Math 53, Winter 1999: General Information

Instructor: Michael Hutchings

  • Office: 383M.
  • Phone: 723-7850.
  • Email: hutching@math.stanford.edu.
  • Office hours (provisional): Monday and Thursday from 2:00-3:30, or by appointment.

    Course assistant: Jacob Shapiro

    Office: 380T

    Office hours: Wednesday 4-6. (Additional office hours may be added if enough people come.)

    Class format

    Class meets Monday thru Friday, five days a week, in room 380C at 1:15PM. On some days I will lecture; on other days we will have informal activities such as groupwork.

    Textbooks

  • Required: Differential equations: computing and modeling, by C.H. Edwards Jr. and David E. Penney.
  • Optional: Linear algebra: ideas and applications by Richard Penney.

    Most of the course will follow Edwards and Penney, sometimes skipping parts or giving an alternate perspective. We will introduce and review some linear algebra as needed. If you do not already have a linear algebra book, Penney is a nice one.

    Homework policy

    There will be eight homework assignments, due on Fridays at 5:00PM in room 383M at 5:00PM. (You can hand it to me if I'm there; otherwise slide it under the door.) No late homeworks will be accepted.

    You are encouraged to collaborate on the homework with your classmates. However you must write up your homework by yourself, without looking at someone else's paper.

    The lowest homework score will be dropped when computing your homework grade.

    Exams and grades

  • There will be a take-home midterm. It will be distributed at the end of class on Wednesday, February 10 and due at the beginning of class on Thursday, February 11. (It should take at most a couple of hours.)
  • There will be a take-home final exam. You will have 24 hours for this (although it shouldn't take nearly that long). You can choose any 24 hour period as long as it ends by Thursday, March 18 at 5:00 PM.

    The course grade will be based on the following:

    Homework: 25%
    Midterm: 25%
    Final Exam: 50%

    Up to Math 53 home page.

    Last updated: Mar. 5, 1999.