Tom LoFaro __
Carolyn Dobler
314 Olin
Hall
306 Olin Hall
x7463 x7469
tlofaro@gustavus.edu
dobler@gustavus.edu
Class Meeting Times: M-F,
Text: A Course in Mathematical Modeling by Douglas Mooney and
Randall Swift
This course provides an introductory study of the formulation of mathematical models to represent, predict, and control real-world situations, especially in the social and biological sciences. The course will use ideas from calculus, linear algebra, differential equations, probability, and statistics to describe processes that change in time in some regular manner, which may be deterministic or stochastic.
A mathematical model is a mathematical representation of some physical process or system.
Since real-world phenomena are often too complex to model exactly, there are
always simplifications and assumptions that one must make in building a
mathematical model. In this course we will look at the model-building
process and how to critique and refine models.
There are two basic viewpoints in mathematical modeling: deterministic and
stochastic. Professor LoFaro will cover deterministic models, while
Professor Dobler will be responsible for stochastic models and statistical
analysis.
We will cover all six chapters in the text, with approximately
2 days per chapter. The schedule is:
|
MONDAY |
TUESDAY |
WEDNESDAY |
THURSDAY |
FRIDAY |
|
1/7 CD-Prob/stat |
1/8 TL-Ch 1 |
1/9 TL-Ch 1 |
1/10 CD-Ch 2 |
1/11 Ch 1 presentations Prelim Proj Mtgs |
|
1/14 TL-Ch 3 |
1/15 TL-Ch 3 |
1/16 Ch 2 presentations |
1/17 CD-Ch 4 |
1/18 CD-Ch 4 Research Proposal |
|
1/21 Ch 3 Presentations |
1/22 TL-Ch 5 |
1/23 TL-Ch 5 |
1/24 Ch 4 Presentations |
1/25 CD Ch 6 Progress Report |
|
1/28 CD-Ch 6 |
1/29 Work Day |
1/30 Ch 5/6 Presentations |
1/31 Work Day |
2/1 Final Presentations Final Project due |
Your final grade will be determined by occasional homework
(10%), five chapter projects (12% each for a total of 60%), and final project
(30%).
Homework will be assigned occasionally and
irregularly. Homework will be posted on Moodle.
No late homework will be accepted.
The end of each chapter contains several projects. A group of 3 or 4 students will prepare a written or oral presentation. We will assign project groups and projects for each chapter. Guidelines for the grading of projects can be found here.
|
Chapter |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
|
Colette |
1.7 |
2.3A |
3.2 |
4.7 |
|
|
|
Ying |
1.3 |
2.3B |
3.7 |
4.1 |
|
|
|
Sarah C |
1.3 |
2.2B |
3.1 |
4.6 |
|
|
|
John |
1.2 |
2.2B |
3.7 |
4.3 |
|
|
|
Kai |
1.7 |
2.1 |
3.7 |
4.6 |
|
|
|
Matthew |
1.8 |
2.4 |
3.3 |
4.6 |
|
|
|
Kyle |
1.4/5 |
2.4 |
3.2 |
4.1 |
|
|
|
Helen |
1.8 |
2.2B |
3.5 |
4.3 |
|
|
|
Erik |
1.3 |
2.1 |
3.6 |
4.5 |
|
|
|
Joshua |
1.4/5 |
2.2A |
3.6 |
4.5 |
|
|
|
Jenny |
1.8 |
2.3B |
3.3 |
4.2 |
|
|
|
Rachel |
1.6 |
2.1 |
3.2 |
4.5 |
|
|
|
Sarah M |
1.8 |
2.4 |
3.1 |
4.7 |
|
|
|
Allison |
1.2 |
2.2A |
3.1 |
4.7 |
|
|
|
Andrew |
1.7 |
2.2A |
3.6 |
4.6 |
|
|
|
Justin |
1.6 |
2.4 |
3.6 |
4.3 |
|
|
|
Danielle |
1.2 |
2.3B |
3.3 |
4.2 |
|
|
|
Brett |
1.6 |
2.3A |
3.5 |
4.2 |
|
|
|
Jacquelynn |
1.4/5 |
2.3A |
3.5 |
4.1 |
|
|
2.2A: But rather
than using the lunar views suggested, your two views should include one view of
the far side of the moon (away from the earth) and one of the near side.
2.2B: But
rather than using the lunar views suggested, your two views should include one
from above one lunar pole, and one from above the other pole.
For this project, you will work in self-selected teams of
three-four. Your task is to select a topic of interest to you and model it.
This will involve collecting real-world data and/or building a mathematical
model of the physical process associated with this data. You will prepare
a written report (about 5-10 pages) and an oral presentation (20 minutes) on
the last day of class. For some helpful hints on writing your report click here.
Attendance is required. Poor attendance
may cause your final grade to be lowered. We encourage you to work
together in discussing homework; however the work you turn in must be your own.
As a community of scholars, the faculty
and students of Gustavus Adolphus College have formulated an academic honesty
policy and honor code system, which is printed in the Academic Bulletin and in
the Gustavus Guide. As a student at Gustavus Adolphus College I agree to uphold
the honor code. This means that I will abide by the academic honesty policy,
and abide by decisions of the joint student/faculty Honor Board.