MATH 2400: Numerical methods
Instructor:
Theodore Kolokolnikov, Chase building 304,
tkolokol@mathstat.dal.ca, http://www.mathstat.dal.ca/~tkolokol;
Phone: 494-6295.
Office hours:
MWT 11:30-12:30; or drop by anytime I'm in my office. You can also email
me to set up an appointment.
Handouts
- Homework 1
- Homework 2, due Fri 30 Sep.
- Homework 3, due Mon 10 Oct.
- Romberg integration
- Homework 4, due Fri 28 Oct.
- Homework 5, due on or before Fri 11 Nov. |
Solutions
- Supplemental questions for midterm.
- Homework 6, due Wed 7 dec.
- Midterm
- Course review sheet/sample exam questions
- Final
Maple worksheets
NOTE: Right click or option-click the link and choose "Save As..." to
download maple worksheets.
-
- Least squares linear fit
- Nonlinear fitting: example using HIV infection rates
References:
The textbook for this course is
Numerical analysis by Sauer.
It is available in Dalhousie bookstore; a copy is
also on reserve in the library.
Computer programs:
Some homework questions will require minimal computer programming. You
can use a computer program of your choice (see a sample list below),
however I will be using mostly Maple for in-class demonstrations. Note
that Maple is also installed on school computers. If you dont have access
to maple or matlab, I recommend you use Octave which is available for
free. Here is a list of the most popular programs:
- Matlab (commercial): This is very useful for numerical programming.
It is often a program of choice for mathematical/engineering/scientific
numerical computations.
- Maple (commercial): This is a very popular
symbolic manipulation program. It can
do things like integral of sin x symbolically.
It has sufficient numerical capabilities for the purposes of this course.
Dalhousie has a limited
licence which allows it to be used on university computers.
- Octave (free): This is basically a matlab clone but it is free. If
you dont have access to matlab or maple, you can use Octave instead.
- Mathematica (commercial): Another popular symbolic compuation
program.
- C/java/fortran/python/...: These are general-purpose languages.
You can use them if you prefer; however I strongly recommend going with
one of the other options instead.
Outline:
We will cover the basic numerical methods including
root finding; interpolation; differentiation and
integration; ordinary differential equations; stability and error
estimates.
Evaluation:
The evaluation will consist of homework sets (roughly 2 homeworks per
three weeks), an in-class midterm and a
final exam. The grade will be calculated based on the maximum of:
30% homework, 20% midterm, 50% final
20% homework, 10% midterm, 70% final
The worst homework grade will be dropped. There will be no makeups of
homeworks.
Grade conversion scale scale:
F:<50
D:50-54.9
C-:55-57.9
C:58-61.9
C+:62-64.9
B-:65-69.9
B:70-74.9
B+:75-79.9
A-:80-84.9
A:85-89.9
A+:90-100
Intellectual Honesty and Plagiarism:
If you cheat, you will get into lots of trouble; it is not worth it.
For the details, please
read the section on academic honesty in the student calendar.