City University of Hong Kong

Course Syllabus

offered by College/School/Department of _Mathematics______

with effect from Semester __B____ 20_17_ / _18_

Part I Course Overview

Introduction to Dynamical Systems and Chaos

Course Title:

MA4528
Course Code:

One semester
Course Duration:

3 credit units
Credit Units:

B4
Level:
Arts and Humanities
Study of Societies, Social and Business Organisations
Proposed Area:
(for GE courses only) Science and Technology

Medium of English
Instruction:

Medium of English
Assessment:

Prerequisites: MA3511 Ordinary Differential Equations

(Course Code and Title)

Precursors: Nil
(Course Code and Title)

Equivalent Courses: Nil

(Course Code and Title)

Exclusive Courses: Nil

(Course Code and Title)

Course Syllabus
1
Jun 2017
 Part II Course Details

1. Abstract
(A 150-word description about the course)

This course introduces fundamental concepts of dynamical systems and chaos with the help of computer
experimentations. It helps students understand how the nonlinear property may give rise to rich complex
phenomena.

2. Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs)

(CILOs state what the student is expected to be able to do at the end of the course according to a given standard of
performance.)

No. CILOs# Weighting* Discovery-enriched

(if curriculum related
applicable) learning outcomes
(please tick where
appropriate)
A1 A2 A3
explain clearly basic ideas of dynamical systems and nature
1. 
of chaotic behavior.
analyze parametric families of mappings and their
2. 
applications in modeling dynamical systems.
describe properties of solutions of (non-linear) differential
3. equations and their applications in modeling 
continuous-time dynamical systems.
apply mathematical techniques of dynamical systems and
4. 
chaos in modeling real-life phenomena/systems.
5. the combination of CILOs 1-4   
* If weighting is assigned to CILOs, they should add up to 100%. 100%
#
Please specify the alignment of CILOs to the Gateway Education Programme Intended Learning outcomes
(PILOs) in Section A of Annex.

A1: Attitude
Develop an attitude of discovery/innovation/creativity, as demonstrated by students possessing a strong
sense of curiosity, asking questions actively, challenging assumptions or engaging in inquiry together with
teachers.
A2: Ability
Develop the ability/skill needed to discover/innovate/create, as demonstrated by students possessing
critical thinking skills to assess ideas, acquiring research skills, synthesizing knowledge across disciplines
or applying academic knowledge to self-life problems.
A3: Accomplishments
Demonstrate accomplishment of discovery/innovation/creativity through producing /constructing creative
works/new artefacts, effective solutions to real-life problems or new processes.

3. Teaching and Learning Activities (TLAs)

(TLAs designed to facilitate students’ achievement of the CILOs.)

TLA Brief Description CILO No. Hours/week (if

1 2 3 4 5 applicable)
Lectures Learning through teaching is      39 hours in
primarily based on lectures. total
Assignments Learning through take-home     after-class
assignments helps students
understand concepts and

Course Syllabus
2
Jun 2017
 techniques of dynamical systems
and chaos, as well as their
applications in sciences.
Project Learning through project helps  after-class
students implement mathematical
and computational methods of
dynamical systems/chaos to
model and analyze more
sophisticated physical
phenomena. It also helps students
to communicate and collaborate
effectively in the team.

4. Assessment Tasks/Activities (ATs)

(ATs are designed to assess how well the students achieve the CILOs.)

30% Coursework
70% Examination (Duration: 3 hours, at the end of the semester)

For a student to pass the course, at least 30% of the maximum mark for the examination must
be obtained.

Assessment Tasks/Activities CILO No. Weighting* Remarks

1 2 3 4
Continuous Assessment: _30___%
Test   15-30% Questions are designed
for the first part of the
course to see how well
students have learned
basic concepts of
dynamical systems and
analyzed such systems
with appropriate
mappings.
Hand-in assignments     0--15% These are skills based
assessment which
enables students to
design and implement
methods of dynamical
systems and chaos in a
range of application
problems.
Project  0--15% Students are assessed
on their ability in
applying concepts and
techniques of
dynamical systems and
chaos to model physical
phenomena, as well as
on its presentation with
analysis.
Formative take-home     0% The assignments
provide students
assignments chances to demonstrate

Course Syllabus
3
Jun 2017
 their achievements on
dynamical systems and
chaos learned in this
course.

Examination: __70__% (duration: 3 hrs, if applicable) Examination questions

are designed to see how
far students have
achieved their intended
learning outcomes.
Questions will
primarily be skills and
understanding based to
assess the student’s
versatility in concepts
and methods of
dynamical systems and
chaos.
* The weightings should add up to 100%. 100%

Course Syllabus
4
Jun 2017
5. Assessment Rubrics
(Grading of student achievements is based on student performance in assessment tasks/activities with the following rubrics.)

Assessment Task Criterion Excellent Good Fair Marginal Failure

(A+, A, A-) (B+, B, B-) (C+, C, C-) (D) (F)
Understanding of Not even reaching
1. Test High Significant Moderate Basic
course materials marginal levels
2. Hand-in Problem solving Not even reaching
High Significant Moderate Basic
assignments skills marginal levels
Research skills, Not even reaching
3. Project High Significant Moderate Basic
problem solving skills marginal levels
4. Formative
Problem solving Not even reaching
take-home High Significant Moderate Basic
skills marginal levels
assignments
Understanding of
Not even reaching
5. Examination course materials, High Significant Moderate Basic
marginal levels
problem solving skills

Course Syllabus
5
Jun 2017
Part III Other Information (more details can be provided separately in the teaching plan)

1. Keyword Syllabus
(An indication of the key topics of the course.)

Examples of chaotic dynamical systems. Fixed points, periodic points, Poincare-Bendixson theorem.
Bifurcation theory, Hopf bifurcation, period doubling cascade. Hyperbolic invariant sets, attractors. Chaos,
Liapunov exponents, fractal dimensions, topological entropy.

2. Reading List
2.1 Compulsory Readings
(Compulsory readings can include books, book chapters, or journal/magazine articles. There are also collections of
e-books, e-journals available from the CityU Library.)

1.
2.
3.
…

2.2 Additional Readings

(Additional references for students to learn to expand their knowledge about the subject.)

1.
2.
3.
…

Course Syllabus 6
Jun 2017