AMATH 353

Partial Differential Equations and Waves

Summer 2016

General Information: Lecture: TTh 1:10 - 2:40

Location: Electrical Engineering Building (EEB) 045
Website: https://canvas.uw.edu/courses/1076759

Instructor Information: Name: Weston Barger

Email: wdbarger@uw.edu
Office Hours: TTh 3:00 - 4:00
Location: LEW 129

Prerequisites
Either AMATH 351, MATH 136, or MATH 307.

Course Description
Covers traveling waves of linear equations, dispersion relation, stability, superposition and Fourier
analysis, d’Alembert solution, standing waves, vibrations and separation of variables, traveling
waves of nonlinear equations, conservation laws, characteristics, breaking, shocks, and rarefaction.

Course Materials
The textbook for this course is Roger Knobel’s “An introduction to the mathematical theory of
waves,” American Mathematical Society 1999, Student Mathematical Library Vol 3. Additionally,
lecture notes written by Professor Bernard Deconinck will be provided on Canvas. Dr. Deconick’s
notes are not meant as a replacement for the course textbook but provide nice supplementation
and useful examples.

For plotting, I will accept MATLAB, Python or Mathematica.

Grading
Your course grade will be calculated by weighing your homework, midterm, and final exam scores
in the following proportions:

Homework: 50 %
Midterm: 20 %
Final: 30 %

1
Homework
Homework will be assigned and collected approximately weekly. Each homework assignment will
have equal weight towards the overall homework percentage regardless of the point value of the
homework. For example, if there were 4 homeworks assigned, then each would be work 25 % of the
homework grade even if homework 1 was assigned 20 points and homework 2 was assigned 50 points.

Every homework set you hand in should have a header containing your name, student number, due
date, course, and the homework number as a title. Your homework should be neat and readable.
Your homework score may reflect the presentation of your homework set. Students are encouraged
to type homework solutions. There will be a 10 percent bonus on each homework for typesetting
with LATEX. Homework will be turned in on canvas. I will not accept physical copies.

You are encouraged to discuss the homework with other students. However, please write your own
homework solutions and please do not share your homework solutions with others. Your work
should your own. Questions should be asked in office hours or on the canvas discussion page.

Late Homework Policy

You may turn in one homework assignment up to one week late without penalty.

Exam Dates
Exams will be given at the regular class time in the regular room.

Midterm: July 21, 2016

Final: August 18, 2016

Students With Disabilities

In compliance with University of Washington policy and equal access laws, I am available to discuss
appropriate academic accommodations that you may require as a student with a disability. Request
for academic accommodations need to be made during the first week of the quarter, except for un-
usual circumstances, so arrangements can be made. Students are encouraged to register with the
Disability Services Office for disability verification and for determination of reasonable academic
accommodations.

For more Information, visit: http://www.washington.edu/admin/dso/