ODE Project Guidelines

Any significant deviation from the guidelines below should be discussued beforehand with the instructor.

General Guidelines

  • Projects are completed by groups of two or three students.
  • Choose a project from the list below or propose an alternative project which, if approved, will be added to the list.
  • Write up a two page outline/proposal of your project and turn this in to be reviewed by the instructor. Address specifically each point below.
    If your proposal is approved...
  • Collect data from an experiment which is then compared to the solution of an ODE.
  • Write up a record of your work both in written form and in a form which may be posted on the internet.

    Your reports should contain the following:

    0. A listing of participants (Your names)
    1. A description of the source of your data

  • A physical apparatus is recommended (something with springs, magnets, something moving, etc.)
  • Include construction details if appropriate.
  • Some materials/assistance is available. Ask instructor.

    2. Your data

  • Include the means of data collection if appropriate, any difficulties, equipment, sources of error, software, etc.
  • Use tables, graphs, etc. to give the data in easily readable form.

    3. ODE Model/Analysis

  • Describe the ODE you use, the means you use to find the equation, the means you use to determine any constants in the equation, and how you solve/analyze it.
  • Include manual calculations and a description of the use of software etc. as appropriate.

    4. Comparison (of theory with experiment)

  • A measure of how well the data agrees with the ODE model
  • Discussion of how data collection, the model or the analysis might contribute to error and might be improved.

    Suggested Projects:

    1. Model the decay of oscillations for a mass on a spring.
    2. Model the growth of mold on bread.
    3. Model the height of liquid in a coupled system of draining cylinders.
    4. The shape of a rotating container of liquid.
    5. The shape of a hanging chain.
    6. Forcing and resonance in a mass spring system.
    7. Forcing and resonance in an RLC circuit.
    8. Determine the path of a metal ball under mechanical, gravitational, and magnetic forces.
    (Ask instructor for more details/suggestions on each of the above.)