Last day to drop with no W
Spring Break
Last day to withdraw from a course
Last Class
Remarks

There will not be any make-up exams. Make-up exams will be given only in cases of
major and documented emergency (illness, accidents, family emergency, official
university activities).

If you have to miss a class, you are responsible for finding out about any homework,
handouts or announcements made in class.

As a courtesy to both the instructor and the other students, please refrain from using
laptops, tablets, cellphones or other electronic devices during class.

No calculators will be allowed for exams. Test questions are carefully prepared
so that the numerical computations involved are simple, minimal and can be easily
done by hand.
The instructor reserves the right to modify this syllabus at any time.