Tom LoFaro
Russ Park
314 Olin
Hall
307 Olin Hall
x7463
x7482
tlofaro@gustavus.edu rpark@gustavus.edu
Class
Meeting Times: M-F, 10:30-12:30 in Olin 317
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.
We will cover all chapters 1-5 in the text, with approximately 2 days per chapter. The schedule is:
|
Monday |
Tuesday |
Wednesday |
Thursday |
Friday |
|
|
RP: Chap. 1 |
CD: Stats Review |
CD: Chap. 4 |
CD: Chap. 4 |
|
RP: Chap. 1 |
Chap. 4
Presentations |
TL: Chap. 2 |
TL: Chap. 2 |
Chap. 1
Presentations |
|
RP: Chap. 3 |
RP: Chap. 3 |
Chap. 2
Presentations |
TL: Chap. 5 |
Work Day |
|
Chap. 3
Presentations |
Work Day |
Work Day |
Work Day |
Final
Presentations |
Your final grade will be determined by attendance and occasional homework (10%), four chapter projects (15% 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. Each group of students will prepare a written or oral presentation. Project groups and projects for each chapter can be found here. Guidelines for the grading of projects can be found on the Moodle page.
For this project, you will work in self-selected teams of two-three. 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.
Disability Services
Gustavus Adolphus College is
committed to ensuring the full participation of all students in its programs.
If you have a documented disability (or you think you may have a disability of
any nature) and, as a result, need reasonable academic accommodation to
participate in class, take tests or benefit from the College’s services, then
you should speak with the Disability Services Coordinator, for a confidential
discussion of your needs and appropriate plans. Course requirements cannot be
waived, but reasonable accommodations may be provided based on disability
documentation and course outcomes. Accommodations cannot be made
retroactively; therefore, to maximize your academic success at Gustavus, please
contact Disability Services as early as possible. Disability Services (https://gustavus.edu/advising/disability/)
is located in the Advising
and Counseling Center.
· Helpful hints on writing modeling papers.
· Applets for discrete dynamics.
· Internet Differential Equations Activities (IDEA)
· The Consortium for Mathematics and Its Applications (COMAP)