Get inspired:

Not sure if differential equations really matter? I promise you, they do. There's a decent web feature called "17 Equations that Changed the World." Not all of the examples are differential equations, but a few are:

• The wave equation
• The Navier-Stokes equations for fluids
• Maxwell's equations for electromagnetism
• Schrodinger's equation for quantum states
• The logistic model for population growth (not technically a differential equation, but close)
• The Black-Scholes model for pricing financial derivatives

Before class:

• Read the course syllabus.
• Read the group work policy.
• Read the online community guidelines.
• Read the problem set guidelines.

In class:

• Discuss course syllabus.
• Answer any questions you may have.
• Do a test login to Moodle.
• Go to the  Piazza online forum and read and respond to the post called "Introduce yourself!" Please make sure to follow all directions.
• Work on this activity to get a jump start with LaTeX.