Calendar: MAT 411 Mathematical Modeling. Spring 2013. Jennings.

I will post homework assignments here so please check back often, at least once a week.

Chapter and section numbers refer to our textbook A Course in Mathematical Modeling by Douglas Moody and Randall Swift, published by the Mathematical Association of America 1999.

• 1st Week: Jan. 21, 23
  • Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Monday Jan. 21
  • 1.1, 1.2. Introduction to Google's free spreadsheet, part of a suite of free programs called "Google Drive".
  • Homework: pg. 40-42, Project 1.3. Due Wednesday Jan. 30.
• 2nd Week: Jan. 28, 30
  • 1.3, 1.4.
  • Homework Project 1.2 Bobcats. Due Wednesday Feb. 6 Solution
• 3rd Week: Feb. 4, 6.
  • 1.5, 1.6. Logistic growth.
  • Start reading chapter2. Learn how to produce random numbers on your spreadsheet. On the Google spreadsheet the functions that produces uniformly distributed pseudo-random numbers are called RAND for random real numbers, and RANDBETWEEN for random integers. You can find them in the Help menu if you look for "function list" then select the category "math" in the "select an option" drop-down list. See the category "statistical" for other statistical functions.
  • Homework. Do exercise 5 p. 91.
• 4th Week: Feb. 11, 13
  • Read 2.1, 2.2, 2.3
  • Wednesday's class will be in SBS B110. A colloquium speaker is coming to talk to us about a project to improve precalculus classes at Cal State Northridge by collecting data about how teaching practices affect student learning and using the data to make changes. She will then switch topics and talk about geometry.
  • Homework Project 2.4 Due Monday Feb 25.
• 5th Week: Feb. 18, 20
  • Presidents' Day Holiday Monday Feb. 18
  • 2.4
• 6th Week: Feb. 25, 27
  • Cont. Ch. 2. Homework: Project 2.2 Poisson Forest part 1, project 2.3 Black Capped Chickadees parts 1-3 (ignore part 4 which asks for a qq-plot). Due Friday March 8. If you want to send me files please upload them on Blackboard.
  • Example: like the Poisson Forest http://sage.csudh.edu/home/pub/68
  • 3.1-3.3 This is too much; I'll change it later
• 7th Week: Mar. 4, 6
  • 3.1-3.3 cont.
  • 3.4, 3.5, 3.6.
  • Introduction to the Sage computer algebra system. Here are some notes that you can copy and try: Notes on March 6 lecture.
  • Review
• 8th Week: Mar. 11, 13
  • Midterm Exam Monday Mar. 11 Solutions
  • 3.7
  • 3.8, 3,9
  • 3.10, 3.11
• 9th Week: Mar. 18, 20
  Homework: Chapter 3 Project 3.9 Impalas. You can do this on a spreadsheet but I think it will be easier to get it right if you use Sage or MATLAB or another general package that can handle math. If you'd like to use Sage here is sage worksheet that may help get you started: Modeling project 3.9 Impalas (http://sage.csudh.edu/home/pub/67). I'll explain it in class.
• 10th Week: Mar. 25, 27
  • 4.10
• Spring Break April 1-6
• 11th Week: Apr. 8, 10
  • 4.1-4.5
  • 4.6-4.8
  • 4.9
  • 4.11-4.13
• 12th Week: Apr. 15, 17
  • 5.1
  • 5.2
  • 5.3
  • Slope field example
  • Example: numerical solution of differential equation
  • Example: US population model
  • Homework: projects 5.1, 5.8a,b (not 5.2 -- that was a mistake!).
• 13th Week: Apr. 22, 24
  • 5.4
• 14th Week: Apr. 29, May 1
  • Example: Predator-prey
• 15th Week: May 6, 8
  • Review
• Final Exam Wednesday May 15 2:30-4:30pm