What to brush up on before taking Differential Equations?

[Shackleford]

Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait until the Fall to take it. I've taken Cal I-III and took Linear Algebra this past fall.

What specifically in Calculus (besides the short differential equations) should I review?

 

[Monocles]

Eigenvalue problems, vector valued functions, and taking derivatives/integrals. That's pretty much all differential equations is based on. Most of the techniques you'd actually use in the class will be new to you.

 

[clope023]

pde's or ode's? I can see eigenvalue stuff in the pde's but if it's just an intro diffy q class you won't see a lot of linear algebra (you will see some, like linear independence/dependence and matrix determinants and a few other things), you'll want to review a lot of integral methods from calculus II

 

[Shackleford]

MATH 3331: Differential Equations
Cr. 3. (3-0). Prerequisites: MATH 2433 and MATH 2331 (formerly 2431). Systems of ordinary differential equations; existence, uniqueness and stability of solutions; initial value problems; bifurcation theory; Jordan form; higher order equations; Laplace transforms. Computer assignments are required.

 

[djeitnstine]

What they don't tell you shackel is you want to know your integration techniques from Calc 2. Know that like the back of your hand.

edit: I'm taking the class right now, also clope said this first :)

 

[Shackleford]

What they don't tell you shackel is you want to know your integration techniques from Calc 2. Know that like the back of your hand.

Looks like I'll have to bust out my notes. All the integration techniques or a few in particular?

 

[clope023]

Looks like I'll have to bust out my notes. All the integration techniques or a few in particular?

integration by parts, trig integration, and partial fractions you'll probably see the most; be able to recognize when one is done too cause the steps aren't always shown; oh also series

 

[Monocles]

pde's or ode's? I can see eigenvalue stuff in the pde's but if it's just an intro diffy q class you won't see a lot of linear algebra (you will see some, like linear independence/dependence and matrix determinants and a few other things), you'll want to review a lot of integral methods from calculus II

Well, I guess it depends on your school. We used eigenvalues extensively in my intro diff eqs class, to linearize nonlinear systems.

 

[Nick M]

I'm pretty much at the same point having taken Calculus I-III and Linear Algebra, but I'm taking Diff-EQ now. Our teacher went over a list of techniques that we should review the first day of class. One that caught my eye was partial fractions - something we spent 1/2 a lecture on in Calculus II that I had to review. It's really just algebraic manipulation, but funny how many people said they had to review the process the following class.