Course Syllabus

Contact Information

Prof. Nikola Petrov

Department of Mathematics

Email:  npetrov@ou.edu

 

Lecture:  Tuesday & Thursday, 1:30-2:45 pm in PHSC 317

 

Office Hours (tentative):  Wednesday 10:30 am -11:30 pm or by appointment, in Zoom

Zoom link for the office hours:  https://oklahoma.zoom.us/j/95708521861?pwd=K25UNjZ2MnBSNm5SSWlZcE5ZNEppQT09

Meeting ID:  957 0852 1861

Passcode:  88316448

Course Details

Course Catalog Description

Solution of linear and nonlinear equations, approximation of functions, numerical integration and differentiation, introduction to analysis of convergence and errors, pitfalls in automatic computation, one-step methods in the solutions of ordinary differential equations. (F)

 

Course Prerequisites 

MATH 3113 or MATH 3413.

 

Course Materials

Textbook:  R. L. Burden, J. D. Faires. Numerical Analysis. Brooks/Cole, 8th, 9th, or 10th edition. 

 

Communication

  • Students are expected to check e-mail and Canvas on a frequent and regular basis in order to stay current with course-related communications, recognizing that certain communications may be time-critical. It is recommended that e-mail and Canvas be checked daily.
  • Likewise, I will be checking my email every day. I will always make every effort to reply within one business day, but do not expect a reply from me outside of regular business hours.

 

Grading Scheme

  • Breakdown.  The components of your semester grade are given in the table below.

 

Activity Weight
Gradescope homework 35 %
Two midterm exams 20 % each
Final exam 25 %

 

  • Scale.  Your semester grade will be no lower than what is indicated in the table below.

 

Semester grade A B C D F
Percentage 90.00-100.00 80.00-89.99 70.00-79.99 60.00-69.99 50.00-59.99

 

Course Components

 

Homework

  • There will be a homework assignment every 1.5 weeks on average. 
  • The homework will be posted in Canvas.
  • The lowest 20% of your homework assignment scores will be dropped.
  • These assignments must be submitted electronically through Gradescope. You can write your solutions by hand, and then create a single PDF file of it using a phone/tablet/scanner.  There are many free scanner apps for phones and tablets.  On my iPhone I use a very friendly and convenient free scanner app called Genius Scan.  Please do not use your photo camera - the files are much larger and usually of worse quality than those created by scanning. 
  • Homework assignments will not be accepted via email.
  • Late assignments will not be accepted (except in the cases listed under "Make-ups" below). 
  • When submitting your homework, you must satisfy all of the following requirements:
    1. You must tag the pages on which each problem appears (i.e., assign each part of each problem to a particular page or pages). 
    2. Though Gradescope accepts either images or PDFs, the policy in this class is that you must submit a single PDF file.
    3. You may need to know how to combine several PDFs into a single file.
      1. You can easily combine pdf files using Adobe Acrobat or (on a Mac) Preview. 
      2. You can use an online service such as www.pdfmerge.com.
      3. On Windows, there are various programs that can do this such as PDF Merger and Splitter. Just google "combine PDFs in windows" to find more options.
      4. Your homework must be easily readable.  Please write your solution with a dark and thick enough pen on a white sheet of paper and scan it in good light. 
  • If your work fails to satisfy any of the above requirements,  you may be assigned a grade of 0 for this particular homework. 

 

Exams

  • There will be two midterm exams, to be held during the usual class period, currently scheduled for:
    1. October 5 (Tuesday),
    2. November 23 (Tuesday).
  • The final exam will be comprehensive, and will take place online on December 14 (Tuesday), 1:30-3:30 pm. 
  • No exam grades will be dropped.  
  • You already have access to your final exam schedule, so do check whether or not you are scheduled to have several finals on the same day.
    1. University regulationsLinks to an external site. state that you are not expected to take more than two finals on the same day.
    2. If you have more than two finals on the same day, the instructor(s) giving the third and subsequent finals must offer make-ups.
    3. For that to happen, you must notify the affected instructor(s) by the end of the twelfth week of classes (that is, by November 12).

 

Make-ups

The grading scheme allows you to miss several homework assignments.  It will not be possible to make them up after the due date except in the following circumstances: 

    1. Illness or isolation as specified in the university attendance policy.  An important deviation from the usual policy is that you will not be asked to provide formal documentation from a healthcare provider to excuse the absence.
    2. A conflict with a religious observance.
    3. A conflict with a Provost-approved University-sponsored responsibility (for example an away game for a varsity team).
    4. A conflict with some other legally required activity (for example jury duty or emergency military service).

Unless the absence is due to unforeseeable circumstances, you are required to notify me at least two weeks in advance.

The same policies apply to missed midterm exams.  I will give make-up midterm exams in the early hours of the last week of classes. 

There will be no opportunities to do work for extra credit.

 

Mathematica and MATLAB software

  • In order to help us deal with things that are very difficult or impossible to do by hand, like drawing pretty graphs or calculating really complicated derivatives or integrals, we will be using the computer algebra system Mathematica and the programming platform MATLAB. 
  • As an OU student, you can download Mathematica and MATLAB for free from the OU Information Technology web-site. 
  • Install it now, it is a very useful tool which can help you check your calculations, plotting graphs of functions, etc. 
  • If your device does not support installing Mathematica, a limited online alternative that you could use in the classroom can be found at https://www.wolframcloud.com (Links to an external site.)
  • Wolfram Alpha (Links to an external site.) can also provide some similar functionality.

 

Temporary university-wide attendance policy

If you miss a class because of COVID (either contact or testing), the Dean’s Office has advised the following:

  1. Students should download the Healthy Together App from https://ou.edu/together/healthy-together.  In this app you can report your status.  It will generate a pdf that they can send to your instructor.  Please read the web-site https://www.ou.edu/together for more information. 
  2. If you do not wish to download the app, you can still click on the link above and login to the far-right hand “Screening Form” tab. This will also generate something that they can send to your instructor.
  3. If you feel uncomfortable doing any of that, you can go directly to the CAS Dean of Students. 

Students who are experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, including cough, fever, shortness of breath, muscle pain, headache, chills, sore throat, loss of taste or smell, congestion or runny nose, nausea or vomiting, or diarrhea or who have been in close contact with others who have symptoms should:

  • Remain at home to protect others
  • Ensure that any needed screening has been conducted and any needed treatment obtained
  • Contact the instructor prior to absence or inability to participate, if possible, and provide a report of the reason for which you cannot attend class or complete a course activity
  • Continue to complete coursework to the extent possible, using Canvas, zoom, and other online tools
  • Submit assignments electronically to the extent possible and as directed by the instructor
  • Communicate with the instructor to arrange modifications to deadlines or work requirements or reschedule exams or other important course activities, when it is necessary

 

Help

If you need help, you are welcome to come to my office hours which will be held through Zoom (the link is given above).  If you cannot come to the regularly scheduled office hours, you may make an appointment by email. 

 

University Academic Policies and Student Support

Useful Resources

 

Academic Integrity

  • Each student in this course is expected to abide by college-level standards of integrity, honesty, and respect.
  • By enrolling in this course, you agree to be bound by the Academic Integrity Code of the University of Oklahoma (https://www.ou.edu/integrity/students).
  • For more information, consult the website of the Academic Integrity Office (http://integrity.ou.edu/Links to an external site.) 
  • Any work submitted by a student in this course for academic credit will be the student's own work. You may cooperate with other students when working out homework problems, but everyone must write their own solution. To be clear:
    1. You must write your own solutions in your own words, without looking at someone else’s written solution.
    2. It is cheating to turn in solutions that you have copied from someone else.
    3. It is cheating to turn in solutions that you have found online.
    4. In particular, dividing up the problems and copying each other’s solutions is not allowed.
  • Be aware that it is my professional obligation to report academic misconduct, which I will not hesitate to do. Sanctions for academic misconduct can include expulsion from the University and an F in this course, so don’t cheat. It’s simply not worth it.

 

Academic Misconduct

In addition to the course conduct policies outlined by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook. 

It is the responsibility of each student to be familiar with the definitions, policies, and procedures concerning academic misconduct. The Student Code is available from the Office of the Vice President for Student Affairs, and is contained in the Student's Guide to Academic Integrity.

This site also defines misconduct, provides examples of prohibited conduct, and explains the sanctions available for those found guilty of misconduct.

 

Plagiarism 

Plagiarism is the most common form of academic misconduct at OU. There is basically no college-level assignment that can be satisfactorily completed by copying. OU's basic assumption about writing is that all written assignments show the student's own understanding in the student's own words. That means all writing assignments, in class or out, are assumed to be composed entirely of words generated (not simply found) by the student, except where words written by someone else are specifically marked as such with proper citation. Including other people's words in your paper is helpful when you do it honestly and correctly. When you don't, it's plagiarism. 

For more information about plagiarism, watch this video and then take this short course offered by University Libraries.

 

Reasonable Accommodation for Disabilities

The University of Oklahoma is committed to providing reasonable accommodation for all students with disabilities. Students with disabilities who require accommodations in this course should contact their professor as early in the semester as possible.

Students with disabilities must be registered with the Disability Resource Center prior to receiving accommodations in this course.

If you have a disability and you would like to make a request for reasonable accommodation, please see the Graduate Student Handbook or get in touch with the Accessibility and Disability Resource Center.

 

Mental Health Support Services

If you are experiencing any mental health issues that are impacting your academic performance, counseling is available at the University Counseling Center located on the second floor of the Goddard Health Center at 620 Elm, Rm. 201. To schedule an appointment call (405)325-2911.

 

Adjustments for Pregnancy/Childbirth Related Issues

Should you need modifications or adjustments to your course requirements because of documented pregnancy-related or childbirth-related issues, please contact me as soon as possible to discuss. Generally, modifications will be made where medically necessary and similar in scope to accommodations based on temporary disability. Please see www.ou.edu/content/eoo/faqs/pregnancy-faqs.html for commonly asked questions. 

 

Title IX Resources  

For any concerns regarding gender-based discrimination, sexual harassment, sexual misconduct, stalking, or intimate partner violence, the University offers a variety of resources, including advocates on-call 24/7, counseling services, mutual no contact orders, scheduling adjustments, and disciplinary sanctions against the perpetrator. Please contact the Sexual Misconduct Office at 405-325-2215 (8-5, M-F) or OU Advocates at 405-615-0013 (24/7) to learn more or to report an incident. 

 

Religious Holidays

It is the policy of the University to excuse absences of students that result from religious observances and to provide for the rescheduling of examinations and additional required classwork that may fall on religious holidays without penalty. It is the responsibility of the student to make alternate arrangements with the instructor at least one week prior to the actual date of the religious holiday.

 

Copyright Policy

Sessions of this course may be recorded or live-streamed. These recordings are the intellectual property of the individual faculty member and may not be shared or reproduced without the explicit, written consent of the faculty member. In addition, privacy rights of others such as students, guest lecturers, and providers of copyrighted material displayed in the recording may be of concern. Students may not share any course recordings with individuals not enrolled in the class or upload them to any other online environment.

 

Registration and Withdrawal

If you choose to withdraw from this course, you must complete the appropriate University form and turn the form in before the deadline. If you stop attending the course and doing the coursework without doing the required paperwork, your grade will be calculated with missed homework and examination grades entered as zero. This could result in receiving a grade of F in the course. Deadlines are shown in the Academic Calendar, which is available from the Office of the Registrar.

 

Student Grievances

In addition to any policies outlined related to submitting an informal or formal grievance by your professor in the Course Syllabus in the online classroom, please review the Graduate Student Handbook for more information about the process of submitting a formal grievance.