Applied Mathematics 4617/9566b
Numerical Solutions to PDEs
Winter term 2013
Lectures:
Tutorials:
Instructor:
TA: TBA
MWF 3:30-4:30 UCC 41.
Weeks 2 and 3 and when announced. Time and place TBA.
Professor C. Denniston, MC 266, x88791, cdennist@uwo.ca
Office hours: TBA
Text: Uri M. Ascher, Numerical Methods for Evolutionary Differential Equations, (Siam 2008), ISBN:
978-0-898716-52-8
Web: Notices and assignments will be posted on OWL, although you will hand in your written work.
Problems with OWL should be directed to ITS.
Pre-reqs: Applied Mathematics 2413 or 2813B for AM4617;
A previous course in Numerical Analysis for AM9566 (ask instructor if not sure).
Unless you have either the requisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to
enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision
may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from
a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.
Course Content: The objective of the course is to provide the student with a practical introduction to
solving partial differential equations using finite-difference methods. The course will focus on studying
and implementing algorithms using a computer. Topics covered will include:
1. Finite Difference schemes for PDEs
2. Stability and convergence for Finite Difference Schemes
3. Variable coefficient and nonlinear problems
4. Dispersion and Dissipation
5. Boundary conditions, irregular domains
6. Multiple space dimensions and splitting methods
Assignments: There will be five assignments using a computer that are an integral component of this
course (one every 2-3 weeks). These assignments may require a substantial amount of work and also
compromise a substantial fraction of the course grade. Skipping one of these assignments will cost you
approximately 10% of your final grade. No assignments will be dropped from your grade for any reason
(If you are sick and the solutions have already been given out or discussed in class, you will have to do a
different make-up assignment). Note that assignments submitted after 4pm on the due date will be
considered late. Late assignments will be penalized at a rate of 10% per day, including weekends and
holidays.
Students must use C/C++ to complete assignments, along with some package to plot results.
There will be tutorials to help students get used to using C/C++ in the first few weeks of the course.
More will be expected of students in AM9566 such as extra problems covering more advanced material
on assignments and exams.
Assignments must …


be completed independently;
provide complete solutions, including clear explanations and analysis(do not submit a code
and expect full credit);
 be completed using neat handwriting, and permanent ink, or using LaTeX or word processor;
 be single-sided and each problem should begin on a new page;
 be submitted in person (problem sets submitted electronically or slid under my office door
will not be accepted);
 be stapled together in one group (unstapled assignments are only guaranteed to have the first
page marked). Do not submit your assignment in a plastic “envelope”.
In addition to the written assignment, code will need to be submitted electronically on OWL and may be
subject to plagiarism-detection software
Course Evaluation: Your grade will be the better of:
I: 50% Assignments, 20% Midterm Exam, 30% Final Exam
OR: II: 50% Assignments, 50% Final Exam
Option II is only available if you show up and take the Midterm Exam or have a valid reason for missing
it, as determined by the Faculty of Science Dean’s office (see below).
Addenda
Calculator Policy
For the exams you will need a scientific calculator (with log, trig functions), pen and pencil. These will not be provided
and if you forget them you will probably fail the exam. However, you cannot use anything capable of wireless
communication, or anything capable of storing and displaying large text files. If you are not sure if your calculator is ok, go
to www.staples.ca web site, type “scientific calculator” into the search bar and any one of the calculators that come up
costing less than $15 is ok. Make sure you know how to use the calculator before the exam.
Academic Accommodation Due to Illness
If you are unable to meet a course requirement due to illness or other serious circumstances, you must provide valid
medical or other supporting documentation to your faculty’s Dean's Office as soon as possible and contact your instructor
immediately. It is the student's responsibility to make alternative arrangements with their instructor once the accommodation
has been approved and the instructor has been informed. In the event of a missed final exam, a "Recommendation of Special
Examination" form must be obtained from your faculty’s Dean's Office immediately. For further information please see:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/medical.pdf
A student requiring academic accommodation due to illness should use the Student Medical Certificate when visiting an
off-campus medical facility or request a Records Release Form (located in the Dean's Office) for visits to Student Health
Services. The form can be found at:
https://studentservices.uwo.ca/secure/medical_document.pdf
Academic Integrity
Students must write their essays and assignments in their own words. Whenever students take an idea, or a passage from
another author, they must acknowledge their debt both by using quotation marks where appropriate and by proper referencing
such as footnotes or citations. Plagiarism is a major academic offence.
All required papers may be subject to submission for textual similarity review to the commercial plagiarism-detection
software under license to the University for the detection of plagiarism. All papers submitted for such checking will be
included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently
submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between The University of
Western Ontario and Turnitin.com (http://www.turnitin.com).
You should familiarize yourself with University of Western Ontario’s Scholastic Offence Policy. The policy describes the
university’s process for dealing with scholastic offences, including a list of sanctions:
http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/handbook/appeals/scholoff.pdf
The Office of the Ombudsperson produces a student guide on cheating, plagiarism and other scholastic offenses:
http://www.uwo.ca/ombuds/student/cheating.html
Accessibility Statement
Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format, or if you require any other arrangements
to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at
661-2111 extension 82147 for any specific questions regarding accommodation.
Students
who
are
in
emotional/mental
distress
should
refer
to
Mental
Health@Western
http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for a complete list of options about how to obtain help.
Tentative Dates: Unless announced otherwise, the assignments will be due, and midterm will be
on, the following dates:
Assignment 1 Due: 20 Jan.
Assignment 2 Due: 5 Feb.
Midterm: 14 Feb.
Assignment 3 Due: 28 Feb.
Assignment 4 Due: 17 Mar.
Assignment 5 Due: 4 Apr.