EASTERN UNIVERSITY

MATH 330B: Chaotic Dynamical Systems

Spring 2008

Walter Huddell

Email: whuddell@eastern.edu

Office: McInnis 217, x5530

Office Hours: TTH 1:00-2:00

In addition to these posted hours I am often available at other times. Please do not hesitate to make an appointment with me. I can be contacted best via email or voice mail.

Course Prerequisite: MATH 324 and MATH 350.

Course Description: This course will explore discrete dynamical systems, including orbits, graphical analysis, fixed point methods, bifurcation, the quadratic family and chaos.

Course Objectives: Topics to be understood in the course include hyperbolicity, bifurcations, symbolic dynamics, Sarkovskii's Theorem, Chaos, Structural Stability, and, time permitting Fractals, Julia sets, and the Mandelbrot set.

Text: A First Course in Chaotic Dynamical Systems, by Robert Devaney.

Attendance Policy: Your attendance is absolutely essential to your success in this class. If you know you are going to be absent, please notify the professor. More than two absences will affect your grade and more than four absences constitutes grounds for failure of the course, per the college policy.

Policy for Students with Disabilities: If you have a documented special educational need, please notify me at the beginning of the semester, or at the time you are first able to document the need, and I will work with you and the academic support center to create appropriate accommodations.

College Policies: All college policies for undergraduate students apply to this class. Please consult the undergraduate catalog or see the professor if you have questions. Academic dishonesty is a serious offense that will seriously jeopardize your grade, since plagiarism or cheating results in a double zero on the assignment in question.

Teaching Methods: This course will involve lecture as well as a good amount of homework to be completed outside of class. The only way to learn mathematics is by doing mathematics and work will be assigned accordingly. Lectures will be informal enough so as too allow students the freedom to interact with the instructor. Questions are welcome and encouraged.

Testing and Grading Procedures: Letter grades will be given using the following breakdown:

97-100 A+

93-96 A

90-92 A-

87-89 B+

83-86 B

80-82 B-

77-79 C+

73-76 C

70-72 C-

67-69 D+

63-66 D

60-62 D-

<60 F

Grading will be based on the following percentage scheme:

Exam I: 30%

Exam II: 30%

Final: 30%

Class Participating/Attendance: 10%

Exams I & II will fall on February 22 and April 4 respectively. They will be in class and will be closed book and closed-notes. The final will take place on Thursday, May 1 from 9:00-11:00am. The class participation portion will be based on homework, which will be checked randomly throughout the semester. All assigned homework is expected to be completed and those assignments that are chose to be checked will evaluated based the attempt made.