Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems , 8th Edition, with ODE Architect CD [Hardcover]

William E. Boyce (Author), Richard C. DiPrima (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471433381 | ISBN-13: 978-0471433385 | Publication Date: April 20, 2004 | Edition: 8

This revision of the market-leading book maintains its classic strengths: contemporary approach, flexible chapter construction, clear exposition, and outstanding problems. Like its predecessors, this revision is written from the viewpoint of the applied mathematician, focusing both on the theory and the practical applications of Differential Equations as they apply to engineering and the sciences. Sound and Accurate Exposition of Theory--special attention is made to methods of solution, analysis, and approximation. Use of technology, illustrations, and problem sets help readers develop an intuitive understanding of the material. Historical footnotes trace development of the discipline and identify outstanding individual contributions.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Written from the perspective of the applied mathematician, the latest edition of this established textbook combines a solid exposition of the elementary theory of differential equations with substantial information on solution, analysis, and approximation techniques useful in a wide range of applications. Features a vast number and diversity of problems (solved by pencil and paper or on the computer) which provide instructors with a multitude of choices in tailoring their course to meet their own goals and the needs of their students. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From the Back Cover

Take advantage of valuable study resources to succeed in your course

This new edition of Boyce & DiPrima’s Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 8/e, and the accompanying supplements have been carefully developed to give you the support you need to succeed in your course.  The Eighth Edition gives you a CD-ROM with powerful ODE Architect modeling software and an array of web-based learning tools to support your studies.

The CD-ROM includes:

• The award-winning ODE Architect software. The software’s 14 modules enable you to build and solve your own ODEs, and to use simulations and multimedia to develop detailed mathematical models and concepts in a truly interactive environment.
• The ODE Architect Companion. The Companion extends the ideas featured in each multimedia module.

The web-based learning tools include:

• Review & Study Guidelines. The Chapter Review Guidelines will help you prepare for quizzes and exams.
• Online Review Quizzes. The quizzes enable you to test your knowledge of key concepts and provide diagnostic feedback that references appropriate sections in the text.
• PowerPoint Slides. You can print these slides out for in-class note taking.
• Getting Started with ODE Architect. This guide will help you get up-and-running with ODE Architect’s simulations and multimedia.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 800 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 8 edition (April 20, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471433381
• ISBN-13: 978-0471433385
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 7.8 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.7 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (104 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,378 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good book, but not the best..., August 7, 2006

By 

Alexander C. Zorach "Alex Zorach" (Lancaster, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems (Hardcover)

I think this book is the best among the standard "undergraduate" textbooks for diffeq--i.e., the ones with flashy colorful covers that are re-released in a new edition way too often.

This book is a little bit more systematic than most...it's easier to sort out the logical dependency of the material, and as a result it makes an excellent reference. Another strong point of this book is that it goes a little bit farther than most similar books--you will probably want to hold onto this one and use it in a second course, even if another book is used.

In my opinion though, the best introductory books on differential equations are from the Springer Verlag yellow book series...check out the ones by Braun or Hubbard; they have more discussion and are more of learning texts than this one. I also think it's a total scam the way they keep releasing new editions of this book--not much changes. I've used the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth editions and I'd recommend any of them; nowadays the eighth edition should be sufficiently cheap to buy for next-to-nothing...

55 of 64 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars list of intro DE books you should be considering, March 9, 2007

By 

A.Reader1 (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems , 8th Edition, with ODE Architect CD (Hardcover)

I used an earlier version of Boyce & DiPrima and hated it like most everyone else here. (Why is it that all the crappy textbooks live on, edition-after-edition, inflicted on a new batch of students year-after-year?) To get through my DE course I used the book by Dennis G. Zill. It was pretty good. Zill's book is still around. Comes in several different flavors.

For those looking for a better book than Boyce/Diprima I've listed all recent, introductory DE books I could find on amazon:

"An Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations" by James C. Robinson (ISBN 0521533910). This provides a very gentle introduction. does not cover Laplace transforms.

Shepley L. Ross has 2 books: an intro book (Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations, 4th Edition ISBN: 978-0-471-09881-2) and a regular text (Differential Equations, 3rd Edition, ISBN: 978-0-471-03294-6) which have garnered good reviews.

Can also try "Elementary Differential Equations" by Kohler and Johnson.

Physical Science/Engineering/applications oriented:

2 books by John Polking (one on DEs and one on ODEs/BVPs)
Elementary Differential Equations by William Trench
Fundamentals of Differential Equations by Nagle, Saff & Snider
An Introduction to Differential Equations and Their Applications by Stanley J. Farlow (ISBN 048644595X). He's also got a PDE book.

For the engineers: you might want to skip a separate DE book altogether and get a combined book. Something like Linear Algebra and Differential Equations by Peterson and Sochacki

OR just get all of Ken Stroud's engineering math books:

"Engineering Mathematics" by K.A. Stroud, Dexter Booth
"Advanced Engineering Mathematics" by K.A. Stroud, Dexter Booth
"Differential Equations" by K.A. Stroud, Dexter Booth
"Vector Analysis" by K.A. Stroud, Dexter Booth
"Linear Algebra" by K.A. Stroud, Dexter Booth
"Complex Variables" by K.A. Stroud, Dexter Booth

other options: "Differential Equations Demystified" by Steven G. Krantz / "2500 Solved Problems in Differential Equations" (Schaum's Solved Problems Series) by Richard Bronson / The Differential Equations Problem Solver ISBN 0878915133


Two books that involve computer/numerical methods would be:

1. A Modern Introduction to Differential Equations by Henry Ricardo
2. Differential Equations: An Introduction to Modern Methods and Applications by James R. Brannan, William E. Boyce. Although, I'd be leery of any DE book with Boyce as an author.

Of course, Dover Publications has inexpensively reprinted boatloads of classic math books including these DE titles:

"Ordinary Differential Equations" by Morris Tenenbaum, Harry Pollard. (rated highly)

Plus in addition to the Farlow book they have:

An Introduction to Ordinary Differential Equations by Earl A. Coddington
Introduction to Linear Algebra and Differential Equations by John W. Dettman
Differential Equations: A Concise Course by H. S. Bear

25 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Purpose of Textbooks 101, June 8, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, 6th Edition (Hardcover)

Many criticisms of this textbook are quite justified. The purpose of a good textbook is to guide students into utilizing proper problem solving techniques. This book is quite lacking in that department. Using Mathematica to solve integtrals does not teach a student much more than computer-based suckling. The authors of this book have obviously used a computer to solve book problems since many answers are arranged an extremely annoying computational logic which does not follow a human method of logical step-wise calculations. Hence many extraneous hours were needlessly spent to get answers to match "proper" book answers. The authors apparently don't realize most students aren't allowed to use Mathematica while taking an exam, so why waste time using it for homework? Finally, as a previous review stated, the book examples display great leaps of logic (hmmm...did they use a computer?) while simultaneously reserving the simplest problems for their examples. (I still don't know how the authors made the easy problems difficult when attempting to explain them, but they are very gifted in that department)