Differential Equations Final Review
(cross-posted from Storytelling Physics)
This evening I spent nearly 2.5 hours running the final review session for the differential equations students (their final is tomorrow morning). There were 46 students there! They ran out of chairs, so they sat on the floor; they ran out of floor, so they stood in the hallway. I gave them general tips on test-taking, I gave them specific tips on this particular professor’s tests, and I walked them through long and complicated problems on weighted strings, vibrating membranes, eigenvectors, and quantum oscillators. I told them that no matter what happens tomorrow, they’ve survived a full quarter of the toughest lower-division math class that this university offers, and that no matter what classes in math or physics or engineering they take from now on they’re always welcome to come to my office hours for help. When we finally called it quits so I could catch the bus I got a hearty round of applause and a bunch of handshakes. Good times and a satisfying end to the quarter.
This evening I spent nearly 2.5 hours running the final review session for the differential equations students (their final is tomorrow morning). There were 46 students there! They ran out of chairs, so they sat on the floor; they ran out of floor, so they stood in the hallway. I gave them general tips on test-taking, I gave them specific tips on this particular professor’s tests, and I walked them through long and complicated problems on weighted strings, vibrating membranes, eigenvectors, and quantum oscillators. I told them that no matter what happens tomorrow, they’ve survived a full quarter of the toughest lower-division math class that this university offers, and that no matter what classes in math or physics or engineering they take from now on they’re always welcome to come to my office hours for help. When we finally called it quits so I could catch the bus I got a hearty round of applause and a bunch of handshakes. Good times and a satisfying end to the quarter.