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Tips for Studying Differential Equations

Q

QueHuong

Platinum Member
Today is the first day of this class for me. While reading through the reviews for my textbook, people talk about studying how to solve the techniques...that tells the thought process is similar to the thought process you use to solve physics problems as opposed to ordinary calculus problems, if that makes any sense. Regardless, for those who have taken this class, how'd you do? And if you did well, how did you study for it?

I'm also thinking of getting either the Schaum's Outline of DE or the DE Problem Solver book. Or do you have your own recommendations for a supplementary text?
 
Do all the practice problems.. it's the only way you'll be able to remember everything and remember all the little rules for exceptions.

DiffyQ is a fairly easy class mathwise, IMO. Just do a ton of problems. You won't get through it without doing lots of homework.
 
Actually, it depends on how the course is taught. If it's just "how to solve" techniques, then the course is rather boring.
 
I never bothered doing anything other than reading my textbook, doing the assigned homework, and studying by doing all the odd problems in the sections I was studying and making sure I was doing them right. I ended up with an 'A'. You can do it! 🙂

-silver
 
Have you guys used what you've learned in DiffEQ outside of class? From what I've heard so far, this class is something you can actually use in real life...I'd like to be able to model the downfall of California ever since Arnie held office or something like that.
 
Originally posted by: MindStorm
Have you guys used what you've learned in DiffEQ outside of class? From what I've heard so far, this class is something you can actually use in real life...I'd like to be able to model the downfall of California ever since Arnie held office or something like that.
Click to expand...

umm... all political satire aside..

A cool application we saw in class was using differential equations to generate an equation for an oscillating spring with spring constants, dampening forces, etc. It came in very handy since I had physics that semester as well and I knew how it all worked! 😛

-silver
 
I just always stayed motivated by looking at real applications of ODEs and PDEs.

I'd suggest scanning some journals (in the area you are in) and see some actual uses of them.
 
Originally posted by: MindStorm
Have you guys used what you've learned in DiffEQ outside of class? From what I've heard so far, this class is something you can actually use in real life...I'd like to be able to model the downfall of California ever since Arnie held office or something like that.
Click to expand...

You use it A LOT in physics...
 
Ode is one of those things very good for applied math. I think the whole world is governed by some kind of differential equation(some Partial DE). That's what my teacher told me. That's what keeps me interested in the class.

but anyways, I have the same book as yours, except it is the 3rd edition, and not the seventh. I"m taking it right now, and the way the teachers does it, he teaches you how to solve the problems, rather then the theoretical crap. Infact, in my book, it doesn't have much on concept or anything. It has mostly rules on how to solve problems. Just a bunch of integrating and differentiating.... It's not that bad as long as you practice the problems......and remember the rules.

Oh btw, I brought the Schaums outline, and imho, it didn't help that much..........I think the text book does a better job of teaching. If you actually go through the problems in the book, and feel that you need more practice, then schaums might be good. But if you want to use schaums to help you understand stuff, I think the textbook does a good enough job already.

I would glady do ODE and PDE any day, rather then proving something is injective or surjective in discrete math....I hate abstract stuff....
 
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