Course Information
Math 3350–D01
Fall 2013
August 26, 2013
Contact Information:
Instructor: Prof. Lance D. Drager.
Office: Math Building, Room 236.
Office Phone: (806)834-8161.
Fax: (806)742-1112. Direct it to me on the cover sheet.
Math Department Office: (806)742-2566.
Email: lance.drager@ttu.edu
Mailing Address: Prof. Lance Drager, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Texas Tech University, Box 41041, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA.
If you let the office phone ring long enough, you’ll get me or a voice mail system
you can leave a message on.
Course materials will sometimes be posted on my web page, which is http:
//www.math.ttu.edu/~drager.
Announcements and Class Forum: Of course, this is a distance learning
course, so we may not be seeing each other face to face. Those who are in the
Lubbock area are cordially invited to visit with me at my office.
This term we will be using Piazza for class discussion. The system is highly
catered to getting you help quickly and efficiently from classmates and myself.
Rather than emailing questions to the teaching staff, I encourage you to post
your questions on Piazza. If you have any problems or feedback for the developers, email team@piazza.com.
I will look at our class discussions and my private messages on Piazza and
check my TTU email for class messages at least once each business day.
Find our class page at:https://piazza.com/ttu/fall2013/math3350/home
I will also post class announcements (including assignments) on Piazza, so
check it to see what is happening.
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If your message is not of general interest to the class, or you want to keep it
private, send it to me privately on Piazza or use my TTU email (email address
above).
In Piazza, there is a formula editor for entering mathematical formulas in
LATEX. This is the standard system for doing math on computers in science and
engineering, so it’s worth learning about it. The Piazza help has a link to a
tutorial, and there are many resources for LATEX on the web (we only need to
look at how to do formulas, not how to do a whole document).
Alternatively, if you search for online equation editors on the web, you’ll find
WYSIWYG editors with a mouse/menu interface that produce the LATEX code
for the formula, which you can then cut and paste into Piazza (put it between
double dollar signs: $$ ... $$). Some of these editors also produce PNG or GIF
files you can paste into email, if you need to do that. (If you use Thunderbird,
look for LATEX plugins.) I can’t really tell you which editor is the best. This is
a topic the class may want to discuss.
Webwork style ascii attempts at formulas are okay, as long as their meaning
is clear.
How the Course Will be Run: I will post reading assignments from the
book on Piazza. After reading a section, it’s good to practice on a few problems
from the end of section. We can discuss questions about the material or how to
work example problems on Piazza.
I will occasionally post videos I’ve made, notes I’ve written, or links to materials on the web, with explanations I think will be beneficial. I will announce
these and post links on Piazza, and I will post the links on my website (i.e., the
Texas Tech site). I may post announcements of when the videos will be made,
if anyone in the Lubbock area wishes to attend. If there are people there to ask
questions, it will improve the video.
There will be online homework assignments using the Webwork system. I
will make announcements on Piazza when I put these up. I’ll give you a link
to the homework site when it is setup. Discussions of the homework problems
are legal, but (of course) you won’t have the benefit of the learning experience
if you just copy the answers from somewhere.
There will be two proctored exams during the semester and a proctored
final. You must take these exams in the authorized manner. More
information on that below.
There will be a “takehome exam” (i.e., unproctored, extended time) near
the end of the semester. You can just handwrite it. You can send it to me by
scanning it and emailing the file, fax, surface mail or courier.
Exam Proctoring: You will need to arrange to have your exams proctored by
an authorized person, which means one of the following:
1. An education officer or librarian at a community college, university, elementary or secondary school.
2. A testing administrator at a college, university or private testing service.
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3. A military Learning Center or military officer of a higher rank the abovenamed student.
There is a PDF file on my website containing a form to be filled out by the
student authorized person an returned to me by surface mail. Please arrange
this as soon as possible, so you will be prepared. There may be a charge for
these services.
There is a link on my website to a page with contact information for some
know testing centers. I’ll add to it as people discover more centers. If you’re
looking for a center, a University, College or Community College is a good bet.
Return of Papers: I will plan on returning graded exams by scanning them
and emailing you the file. If you want a hard copy, proceed as follows: If you
can conveniently come by my office, plan to pick it up in person. If you need
it sent by surface mail, send me an email to that effect, with a mailing address
(since it might be different than the one on file with TTU).
I will, as usual, retain the final exam papers for one semester. I can send,
or give you, a copy.
Office Hours: Those who are able are encouraged to come to my office for help.
My office hours are approximately M–F 2:00–4:00. You can come by outside of
formal office hours; I’ll usually have time to talk to you. Please feel free to come
by if you need help.
Other Sources of Help: The Mathematics Department Office has a list of
people who offer tutoring for pay. Forming informal study groups with other
students can be very helpful.
Text: The text is Dennis G. Zill and Warren S. Wright, Advanced Engineering Mathematics, Fifth Edition, Jones and Bartlett, Boston, 2006. The
sections to be covered are 1.1–1.2, 2.1–2.8, 3.1–3.6, 3.8, 4.1–4.5, 5.1,5.3.
Learning Outcomes: Math 3350 students will study topics of differential
equations, their solutions, and applications to physical sciences and engineering.
In particular the students will learn to:
• recognize a differential equation and its solution
• compute solutions of first order differential equations
• compute solutions of higher order differential equations
• use Laplace transforms
• the fundamental properties of power series, and how to use them to solve
linear differential equations
Calculator: A symbolic calculator like the TI-89 or TI Voyage 200 is necessary
and required on exams.
Assessment of Learning Outcomes: The assessment of student’s mastery
of the skills and concepts as specified in the expected learning outcomes will
occur, with appropriate course grades assigned, as follows:
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1. 2 proctored exams.
2. 1 Takehome exam.
3. The proctored final exam.
4. Exam corrections.
5. Homework.
The homework will be done using the Webwork online system.
The proctored exams, takehome, and the final exam will all be equally
weighted. I will drop the lowest of these four scores (which could be the score
on the final). If you are satisfied with your grades on the three in-class exams,
you can skip the final and let that be the dropped exam grade.
The homework will count for 20% of the final grade and Exam corrections
will count for 15% of the final grade.
For each exam, I will determine a grade range for the A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s and
F’s. I will then linearly resale the grades in the A range to the interval [90, 100],
the grades in the B range will be rescaled to the interval [80, 89], and so forth.
At the end of the course, I will average the grades and assign letter grades
with cutoffs 90% for A, 80% for B, 70% for C and 60% for D; I might lower
these a little, but not much. Thus, with this system, you can determine your
standing at any time.
For example, consider a hypothetical exam with the raw scores as in Table 1.
The grade ranges might hypothetically be chosen as indicated. The numerical
scores would then be rescaled as indicated in the table, using the formulas on
the right and then rounding to the nearest point. The grade rescaling function
would be as graphed in Figure 1.
Final Exam: The final exam will be scheduled during the regular Texas Tech
final exam period. I will make a time when I will proctor the exam for those
who can make it to Lubbock easily. If you decide not to take the final, please
email me to notify me of that.
Makeups: If you cannot take an exam within the scheduled time and convince
me that your reason was legitimate, I will give a makeup exam. Any late
homework will only be accepted with a serious, legitimate excuse.
Class Schedule: The tentative schedule for the class is as follows:
August 26–28 Chapter 1, Introduction to Differential Equations
August 30–Sept. 18 Chapter 2, First-order Differential Equations
Sept. 21 Exam 1
Sept. 20–Oct. 9 Chapter 3, Higher-Order Differential Equations
Oct. 14 Exam 2
Oct. 11–Oct. 28 Chapter 4, The Laplace Transform
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A
B
C
D
F
Raw (x)
95
92
86
83
82
78
75
73
72
(cut off at70)
66
64
61
58
55
50
48
47
40
Rescaled (y)
96
94
90
86
85
80
76
74
73
67
66
64
62
60
48
52
451
44
y=
100 − 90
(x − 86) + 90
100 − 86
y=
90 − 80
(x − 78) + 80
86 − 78
y=
80 − 70
(x − 70) + 70
78 − 70
y=
70 − 60
(x − 55) + 60
70 − 55
y=
60
x
55
Table 1: Grade rescaling
Oct. 30–Nov. 1 Chapter 5, Series Solutions of Linear Differential Equations
Nov. 18 Exam 3 posted.
Nov. 4–Dec. 4 Extra time or special topics
Nov. 9 Date of Final Exam? (To be discussed with class).
If these dates are changed (I’ll bet we run behind schedule), the changes will
be discussed in class and will appear on the calendar on my website. However,
this document will not be changed.
Homework on the Web: The homework will be done on the world wide web
using the Webwork system. There will be a link to the homework site on my
website and it will be announced on Piazza. Your username is your eraider
name. The initial password is your Id number (starts with R). Change the
password after you log in.
Remember, you are responsible for all material covered in the book and
videos and all announcements made on Piazza.
Formative Assessment: Continuous formative assessment of the progress of
the course will occur via ongoing communication between the instructor and the
students. To this end, all students are encouraged to ask questions during class
and to seek the instructor’s help out of class when needed. Other activities
in support of student-instructor communication will include: practice exams
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and quizzes, review of homework, and personal interviews with students doing
poorly on work assigned at the beginning of the course.
Accommodations for Disabilities: Any student who, because of a disability,
may require special arrangements in order to meet course requirements should
contact the instructor as soon as possible to make necessary accommodations.
Students should present appropriate verification from Disabled Student Services,
Dean of Students Office (AccessTECH). No requirement exists that accommodations be made prior to completion of this approved University process.
Religious Holy Days: A student may be absent from class for a religious holy
day, as legally defined, and will be allowed to make up any missed examination or
assignment within a reasonable time after the absence. See http://www.depts.
ttu.edu/officialpublications/catalog/_AcademicsRegulations.php
Academic Misconduct: It is the aim of the faculty of Texas Tech University to
foster a spirit of complete honesty and a high standard of integrity. The attempt
of students to present as their own work any work that they have not honestly
preformed is regarded by the faculty and administration as a serious offense and
renders the offenders liable to serious consequences, possibly suspension.
For more information, and a description of what is considered to be misconduct, see http://www.depts.ttu.edu/officialpublications/catalog/_AcademicsRegulations.
php
Civility in the Classroom: Students are expected to assist in maintaining a
classroom environment that is conducive to learning. In order to assure that all
students have the opportunity to gain from time spent in class, unless otherwise approved by the instructor, students are prohibited from engaging in any
other form of distraction. Inappropriate behavior in the classroom shall result,
minimally, in a request to leave class.
For more information, see http://www.depts.ttu.edu/officialpublications/
catalog/_AcademicsRegulations.php
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100
90
rescaled score
80
70
60
50
40
40
50
60
70
raw score
80
90
100
Figure 1: Graph of the grade rescaling function
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