Course information for
Mathematical Modeling (Math 448/548)
Professor Robert Carlson
Office: EAS 277
Phone: 262-3561
email: rcarlson@uccs.edu
Class meets Tu-Thurs 3:05-4:20 in Sci 188.
Office hours: Official hours for this class are Tu-Thurs 1:45 - 2:45.
You are also welcome to drop in or make an appointment to see me at another time.
Normally I am in my office weekdays 9:30 - 4:00, except Wednesdays.
If you are making a special trip to campus to see me I suggest calling ahead.
NEWS:
Here is last semester's final exam .
I do not have solutions written up.
Here are solutions for last semester's midterms,
midterm 1 .
and midterm 2 .
Some of the mathematics characters did not print correctly; watch out for that.
Some suggestions about homework presentation are on this page:
Homework format
The Spring 2008 Schedule of Courses has an error in the final exam schedule.
The final examination for this course is scheduled for Thursday May 15 from 1:40-4:10.
Free tutoring for Matlab will be offered through the Math Learning Center.
The current hours are MW 3-4 and TTh 2-3.
The practical use of mathematics in the modern world generally requires
the use of mathematical software.
In this course we will make use of the software package Matlab.
No prior experience with Matlab or other computer languages is assumed.
Tutorial material for Matlab is available below.
Matlab is freely available on the computers in the Math Learning Center (Engr 136).
If you wish to buy Matlab for your personal computer, the Student Edition is available at
the UCCS bookstore for about $100.
Legal fine print:
The administration of the course described below is subject to change
as deemed necessary by the instructor.
Drop dates:
Please review the Campus Calendar in the university's schedule of courses.
Students who drop a course may be eligible for partial refunds if the drop is
completed before a certain date. Except for really exceptional circumstances,
THE LAST DAY TO WITHDRAW IS APRIL 2, 2008.
Disability Services
Students with disabilities may be entitled to support from Disability Services,
including extra time for examinations, in Main Hall 105, phone 262-3354.
Students who may fall into this group should talk to Disability Services as soon as possible.
The Disability Certification Letter to the professor is to be submitted within the first two weeks of classes.
COURSE DESCRIPTION:
Most mathematics courses present the subject matter in a
style which emphasizes the efficient and logical development of the subject.
When applications are given, they are often an afterthought.
This course takes a different viewpoint.
The primary aim is
to show the student how a variety of mathematical subjects
can be used to solve real problems.
TEXT: Mathematical Modeling, by M. Meerschaert (third edition)
The text is quite attractive. The development of mathematical
methods is driven by specific applications.
As the author states in the preface, ``I was determined that
there would be no place in this book where a student could look up and ask,
`What is all of this for?'.''
The specific mathematical topics developed in the text include
optimization, dynamic systems and probablity models.
The use of modern computing aids is encouraged;
the Math Department is currently supporting the use of MATLAB.
Prerequisites:
Calculus III (Math 235),
Introduction to Differential Equations (Math 340),
Introduction to Linear Algebra (Math 313),
Introduction to Probability (Math 381) or Statistics for the Sciences (Math 310)
GRADING
This course will have two midterm exams, each worth 20 percent of the grade,
and a comprehensive final worth 30 percent.
Homework will count for 30 percent.
HOMEWORK
Homework will be assigned every 1-2 weeks.
Normally you will have at least 1 week to complete the assignment.
Solutions will be posted on this web page approximately 1 week after the assignment is due.
Homework handed in after the due date, but before the solutions are posted,
will be accepted, but will be subject to a penalty of one letter grade (10 points).
Late homework will not be accepted after the solutions are posted.
For undergraduate students I will drop one homework score.
Graduate students will not have this advantage.
Students are encouraged to discuss homework problems with their classmates or
with the professor to share ideas,
or detect and correct errors.
However, the written material handed in by the student
is expected to be the work of that student.
Copying homework solutions from another student or source
is a serious violation of the university's cheating policy.
Linear Programming notes
Linear programming notes - part 1
Linear programming notes - part 2
Linear programming notes - part 3
MATLAB
The Mathematics Department is offering free Matlab tutoring
in the Math Learning Center (Engr 136).
You can click on the links below to get TUTORIAL MATERIAL on Matlab.
Matlab notes - part 1
Matlab notes - part 2
Matlab notes - Optimization by exhaustive search
Matlab notes - Random number generation
Matlab notes - part 3
Matlab notes - part 4
Supplementary Matlab notes - log log plot for sensitivity
HOMEWORK Assignments and SOLUTIONS will be available here
Homework 1 has two parts.
(i) Chapter 1 # 1,5 is due Thursday 1/31. (ii)
Problems in the Matlab tutorial notes part 1 are due Tuesday 2/5.
Solutions for homework 1
Homework 2: Chapter 2 # 1, 3, 5 is due Tuesday 2/12.
You will probably have to use Matlab for some of the computations.
Solutions for homework 2
Homework 3: Chapter 2 # 2, 4, 6 is due Thursday 2/21.
Solutions for homework 3
Homework 4: Chapter 3 # 1, 2, 4, 6 is due Tuesday 3/4.
Solutions for homework 4
Homework 5: Problems 1,2,3,4,5,6 from the end of the linear programming notes.
These problems are due Tuesday 4/8.
Solutions for homework 5
Homework 6: Chapter 4 # 1, 2, 5, 7 is due Tuesday 4/22.
Solutions for homework 6
Homework 7: Chapter 4 # 4, Chapter 5 # 1,2 is due Tuesday 4/29.
Solutions for homework 7
Test SOLUTIONS will be available here
Solutions for test 1
Solutions for test 2
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