Homework Assignments

MATH 4581 Fall 2024

Here is a list of topics covered and all written assignments for the course as well as a dynamic listing of what was actually planned and covered in the lecture. Remember: Your work on assignments should be neatly presented---if you can't write legibly, then figure out a way to type it---and submitted on Canvas.


   Date    Chapter.Section/Topics   or   Page/Problems

T   Aug 20  Lecture 1  Introduction/Review of ODE
             Notes  
             Assignment 1  Pace: Thursday August 29, 2024  DUE Tuesday September 3, 2024
            highlights/actual:
            A first peek at PDE and a solution of the heat equation
            A first peek at ODEs

Th   22     Lecture 2  Two point boundary value problems and Fourier series
             Assignment 2  Pace: Thursday September 5, 2024  DUE Tuesday September 10, 2024
	    highlights/actual:  
            A second peek at PDE: Can you solve u_t = u_xx on (0,pi)X(0,infty) with u(0,t)=0=u(pi,t) for all t and 
                                                                                    u(x,0) = x(pi-x)?
            Existence and uniqueness for ODEs
            C^k regularity and real analyticity (C^omega)
            y' = y^2 finite time blow-up

T    27     Lecture 3  Fourier series (Chapter 3 in Haberman)
	    highlights/actual:  
            PDE:  Visualization of heat flow, 1-D boundary conditions and heat dissipation through endpoints
            Two point boundary value problems in ODE
            Systems and second order ODE
            Assignment 1 Problem 1 (continuity)

Th   29     Lecture 4  More Fourier series
             Assignment 3  Pace: Thursday September 19, 2024  DUE Tuesday September 24, 2024
	    highlights/actual:  
            Assignment 1 Problem 6 open sets
            Assignment 1 Problem 3 an initial value problem (complex eigenvalues)
            PDE: higher dimensions, can you solve u_t = u_xx + u_yy on (0,L)X(0,M)X(0,infty) with 
                                                  u(x,y,t) = 0 for (x,y) in boundary((0,L)X(0,M)) and 
                                                  u(x,y,0) = sin(pi x/L) sin(pi y/M)? 
                 Hint:  Try u(x,y,t) = f(t)  sin(pi x/L) sin(pi y/M)
                 Laplace's PDE.  Solve u_xx + u_yy on (0,L)X(0,M) with u(x,y) = 0 for (x,y) in boundary((0,L)X(0,M))

T  Sept 3   Lecture 5  Review
             Assignment 4  Pace: Thursday September 26, 2024  DUE Tuesday October 1, 2024
	    highlights/actual:  Assignment 1 Problem 10 equivalent two point boundary value problem with 
                                                        homogeneous boundary conditions
                                Linear and affine  
                                No substantial peek at PDE :(
	                        power series solutions for ODE
                                X' = AX when A has complex eigenvalues (and complex eigenvectors)
Th    5     Lecture 6  Derivation of heat equation
                       Two point boundary value problems in ODE and Fourier series  
T    10     Lecture 7  
Th   12     Lecture 8  separation of variables  (didn't do this)
                       mollification 
                       derivation of the 1D heat equation (start)
             Assignment 5  Pace: Thursday October 10, 2024  DUE Tuesday October 15, 2024 
T    17     Lecture 9   derivation of the heat equation (continued) 
average values for harmonic functions (cont.)---the divergence 
Th   19     Lecture 10  average values for harmonic functions
                        measures of balls and boundaries of balls
T    24     Lecture 11  average values for harmonic functions (cont.)---the divergence (intro)
Th   26     rain day
T  Oct 1    Lecture 13-1 
                        measure and integration---when can you not integrate functions?
                        the divergence (definition) and the divergence theorem (statement)
Th    3     Lecture 14-1  
T     8     Lecture 15-1
             Assignment 6  Pace: Thursday October 17, 2024  DUE Tuesday October 22, 2024
Th   10     Lecture 16-1  Fourier series solution of the 1D heat equation
T  Oct 15   *Fall Break*
Th   17     Lecture 17-1
             Assignment 7  Pace: Thursday October 31, 2024  DUE Tuesday November 5, 2024  
T    22     Lecture 18-1  
             Assignment 8  Pace: Thursday November 7, 2024  DUE Tuesday November 12, 2024	    
Th   24     Lecture 19-1
T    29     Lecture 20-1  
Th   31     Lecture 21-1
             Assignment 9  Pace: Thursday November 21, 2024  DUE Tuesday December 3, 2024

T   Nov 5   Lecture 22-1  
Th    7     Lecture 23-1
T    12     Lecture 24-1  
Th   14     Lecture 25-1
T    19     Lecture 26-1
Th   21     Lecture 27-1
T    26     Lecture 28-1
Th  Nov 28  *Thanksgiving Holiday*
T   Dec 3   Last class meeting
             Final Assignment  DUE Thursday December 12, 2024  (Scheduled Final Exam Time 11:20-2:10)
	    Problems 1-4 posted on Wednesday August 21

MATH 4581 Schedule and Homework Fall 2021


   Date    Chapter.Section/Topics   or   Page/Problems

T   Aug 24  ODEs and PDEs
            Didn't cover:  
            Introduction: Partial Differential Equations; The Heat Equation
            See Lecture 2 notes (typed on main course page)
             Assignment 1 (corrected version)  Due Tuesday September 14, 2021         
             Assignment 1 (original version with errors in problems 9 and 10)  
Th   26     Power Series and Fourier Series
            Still haven't covered:  
            Derivation of the 1-D heat equation (see lecture 2 notes) 
T    31     NOTE:  On this day office hours start at 11:30 AM.  
             1-D heat conduction 
             Assignment 2  Due Tuesday September 28, 2021
Th  Sept 2  higher spatial dimension
            Separation of Variables (Chapter 2).
T     7     Separation of Variables
            Separation of Variables (continued)
             Assignment 3 = Exam 1  Due Tuesday October 12, 2021  
            Note that this assignment is being posted over a month in advance of the due date, 
            and we have covered almost all the material needed for completion of this assignment 
            in lecture already.  Suggestion:  Assignment 1 is due in a week.  After you get that 
            one done, pick up the pace and get Assignment 2 done a little early, so you have 
            plenty of time to get Assignment 3 done before Fall Break.  Of course, if  you 
            procrastinate, you can spend the first four or so days of Fall Break doing Assignment 3.  
Th    9     See the mathematica notebook posted on the main page concerning graphical representation 
            of solutions
            Lecture 6 (?)
            Transport equations
            The divergence and the divergence theorem
T    14     Lecture 7 Intrinsic Mathematics
            Lecture 7 Intrinsic Mathematics
Th   16     Lecture 8 Heat conduction on a ring
T    21     Lecture 9 Calculus of Variations
Th   23     Lecture 10 Calculus of Variations (continued)  last page
             Assignment 4  Due October 26, 2021
T    28     Lecture 11 Calculus of Variations: Dirichlet energy
            Assignment 2 Problem 5:  Polar coordinates and the chain rule
Th   30     Lecture 12 Directional derivatives, Laplace's PDE on a disk  last page
T   Oct 5   Lecture 13 The mean value property and the maximum principle(s)
             Assignment 5  Due November 9, 2021
Th    7     Lecture 14 Open sets and other mathematical sounding words (topology)
T   Oct 12  Fall Break
Th   14     Lecture 15  Chapter 3 (of Haberman) Fourier series 
T    19     Lecture 16  Fourier's theorem (pointwise convergence)  last page 
                                             and eigenfunction expansion
Th   21     Lecture 17  Riesz-Fischer theorem (L^2 convergence)
                                             and clean up of various topics:  
                                             (a) Lecture 16/Chapter 3
                                             (b) Initial condition in eigenfunction expansion
                                             (c) Weak maximum principle (to do list)
T    26     Lecture 18 Wave equation: separation of variables/superposition
Th   28     Lecture 19 Wave equation: derivation 
T   Nov 2   Lecture 20 Hanging slinky and river crossing 
             Assignment 6 = Exam 2  Due November 23, 2021
Th    4     Lecture 21
            Trig identity/induction for Gibb's phenomenon
            river crossing problem (calculus of variations)
            d'Alembert's solution/method of characteristics
T     9     Lecture 22 d'Alembert's solution and Streamlines  last page 
Th   11     Lecture 23 Streamlines contined
             Assignment 7  Due December 7, 2021
             Assignment 8 = Final Exam  Due December 13, 2021
T    16     Lecture 24 Transverse Oscillations and Sturm-Liouville Theory
Th   18     Lecture 25 Sturm-Liouville Theory and Bessel Functions
T    23     Lecture 26 Transverse Vibrations 
                                             1-D
                                             2-D rectangle
                                             2-D disk
Th  Nov 25  Holiday
T    30     Lecture 27 Transverse Oscillations of a Hanging Chain
Th  Dec 2   Lecture 28 Free Day
                                             Assignment 7 Problem 1 
                                                          Problem 2
                                             1-D Internal Oscillations 
                                             (motion of a hanging slinky/spring in gravity)
T     7     Last class meeting
            Lecture 29
M    13     Final Exam  (11:20-2:10)