Mathematica by Example (rev. ed.)

531 Pages·2014·20.87 MB·English

Mathematics
By Example
REVISED EDITION
Martha L. Abell
James P. Braselton
Department of Mathematics and Computer Science
Georgia Southern University
Statesboro, Georgia
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Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation.
All cover graphics produced with Mathematica.
Graphics credits (from right to left, front to back cover):
1. Theodore W. Gray (Courtesy Wolfram Research, Inc.)
2. Jerry Keiper (Courtesy Wolfram Research, Inc.)
3. Tom Whickham-Jones (Courtesy Wolfram Research, Inc.)
4. Cameron Smith (Courtesy Wolfram Research, Inc.)
5. Cameron Smith (Courtesy Wolfram Research, Inc.)
6. Jerry Keiper (Courtesy Wolfram Research, Inc.)
7. Andrew J. Hanson (original Mathematica code) and Stewart Dickson
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Abell, Martha L., date-
Mathematica by example / Martha L. Abell, James P. Braselton. —
Rev. ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-12-041530-5
1. Mathematica (Computer file) 2. Mathematics—Data processing.
I. Braselton, James P., date- . II. Title
QA76.95.A214 1993
515'. 1Ό28553—dc20 93-34930
CIP
Printed in the United States of America
94 95 96 97 98 ML 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Preface
Mathematica By Example bridges the gap which exists between the very elementary
handbooks available on Mathematica and those reference books written for the advanced
Mathematica users. This book is an extension of a manuscript which was developed to
quickly introduce enough Mathematica commands to a group of students at Georgia
Southern University so that they could apply Mathematica towards the solution of
nonlinear ordinary differential equations. In addition to these most basic commands, these
students were exposed to the vast uses of lists in Mathematica. Having worked through
this material, these students were successfully able to take advantage of the capabilities of
Mathematica in solving problems of interest to the class.
Mathematica By Example is an appropriate reference book for all users of Mathematica
and, in particular, for beginning users like students, instructors, engineers, business
people, and other professionals first learning to use Mathematica. Mathematica By Example
introduces the very basic commands and includes typical examples of applications of these
commands. In addition, the text also includes commands useful in areas such as calculus,
linear algebra, business mathematics, ordinary and partial differential equations, and
graphics. In all cases, however, examples follow the introduction of new commands.
Readers from the most elementary to advanced levels will find that the range of topics
covered will address their needs.
Some of the changes in the revised edition include:
1. Table of contents. The table of contents includes all chapters, section headings,
and sub-section headings. Along with the index, we hope that users will be
able to locate information quickly and easily.
2. Additional examples. We have considerably expanded the topics in Chapters 1
through 6. The results should be more useful to instructors, students, business
people, engineers, and other professionals using Mathematica on a variety of
platforms. In addition, several sections have been added to help make locating
information easier for the user.
xi
xii Preface
3. Index. The index to the text is substantially more comprehensive than that in
the first edition. Consequently, mathematical examples of commands and
elementary sequences of commands will be easier to locate. In addition,
commands listed in the index are cross-referenced with frequently used
options. Functions contained in packages are cross-referenced both by package
and alphabetically.
Of course, appreciation must be expressed to those who assisted in this project. Most
importantly, we would like to thank our assistant, Lori Braselton, for typing, running, and
verifying a substantial portion of the code that appears in the text in addition to proof-
reading a large portion of the text. We would also like to thank Professor William F. Ames
for suggesting that we publish our work and for helping to contact the appropriate people
at Academic Press. We would like to express appreciation to our editor, Charles B. Glaser,
and our production manager, Brian Miller, for providing a pleasant environment in which
to work. Finally, we would like to thank those close to us for enduring with us the
pressures of meeting a deadline and for graciously accepting our demanding work
schedules. We certainly could not have completed this task without their care and
understanding.
M. L. Abell
J. P. Braselton
Statesboro, Georgia