Office: 310 Altgeld Hall
Phone: 333-2768 (office)
Email: henson (at) math (dot) uiuc (dot) edu (Email gets checked frequently. Responses to queries of general interest will be sent to the entire class.)
WWW: http://www.math.uiuc.edu/~henson/Math441/Fall2008/ (Bookmark this address; further course information will be posted there.)

Office Hours: Mon at 2:00, Wed at 12noon, and Thurs at 3:00, and by appointment (arrangements are best made at class or by email).

Required Text: Elementary Differential Equations (8th edition) by Boyce and DiPrima. We will cover most of Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 5, as well as Sections 7.1, 7.5, and 9.1. (In Chapters 2, 3, and 4 we will treat the sections in a different order.)

Quizzes and Homework: There will be a 10-minute quiz (one problem) essentially every Friday, beginning September 5. Daily homework will be assigned, but not graded. The quiz problems will be very similar to the homework problems assigned during the previous week.

Answers to odd-numbered problems are given at the back of the textbook; use them to make sure you understand the material and are solving the problems correctly. It is OK for you to discuss homework problems with other students in the class; however you obviously need to make sure that you can do all the work on your own.

No Late Work: As a general rule, late work is not accepted and makeup exams are not possible. Excuses based on documented, solid reasons (illness, family difficulties, official university trips, etc) will be honored; in such cases, grades will be based on the remaining work.

Exams: There will be three in-class hour exams during the semester and a three-hour final exam. The hour exams will take place during the regular class periods on September 26, October 31, and December 5; the final exam is scheduled for 8-11 am on December 19 and it covers the entire course.

Grading: Hour exams and the final exam are the most important factors in determining the grade for the course. The main function of the homework is to provide practice and feedback. The following weights will be used in determining the final average for Math 441: quizzes = 100; hour exams = 300 (100 each); final exam = 200. If scores are borderline or inconsistent, the course grade may take into account such factors as class participation and trends in scores.

(Revised August 27, 2008)