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EA4 - Course Information and General Outline

Fall, 2015
Text:
Edwards and Penney, Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems: Computing and
Modeling, 4th or 5th editions.
Instructors:
Professors. Alvin Bayliss and Michael J. Miksis
Prerequisites:
EA1, EA2, EA3, Math 224
Course Outline:
Engineering Analysis 4 (EA4) is the final course in the Engineering Analysis sequence. It covers
the basics of ordinary differential equations, including first and second order equations and first
order systems. The course will build on previous EA material such as linear algebra (including
eigenvalues and eigenvectors) and Matlab.
EA4 covers differential equations from an applications perspective, considering topics from mechanics, thermodynamics, chemical engineering and other areas. As part of this applications
perspective, the course involves regular lab assignments in which Matlab will be used to solve
computationally-oriented projects. For weeks when a lab is assigned, EA4 students will have priority in the Engineering First Computer Lab (Tech MG47) and TAs will be available to provide
assistance with these projects.
Grading:
There will be three in-class exams. The exams will be worth 50% of your grade. The exams will
be cumulative so that earlier material may (and most likely will) be asked on later exams. Also,
the exams may involve questions on Matlab and the labs. The last exam will be during Reading
Week. There will be no final exam.
Homework will be worth 15% of your grade. Each homework will be graded out of 10 points.
You will get 2 points for completeness and there will be an in-class quiz based on the homework
which will be worth 8 points.
Labs will be worth 35% of your grade.
Schedule:
We will generally have lectures MTWF. There may be several weeks when some or all sections
will have class on Thursday. This will be announced beforehand in class. Lab TA hours will be
on Thursday (10AM-4PM) and Friday (2PM-4PM) for those weeks in which a lab is assigned.
Tentative exam schedule:
Exam 1: October 15
Exam 2: November 12
Exam 3: December 1 & December 3
These dates are tentative and subject to change. Any change will be announced at least one week
in advance. We plan to give the exams to all students in the evenings from 7PM-8PM and will
give you more information on the scheduling of the exam as the course progresses.

Topical Outline: We will cover the first six chapters in the text. The outline below gives the
topics and approximate duration of each section. Please note that the timing for each section is
approximate. There will also be review sessions prior to each exam. There are some additional
topics which will go beyond material in the text. These topics will be covered in class and in
posted material.
Week 1: First order equations (1.3-1.5)

Week 5: Applications and forced oscillators


Ordinary differential equation (ODE) overview (3.4-3.6)
Classification of equations
Free undamped mechanical vibrations
Direction fields and solution curves
Undetermined coefficients
Separable equations
Damping; mass-spring-damper systems
Integrating factors; linear first order equations Forced oscillations and resonance
Week 2: First order equations and applica- Week 6: Introduction to first order systems,
tions (2.1-2.3)
linear algebra review (4.1,4.3, 5.1)
Population and logistic growth
Introduction to first order systems
Critical points, stability; qualitative behavior
Formulation of second order equations as first
Acceleration-velocity models
order system
Other applications
Numerical methods for systems
Review of linear algebra concepts
Week 3: Numerics (2.4-2.6)
Eigenvalues and eigenvectors
General concept of finite difference schemes
Weeks 7 & 8: Constant coefficient systems
Truncation errors and order of accuracy
(5.1, 5.2, 5.4, 5.6) (5.1, 5.2, 5.5, 5.7 in the 5th
Eulers method
edition)
Improved Euler and Runge-Kutta
Implicit schemes, backward Euler and stability Further review of eigenvalues and eigenvectors
(supplementary material)
Linear independence, superposition
Adaptive procedures - supplementary material Systems with real and complex eigenvalues
Deficient matrices, multiple eigenvalues
Week 4: Second order equations ( 3.1-3.3)
Applications of systems
Second order linear equations
Inhomogeneous (forced) systems
Linear independence and superposition
Weeks 9 & 10: Nonlinear systems (6.1-6.4)
Wronskians
Constant coefficient equations
Phase planes
Real and complex roots
Classification of critical points
Linearization
Applications

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