Numerical Analysis 1 (MATH545)

5:30 - 6:45 Monday and Wednesday, Maybank 223

Professor Brenton leMesurier

Text: Numerical Analysis: Mathematics of Scientific Computing by David Kincaid and Ward Cheney (3rd ed.)

Home page: http://math.cofc.edu/lemesurier/

Office Hours: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday 10 to 11 am and Wednesday 4 to 5 pm.

My Office: Room 103, 4 Greenway (between Maybank and Randolph Hall)

Phone: 953-5917

Course Overview

This course is a study of methods for computing accurate approximate numerical solutions to mathematical problems, typically arising as models of questions from science and engineering. The numerical solution of ordinary differential equations will be used as an organizing theme for the study of other topics: above all solving simultaneous equations by direct and iterative methods, and other topics from linear algebra such as computing eigenvalues and eigenvectors, approximation of functions, approximating derivatives, and definite integrals.

We will also address the practical issues of using software packages and designing and implementing computer programs to solve such problems. The main computational tool will be the MATLAB package for interactive computation and graphics as well as programming, which is provided on the Macintoshes in the computer classroom Maybank 200.

Related to this will be a focus on presenting the results of all such computational work in a coherent form as would be expected in any workplace: explaining the choice of numerical methods on such bases as accuracy, robustness and efficiency; presenting the numerical results themselves with suitable tables and graphs; and discussing the meaning, reliability and accuracy of these results.

Assignments, handouts and other resources

Brenton leMesurier, Department of Mathematics, College of Charleston, lemesurierb@cofc.edu
Last revised Wednesday January 26, 2005
URL: http://math.cofc.edu/lemesurier/math545/