I.

Traditional First-Order Differential Equations

a. Introduction to First-Order Equations
i. Notation and Terminology
ii. Growth-Decay Models
iii. Geometric Approach
b. Antiderivatives
c. Separable Differential Equations
i. Separation of Variables
ii. Heat Transfer
iii. Chemical Reactors
d. Linear Equations
i. Integrating Factors
ii. Applications
iii. Electrical Circuits
e. One-Dimensional Dynamical Systems
i. Autonomous Equations
ii. Bifurcations
iii. Existence of Solutions
f. Some Physical Models Arising from Separable Equations
g. Exact Equations
h. Special Integrating Factors and Substitution Methods
i. Bernoulli Equation
ii. Homogenous Equation of the Form g(y/x)
II. Geometrical and Numerical Methods for First-Order
Equations
a. Direction Fields – the Geometry of Differential
Equations
b. Existence and Uniqueness for First-Order Equations
c. First-Order Autonomous Equations – Geometrical Insight
i. Graphing Factored Polynomials
ii. Bifurcations of Equilibria
d. Modeling in Population Biology
i. Nondimensionalization
e. Numerical Approximation: Euler and Runge-Kutta Methods
f. An Introduction to Autonomous Second-Order Equations
III. Elements of Higher-Order Linear Equations
 a. Introduction to Higher-Order Equations
i. Operator Notation
b. Linear Independence and the Wronskian
c. Reduction of Order
d. Numerical Considerations for nth-Order Equations
e. Essential Topics from Complex Variables
f. Homogenous Equations with Constant Coefficients
g. Mechanical and Electrical Vibrations
IV. Techniques of Nonhomogenous Higher-Order Linear Equations
a. Nonhomogenous Equations
b. Method of Undetermined Coefficients via Superposition
c. Method of Undetermined Coefficients via Annihilation
d. Exponential Response and Complex Replacement
e. Variation of Parameters
f. Cauchy-Euler (Equidimentsional) Equation
g. Forced Vibrations
V. Fundamentals of Systems of Differential Equations
a. Useful Terminology
b. Gaussian Elimination
c. Vector Spaces and Subspaces
i. The Nullspace and Column Space
d. Eigenvalues and Eigenvectors
e. A General Method, Part I: Solving Systems with Real and
Distinct or Complex Eigenvalues
f. A General Method, Part II: Solving Systems with
Repeated Real Eigenvalues
g. Matrix Exponentials
h. Solving Linear Nonhomogenous Systems of Equations
VI. Geometric Approaches and Applications of Systems of
Differential Equations
a. An Introduction to the Phase Plane
b. Nonlinear Equations and Phase Plane Analysis
i. Systems of More Than Two Equations
c. Bifurcations
d. Epidemiological Models
e. Models in Ecology
 VII. Laplace Transforms
a. Introduction
b. Fundamentals of Laplace Transforms
c. The Inverse Laplace Transform
i. Laplace Transform Solution of Linear Differential
Equations
d. Translated Functions, Delta Function, and Periodic
Functions
e. The s-Domain and Poles
f. Solving Linear Systems Using Laplace Transforms
g. The Convolution
VIII. Series Methods
a. Power Series Representations of Functions
b. The Power Series Method
c. Ordinary and Singular Points
d. The Method of Frobenius
e. Bessel Functions

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A Course in Ordinary Differential Equations, Second Edition by

Stephen A. Wirkus, Randall J. Swift, CRC Press