edX Differential Equations

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This course has a staggered video lecture / exercise format. The first module had me use datapoints to come up with a differential equation, it took lots of mistakes and backtracking, but I got about 60% of the answers right. Module 2 went over a lot of ground rules.

A first-order differential equation looks something like: dy/dt = 3y
they call it first-order because its based on a first-derivative

If you can separate the variables: (1/3y)dy = dt
then you can integrate both sides, use some algebra, and nearly solve for one in terms of the other: y = (e^3c * e^3t)/3

An initial-value (a known y which corresponds to a known t) can clean up the equation a little and allow you to solve for the unknown constant (c in this case).

Whatever the answer is, you should be able to check it against the initial equation (dy/dt = 3y) by:
1. Plugging in your solved value of y into dy/dt = 3y
2. Taking the derivative of your solved value
If these aren't the same, then you don't have a general solution and you probably did something wrong

I'm taking this because I don't want my math progress to stagnate. This is being taught for free on edx.

I think this is the first I've heard of edX (though I've explored other open course work before). The fact that there's the possibility of earning credit for courses completed is intriguing.

I miss math; I was supposed to go up to differential equations but stopped w/ calculus. Maybe I'll give one of their courses a try.

I didn't look too much into the accreditation, so I'm not sure what kind of college credit you can get from this. I'll try future certificates for resume padding though.