MATH 485/585 - Spring 2006 - Assignments

Due Monday, January 16th: Read the list of proposed modeling projects. Then log into D2L and take the quiz entitled Student Profile. It is in fact a survey, which will not be graded. This information is collected in order to make teams that are as diverse as possible. Teams will be finalized in class on tuesday, but you should take the time to answer these questions before monday night.

Due Thursday, January 19th: Online (D2L) quiz on Plagiarism and related issues.
More than half of the grade for this course is for teamwork on a modeling project, based on research published in the scientific literature. The quiz provides a review of acceptable practices regarding authorship and references to the literature. It will also help you avoid plagiarism. This quiz will be graded and the number of attempts is unlimited. It is recommended that you familiarize yourselves with the guidelines described in Miguel Roig's book, entitled Avoiding plagiarism, self-plagiarism, and other questionable writing practices: A guide to ethical writing.

Due Thursday, January 26th: Problems # 1 and 2, page 7. There will be no in-class quiz, but your papers will be collected (you should put them in my D2L drop box called Homework 2) and graded.

Due Thursday, February 2nd: Read the papers by Farkas et al. published in Nature and Physica A. Also look at their web site, which contains interactive simulations. Then, answer the following questions.
- What are the similarities and differences between the model discussed in class and a one-dimensional version of the detailed n-state model of Farkas et al.? Justify your answer.
- Do you think the differences listed in your answer to the above question are important? Why or why not?
- Use the java applet provided by Farkas et al. to simulate waves in two dimensions, and answer the following questions. In each case, indicate the type of model and the parameters that you used.
  - Describe the shape of a wave, from the moment it is initiated until it is fully developed.
  - What happens if you initiate a wave in front of an incoming wave?
There will be no in-class quiz, but your papers will be collected (you should put them in my D2L drop box called Homework 3) and graded.

Quiz on Thursday, February 9th: Problems # 1 page 28; # 10 & 12 p. 32; # 13, 14 & 15 p. 33; # 16 p. 34.
Also for Thursday, February 9th: Prepare a short (4-8 slides) PowerPoint or PDF introduction to your project, which you will present in class.

Tuesday, February 14th: Prepare a short (4-8 slides) PowerPoint or PDF introduction to your project, which you will present in class.
Graduate Students: Also turn in a brief written description of your project.

Quiz on Thursday, February 16th: Problems # 2 page 29; # 3 & 6 p. 30; 7(1), 7(3), 7(6) & 9 p. 31.

Quiz on Thursday, February 23rd: Problems # 4 & 5 p. 30; 7(2), 7(4), 7(5) & 8 p. 31.

Quiz on Thursday, March 9th: Problems # 1 & 2 p. 61, # 4 p. 62; # 7 & 8 p. 63.

Due Tuesday, March 21st: Population Dynamics Lab. Print your report after class or drop an electronic copy in my dropbox called Population Dynamics Lab.

Presentations on Thursday, March 23rd: Teams I (Aggregation of retail stores), II (SARS) and III (Sand dunes).
Also due Thursday, March 23rd: Download the list of questions on R. May's article, and address questions number 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 12, 13, 14, plus two other questions of your choice.
There will be no in-class quiz, but your papers will be collected (you should put them in my D2L drop box called Homework 4) and graded.

Presentations on Tuesday, March 28th: Teams IV (Resistance to antibiotics), V (Collective behaviors) and VI (Price dispersion).

Presentations on Thursday, March 30th: Graduate students.
Also due on March 30th: Midterm reports. Put one report per team in my D2L dropbox called Midterm Report.
- The dropbox Feedback on Midterm Report will be open March 20-27; you can put there a draft of your report, if you want me to read and comment on it in advance.
- The report should contain an introduction that presents your project, and separate sections describing the model and its analysis (for instance, you could include sections on data collection, modeling, analysis, and simulation of the model). The suggested length for your report is 5 to 8 pages, but this of course depends on the number of figures and/or tables in your report. References to the published literature should be included.

Quiz on Thursday, April 13th: Problems # 10 and 11 p. 63; # 12 and 13 p. 64; # 1 p. 73; # 2 p. 74.

Quiz on Thursday, April 20th: Problems # 3 p. 74; # 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 p. 82.

Mathematical Modeling
Spring 2006