ME 310 Fall 2023 Course Policy

Middle East Technical University
Department of Mechanical Engineering

ME 310 Numerical Methods
Fall 2023
Objective
Students will
 realize the need for numerical methods and understand their capabilities and weaknesses
 learn fundamental numerical techniques used in engineering calculations, practice algorithmic
thinking
 learn how to program the studied techniques on computer and use the already available built-in
functionalities.
Chapters to be Covered
 Solution of nonlinear equations
 Solution of linear algebraic equation sets
 Optimization
 Curve fitting (regression and interpolation)
 Numerical differentiation and integration
 Solution of ordinary differential equations
Teaching Staff
Dr. Cüneyt Sert Office: G-309 Phone: 210 2552 Email: [email protected]
Ms. Elif Ceren Ekinci Office: A-147 Phone: 210 5276 Email: [email protected]
Mr. Eslem Enis Atak Office: A-148 Phone: 210 5275 Email: [email protected]
Course Schedule
Section 1: Tuesday 8:40 – 10:30 @ G-103, Thursday 9:40 – 10:30 @ G-103
Section 2: Tuesday 10:40 – 12:30 @ G-103, Thursday 10:40 – 11:30 @ G-103
Textbook and Reference Material

S. C. Chapra, R. P. Canale, Numerical Methods for Engineers, 8th ed, McGraw-Hill.
Following is an incomplete list of introductory level numerical methods books. Many of them are available
at METU library.
 Numerical Methods for Engineers and Scientists by A. Gilat & V. Subramaniam
 Applied Numerical Methods for Engineers and Scientists by S.S. Rao
 Numerical Mathematics and Computing by W. Cheney & D. Kincaid
 Applied Numerical Analysis by C.F. Gerald & P.O Wheatley
 Numerical Methods using MATLAB by J.H. Mathews & K.D. Fink
 Python Programming and Numerical Methods:
A Guide For Engineers and Scientists by Q. Kong, T. Siauw, A. Bayen
(https://pythonnumericalmethods.berkeley.edu)
Homework, Exams and Grading

Study sets will be distributed for each Chapter. They will include classical paper-and-pencil type questions,
as well as questions that require programming. Selected questions of the study sets will be collected and
graded.
Exams will be of classical paper-and-pencil type. They will be closed books and notes with no programming
related content.
Make-up exams will be given only to students with valid excuses. To take a make-up exam you need to
present a document about your excuse such as a medical report, a letter taken from the
department/university administration, etc.
Following is the list of items that will contribute to your final grade. Percentages are shown as possible
minimums and maximums and they will be finalized at the end of the semester.
 Homework 35 ± 5 %
 Midterm 30 ± 5 %
 Final Exam 35 ± 5 %
Computer Usage
MATLAB will be used as the computational tool. Basic MATLAB usage will be taught via tutorials and
sample codes. Please visit https://faq.cc.metu.edu.tr/tr/matlab to learn how to download, install and use
it on your personal computer.
Communication, File Sharing & Q/A

ODTUClass will be used for all communication, file sharing and Q/A purposes. Assignments will be collected
there too. When you have a question about anything related with the course, you can ask it on ODTUClass.
You are encouraged to perform discussions about the study sets with your classmates there. For private
issues, you can send email to the teaching team or visit them at their offices. They may also held office hours
at announced times, if requested by the students.
Students with Disabilities

Students who experience difficulties due to their disabilities and wish to obtain academic adjustments
and/or auxiliary aids can contact the course instructor, and get in touch with the Disability Support Office.
Academic Honesty
You are expected to read the code of ethics document available at the Department’s website and behave
accordingly You can exchange ideas and discuss with your classmates as you work on the assignments. I
will be more than happy to see such discussions on ODTUClass. But sharing problem solutions and codes
(even in incomplete form) is not allowed. Make sure that the solutions/codes that you submit are due to
your own efforts. Using homework solutions from previous years is obviously not allowed. You need to cite
the books, articles, lecture notes, websites, etc. that you’ve get help from by putting a reference list at the
end of your reports. Also, you must list the names of students with whom you have collaborated.
“The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.” - Richard Hamming
“Never in the history of mankind has it been possible to produce so many wrong answers so quickly!” - Carl-Erik Fröberg
“Numerical analysis is often considered neither beautiful nor, indeed, profound. Pure mathematics is beautiful if your heart goes
after the joy of abstraction, applied mathematics is beautiful if you are excited by mathematics as a means to explain the mystery
of the world around us. But numerical analysis? Surely, we compute only when everything else fails, when mathematical theory
cannot deliver an answer in a comprehensive, pristine form and thus we are compelled to throw a problem onto a number-
crunching computer and produce boring numbers by boring calculations. This, I believe, is nonsense.
A mathematical problem does not cease being mathematical just because we have discretized it. The purpose of discretization is
to render mathematical problems, often approximately, in a form accessible to efficient calculation by computers. This, in
particular, means rephrasing and approximating analytic statements as a finite sequence of algebraic steps. Algorithms and
numerical methods are, by their very design, suitable for computation but it makes them neither simple nor easy as mathematical
constructs. Replacing derivatives by finite differences or an infinite-dimensional space by a hierarchy of finite-dimensional spaces
does not necessarily lead to a more fuzzy form of reasoning. We can still ask proper mathematical questions with uncompromising
rigor and seek answers with the full mathematical etiquette of precise definitions, statements and proofs. The rules of the game do
not change at all.” - Arieh Iserles

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ME 310 Fall 2023 Course Policy

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Middle East Technical University

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Textbook and Reference Material

Homework, Exams and Grading

Communication, File Sharing & Q/A

Students with Disabilities

“The purpose of computing is insight, not numbers.” - Richard Hamming

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