Math 211 - Ordinary Differential Equations and Linear Algebra
Sevak Mkrtchyan
456 Herman Brown Hall
e-mail: (first name).(last name)@rice.edu

Course Description

Study of ordinary differential equations (e.g., solutions to separable and linear first-order equations and to higher-order linear equations with constant coefficients, the properties of solutions to differential equations, and numerical solution methods) and linear algebra (e.g., vector spaces and solutions to algebraic linear equations, dimension, eigenvalues, and eigenvectors of a matrix), as well as the application of linear algebra to first-order systems of differential equations and the qualitative theory of nonlinear systems and phase portraits. Use of the computers in Owlnet as part of each homework assignment required. Credit may not be received for both MATH 211 and MATH 213. (Description taken from Math courses.)
The following is the schedule for what I have covered and plan to cover each day. It will be updated regularly during the semester.

Lectures

TuTh 9:25-10:40AM in HRG 100

Office Hours:

M 10-11,W 2-3PM (456 Herman Brown Hall)

Help Sessions:

TBD
Room: TBD
Teaching Assistants: Ryan*,Nikita,Qionling,Zheng,Natalie,Colin (Note: look here for contact information.)

Textbook

The textbook for the course is Differential Equations, 2nd Edition by Polking Boggess and Arnold.

Grades

Your grade in the class will be based on the following weights:
15% - Homework+Projects
25% - Midterm 1: September 30
25% - Midterm 2: November 9
35% - Final Exam: See note below.

Homework

Homework will be assigned on Owl Space and collected in class at the beginning of class on Tuesdays. No late homework will be accepted. The two lowest homework grades will be dropped.

This is a schedule for what I have covered and what I plan to cover in class each day. This section will be updated regularly during the semester.

Date
 Sections
 Topic
 Homework
 Due
Tue, August 24 2.1 Introduction to ODE, Interval of existence 2.1: 1,6,7,9,11,13,16,19,23 Aug 31
Thu, August 26 2.2 Separation of Variables 2.2: 1,10,15,16,23,26,36 Aug 31
Tue, August 31 2.4 Linear ODEs 2.4: 6,7,15,22,24,31,32,38 Sep 7
Thu, September 2 2.6 Exact ODEs 2.6: 1,2,4,10,11,13,14,18 Sep 7
Tue, September 7 2.7 Existense and Uniqueness of solutions to ODEs 2.7: 1,4,6,7,8,10,28 Sep 14
Thu, September 9 2.9 Autonomous Equations 2.9: 2,6,8,12,13,20,25,28 Sep 14
Tue, September 14 7.1,7.2 Matrices and systems of linear equations 7.1: 1,4,6,12gh,20,26,30,35,40,44,54 Sep 21
Thu, September 16 7.2,7.3 Solving systems of equations 7.3: 1,4,6,15,16,19,22 Sep 21
Tue, September 21 7.4,7.5 Homogeneous and Inhomogeneous systems 7.4: 2,4,8,11,18,23,28 Sep 28
Thu, September 23 7.5 Span, Linear independence 7.5: 6,9,12,19,20,22,41,43,44 Sep 28
Thu, September 28 7.5 Bases of a subspace 7.5: 34,35,36 Oct 14
Thu, September 30 First Midterm Exam
Tue, October 5 7.6 Square matrices. Singularity. 7.6: 4,8,16,17,21,24 Oct 14
Thu, October 7 7.7 Determinants 7.7: 8,12,14,16,20,28,36,50,51 Oct 14
Tue, October 12 No class - mid term break.
Thu, October 14 8.1,8.2 Introduction to systems of ODEs 8.1: 2,8,13,14,20,25,26 Oct 26
Tue, October 19 8.3 Uniqueness and existence of solutions to systems of ODEs. 8.2: 6,12,14,21,23,24; 8.3: 4,9 Oct 26
Thu, October 21 8.4,8.5 Linear systems of ODEs 8.5: 19,20,24 Nov 2
Tue, October 26 9.1 Linear systems with constant coefficients 9.1: 1,4,10,19,20,26,53,54,56 Nov 2
Thu, October 28 9.2 Solving Planar Systems 9.2: 4,10,13,17,18,24,32,38,44,52 Nov 2
Tue, November 2 9.3, 9.4 Phase plane portraits and the Trace-Determinant plane 9.3: 4,10,11,12,16,20,21; 9.4: 14,16,18,20 Nov 11
Thu, November 4 9.5 Higher dimensional linear systems with constant coefficients 9.5: 9,15,20,24,30,34 Nov 11
Tue, November 9 Second Midterm Exam
Thu, November 11 9.6 The exponential of a Matrix 9.6: 1,4,6,10,19,20,27,28,35,40 Nov 16
Tue, November 16 9.7 Qualitative analysis of solutions 9.7: 9,10,12 Nov 23
Thu, November 18 9.8 Higher order linear ODEs. 9.8: 2,3,4,8,9,10,12,13 Nov 23
Tue, November 23 9.8 Solutions of higher order linear ODEs 9.8: 15,16,25,26,32,33,35,36,42 Dec 2
Thu, November 25 No class - Thanksgiving break
Tue, November 30 9.9 Inhomogeneous linear systems with constant coefficients. 9.9: 1,4,6,7,8,28 Dec 2
Thu, December 2 Review


You are expected to attend every class and arrive on time. It is your responsibility to be informed of any announcements made in class.

Exams

There will be two in-class midterm exams and one comprehensive final exam. All exams are closed-book and closed notes and are subject to the Rice University Honor Code. You will not be allowed to use a calculator on the exams. It is the policy of the mathematics department that no final may be given early to accommodate student travel plans. We will not know when the final in this course will be scheduled for some time. Therefore, if you should make plans for travel before the end of the final exam period, and it turns out that the final for this course is after your scheduled departure date, you will have to choose between keeping your plans and receiving a zero for the final, or incurring the cost for changing your plans and taking the final at its scheduled time. Thanks for your understanding.
It is your responsibility to inform yourself of the date, time and place of the exam. You should check the final exam schedule on the registrar's website to find out when and where your final exam will be.

Disability Support

Any student with a documented disability seeking academic adjustments or accommodations is requested to speak with me during the first two weeks of class. All such discussions will remain as confidential as possible. Students with disabilities will need to also contact Disability Support Services in the Allen Center.

Any student with a disability requiring accommodations in this course is encouraged to contact me after class or during office hours. Additionally, students will also need to contact Disability Support Services in the Allen Center.

If you have a documented disability that will impact your work in this class, please contact me to discuss your needs. Additionally, you will need to register with the Disability Support Services Office in the Allen Center.