MATH 309
Differential Equations Spring 2024 (also offered Fall 2023)
Division III Quantitative/Formal Reasoning

Ordinary differential equations (ODEs) frequently arise as models of phenomena in the natural and social sciences. This course presents core ideas of ODEs from an applied standpoint. Topics covered early in the course may include numerical solutions, separation of variables, integrating factors, and constant coefficient linear equations. Later, we will focus on nonlinear ODEs, for which it is usually impossible to find analytical solutions. Tools from dynamical systems will be introduced to allow us to obtain information about the behavior of the ODEs without explicitly knowing the solution.