Introduction to Mathematical Biophysics
MAP 5485 

Course syllabus
Fall 2005

instructor 

Jack Quine, Professor, Department of Mathematics

class times

Tuesday 12:30- 1:45  200 LOV,  Thursday 12:30-1:45 107 MCH

contact me

Office Number; 644-6050 (office 114 LOV); 644-2202 (front desk 208 LOV)
email: quine@math.fsu.edu; webpage;

office hours 

Room 114 LOV,  W 1:30- 3:00, R 2-3,  or by appointment 

eligibility 

The prerequisites are Calculus and Linear Algebra.

text 

For reference it would be good to get The Maple Book by Frank Gravan, Chapman & Hall/CRC.  It is available from amazon.com for a price of $42.20.  It is written for Maple 7, but should be good for later versions.  We will be using version 9.5.  There are several free guides for Maple that you can use, including the new users tour available from the help menu.  You can also try the online Learning Guide.

 

Other notes will be given on the course webpage: http://www.math.fsu.edu/~quine/IntroMathBio_05/index.htm.   The course will reference a variety of sources including some on the web.

content 

Mathematical tools in Biophysics: symbolic and numerical packages for matrix computations, rotation matrices, Euclidean motions, lattices, continuous and discrete curves in space, torsion angles, gram and distance matrices, graphs, trees and strings. Applications such as: protein secondary structure, structure determination by crystallography and NMR, writhing twisting and knotting of DNA, sequence alignment. 

homework

There will be some homework assignments, some involving programming using the mathematical software Maple.  There will be a Maple tutorial during the class.  Other assignments may involve using the web.

objectives 

The use of mathematics and computation is becoming increasingly important in biology and medicine as scientists search for better ways to process all the information now available about the molecular structure of living organisms. The goal of the course is to introduce students from a variety of disciplines to some of the many uses of mathematics in modern molecular biology and to the use of symbolic and numerical packages for doing the computations.

attendance 

I strongly advise you to attend class regularly. A student absent from class bears the full responsibility for all subject matter and procedural information discussed in class. 

grading 

You will receive a  grade based on 

  1. Homework assignments 20%
  2. Test and Maple programming assignment  50% 
  3. Final examination   30%

test dates 

Test dates:
Test 1  TBA
Programming assignment due   TBA 
Final Examination  Wednesday,  Dec. 14, 7:30 – 9:30 AM

honor code

A copy of the University Academic Honor Code can be found in the current Student Handbook. You are bound by this in all of your academic work. It is based on the premise that each student has the responsibility 1) to uphold the highest standards of academic integrity in the student's own work, 2) to refuse to tolerate violations of academic integrity in the University community, and 3) to foster a high sense of integrity and social responsibility on the part of the University community. You have successfully completed many mathematics courses and know that on a ``test'' you may not give or receive any help from a person or written material except as specifically designed acceptable. Out of class you are encouraged to work together on assignments but plagiarizing of the work of others or study manuals is academically dishonest. 

ada statement

Students with disabilities needing academic accommodations should: 1) register with and provide documentation to the Student Disability Resource Center (SDRC); 2) bring a letter to the instructor from SDRC indicating you need academic accommodations. This should be done within the first week of class. This and other class materials are available in alternative format upon request.