Text: There is an inexpensive "custom" version of the text containing only the chapters we use for 307 and 309 from the 9th edition of text by Boyce-DiPrima. Students need either this or the full text (not both). Before Autumn, 2009, we used the 8th edition, and the 309 syllabus posted on the department website is based on the 8th edition of the text. It is still possible that some students may ask if they can use the 8th edition (which they may already own or can busy used). The answer is a qualified yes. You should either tell them that they have to look at a 9th edition for the homework problems (at the library, or a friend's copy) or post your assignments with problem numbers given for both editions.
Math 309 has both 307 and 308 as prerequisites, and includes material that is significantly more sophisticated than 307 and 308. Your students, however, typically will be only slightly better mathematicians than the typical 307 or 308 student. Also they may have taken those prerequisites some time ago. Assume that you will need to review many of the prerequisite topics, in class and/or with review problems. In particular, their grasp of eigenvalues and eigenvectors will be shaky at best: review definitions and do examples of finding them in two and three dimensions.
The section on inhomogeneous linear systems is considerably more difficult for students than the preceeding material, and is potentially an enormous time sink. Students seemed to have trouble figuring out when to use the various methods (undetermined coefficients, variation of parameters, and so on) on different classes of problems. Plan ahead on how much stress you want to place on this section and how many techniques you want to include. Choose the examples you will work in class carefully. Don't get bogged down here and have to skimp on chapters 9 and 10.
Some of the problems, especially in chapter 10, are very long. Be careful to keep your homework assignments reasonable in length. For quizzes and tests, be sure to make clear what work you want to see: complete derivation of the solution, or assume a particular form and just find the coefficients, or what? You do want them to understand where the form of the solution comes from, but it's too time consuming to have them rederive it every time. Sample solutions for them to use as models can be very helpful for dealing with this situation.
The Math 309 Instructor Materials page in the Math Department Wiki gives links to sample course web sites, and other ideas from previous instructors.
Return to the
Index for the 3xx Instructor Guide.
Most recently updated on September 26, 2011