Math 134
Summer 2024
Linear and Nonlinear Systems
Topics: S. Strogatz, Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos (2nd Ed). We will mostly cover parts I and II (a tiny bit of III is possible).
Grading: You are guaranteed at least the following letter grades, for the score computed by
the weights below: A for ≥ 90, B for ≥ 80, C for ≥ 70. I am often a little nicer, but anything else is up to me. Please do not try to negotiate, make deals, or get me to promise anything in private that is not on the syllabus. Everybody will be graded the same way. The weights are:
3 Tests: 23% Each
Homework: 25%
Participation/Attendance: 6%
Attendance is expected, no matter what your location, time-zone, or schedule conflicts. However I will replace the Participation/Attendance with your lowest test score, if that is higher. It’s also possible that an alternate scheme will also be used, which would weigh the lowest test less (but likely homework and participation/attendance more). In this case the grade would be based on the maximum of the above and the alternate scheme. So you are always guaranteed at least what you would get as stated above.
Homework: Five homeworks, taken up approximately weekly by the TA. Your TA has complete control over the collecting and grading. Therefore, Do not send me your home- work for grading or ask me if homework can be taken late. These requests should be sent to your TA who grades it. There will be plenty of homework, and it is a crucial part of this class. So if your score is low because of low homework scores, I am unlikely to be generous on the final letter grade.
Some collaboration on the homework is fine, but it should be written on your own. Clearly identical solutions among separate homeworks could result in a zero for the question or entire homework, depending on the extent of it. Chegg or similar resources are definitely forbidden. (Chegg solutions are usually very obvious, and will be reported as academic dishonesty if verified.) AI resources are also forbidden and may also be reported as academic dishonesty. All computations other than arithmetic must be done by hand, with complete work shown.
Attendance/Participation: Classes will be recorded if general attendance does not fall below 70%, as this is not an asynchronous class. Regular attendance is still expected, even if you are in an inconvenient time zone. Attendance is logged by Zoom, and counts for participation. Polls, quizzes, clickers etc could also be used for this. If your participation is very low then I am unlikely to be generous on any borderline grade decisions.
Tests: 3 tests, roughly every two weeks. No calculators, computing devices, or notes al- lowed on tests. They will occur during class time and be proctored over Zoom. Tentative test dates for the first two are Mon Jul 8 (3rd week) and Mon Jul 22 (5th week). The third test will be the last day of class, Thurs Aug 1. This test is also the final exam (which may or may not be comprehensive). You must take the final exam to get a grade above an F.
Proctoring: The following comes from the Math Department: ‘For upper division classes, all exams must, by vote of the Undergraduate Studies Committee, be remotely proctored. The policy for this is that students should take the exam with their web cameras on at all times. At the beginning of the exam, they should use the web camera to show their working areas. After that the web camera should be positioned so you can see the students’ face, hands and writing surface while they work on the exam.’ So you will need to make sure you have a work space and web camera etc ready to go by the second week, before the first test.
Makeups: No makeups will be given on a different day, unless negotiated at least one week in advance, no matter what the reason. Please do not send an email on the day of the test asking to take it on a different day, as it will be denied. And again, please make sure your camera/internet/zoom/etc will be working. Short delays can likely be accommodated, but this means minutes or maybe an hour or so, not days.