Introduction

Many physical phenomena are governed by differential equations. Newton's second law of motion is in general a set of second order time-dependent differential equations. In this course our main goal is to develop a number of tools for solving these and other equations numerically. Our main focus is in developing numerical methods for such purposes

This information document covers the following subjects: how to contact the staff, prerequisites, textbooks, course work and grading, late penalties.

If you have a general question about something that is NOT covered here, or if you wish to talk with your GSI or me, the easiest way is to come during office hours. Otherwise, please make an appointment by sending the staff electronic mail.

Staff

GSIs

• Lilit Martirosyan
  send Lilit email at lilit@math.berkeley.edu.
  Discussion sections 101 (W 9:00AM-10:00AM) and 102 (W 10:00AM-11:00AM), 4 Evans.
  
• Richard Burnstein
  send Richard Burnstein email at richard3@math.berkeley.edu.
  Discussion section 103, W 11:00AM-12:00NOON, 4 Evans.
  
• Jeff Donatelli
  send Jeff email at jdonatel@math.berkeley.edu.
  Discussion section 104 (W 1:00PM-2:00PM) and 105 (W 2:00PM-3:00PM), 4 Evans.
  

Prerequisites

Textbooks

• R. L. Burden and J. D. Faires, Numerical Analysis, 8-th edition, Brooks-Cole, 2005.

Course Work and Grading

There are a total of 100 points you can earn toward your final grade in the course. There will be two midterm exams. The better of the two is worth 25 points and the worse 15 points. The final exam is worth 30 points. All exams will be graded by the GSIs and myself. In addition to exams, there will be up to 14 homeworks and 14 quizzes. Only the best 10 homeworks and best 10 quizzes will be counted towards the final grade, with each homework and quiz worth 1.5 points. Homeworks are in general due on Mondays. In case of a University Holiday, they are due the following Wednesday. Quizzes are on the days homeworks are due. Our GSIs will provide solutions to all homeworks and midterm exams.

Here are the exam dates:

• Midterm I: Feb. 18, Monday in class.
• Midterm II: Mar. 17, Monday in class.
• Final: 12:30-3:30PM, Monday, May. 19.

Homeworks will involve written assignments to be done individually, although group discussion is allowed. There will be some matlab programming assignments, so some basic programming knowledge will be needed. It is strongly encouraged that those who want to learn more about matlab take the one-credit course, Math 98, for basic matlab programming skills. On-line information about Math 98 is located at /~trokhim/spring08/index.html .

Your final letter grade will be determined based on the class performance curve , which is based on the number of points you earned in the course. In general about 1/3 of the class will get A level grades, 1/3 B grades, and 1/3 C grades or worse.

Grades of Incomplete will be granted only for dire medical or personal emergencies that cause you to miss the final, and only if your work up to that point has been satisfactory.

To obtain an early report of your grade, leave a stamped, self-addressed postcard with your final or in my mail box. I will only post the class performance curve after the final exam.

Lateness