Mathematical Techniques: An Introduction for the Engineering, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences [Paperback]

D. W. Jordan (Author), P. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 6, 1997 | ISBN-10: 0198564619 | ISBN-13: 978-0198564614 | Edition: 2

Undergraduate students of engineering, science, and mathematics must quickly master a variety of mathematical methods, although many of these students do not have strong mathematics backgrounds. In this well-received book, now in its second edition, the authors use their extensive experience with diverse groups of students to provide an accessible introduction to mathematical techniques. They start at the elementary level and proceed to cover the full range of topics typically encountered by beginning students:


· Analytic geometry, vector algebra, vector fields (div and curl), differentiation, and integration.


· Complex numbers, matrix operations, and linear systems of equations.


· Differential equations and first-order linear systems, functions of more than one variable, double integrals, and line integrals.


· Laplace transforms, Fourier series and Fourier transforms.


· Probability and statistics.
Incorporating many suggestions from readers, this new edition has expanded discussions of vectors and new chapters on Fourier series and on probability and statistics. The emphasis throughout is on understanding concepts through well-chosen examples, and the book includes over 500 fully worked problems. As far as is possible chapter topics are self-contained so that a student only needing to master certain techniques can omit others without trouble. The generously illustrated text also includes simple numerical processes which lead to examples and projects for computation (particularly with Mathematica), and contains a large number of exercises (with answers) to reinforce the material. These features combine to make this book an ideal starting point for students entering the sciences.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Reviews of first edition: "An introduction covering all the standard techniques....[L]arge and friendly format."--New Scientist
Just the thing to become the recommended text for freshman courses in mathematics." --The Times Higher Education Supplement

About the Author

Long-standing members of Mathematics Department at Keele. Keele has a long and honourable effort to take students with non-conventional school and other qualifications on science courses. Hence the authors have a wealth of experience teaching the sort of student now entering other universities to attempt science degrees.

Product Details

• Paperback: 808 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2 edition (November 6, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0198564619
• ISBN-13: 978-0198564614
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 7.3 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,975,276 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkably Clear And Comprehensive Mathematics Primer, May 17, 2000

By 

Rahman (CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mathematical Techniques: An Introduction for the Engineering, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences (Paperback)

Whether your personal focus is upon mathematics, engineering, physics, or even computer science or the arts, this work provides a superb instructional foundation for applied mathematics.

Beginning with differentiation and integration, the text continues on its mathematical journey, taking the reader through complex numbers, linear algebra, differential equations, even LaPlace transforms and Fourier series. It then ends with overview chapters on such varied topics as graph theory, set theory, boolean algebra, probability and statistics. In addition there is a section devoted to using symbolic computing with applications such as Mathematica, which are essential to anyone interested in learning or using mathematics today.

The overall look of the book is exquisite. The typefaces, equations and graphs are a pleasure to the eye (even as they grow substantially in complexity). The prose discusses the subject matter with rigor, yet is easy to read and guides gradually and carefully.

Anyone wishing to review the fundamentals of mathematics or to further the education started through school will find this book to be a joy to go through. Solutions to many exercises are provided in an appendix.

The softcover edition is highly durable. Upon completion of every chapter the reader will have substantial expertise in or exposure to major branches and topics of mathematics. For this wealth of information to have so low a cost is remarkable.

Highest possible recommendation, with superlative marks in virtually all categories of review.

** UPDATE FOR THIRD EDITION :

The formatting of the book has been changed subtly but noticeably, maintaining the original elegance. Content has been changed and restructured minimally.

Perhaps the most significant change, is that every one of the hundreds of exercises in the 41 chapters of this book has now been solved, and is available at the publisher's website in Acrobat (.PDF) format. The link is provided in the book itself.

Additionally, there are far more Mathematica projects than earlier editions, several per each chapter in fact, and again, programmatic-solutions for all of these are provided at another site, its link also in the book. These are in .NB (Mathematica NoteBook) format, and can be read by any text-editor including Notepad. They can also be viewed and tested using Mathematica Reader, a free program distributed by Mathematica's author, available for Windows, Mac OS, and Linux.

These significant updates fully address what was arguably the only previous weakness in this fine work.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great coverage, good examples, a bible !, April 27, 2006

By 

Charles-Eric Langlois (Montreal, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mathematical Techniques (Paperback)

First, if you haven't noticed yet, this is NOT an advanced math book. Don't expect detailed demonstrations or complexe problems to solve. It is a global reference for engineers or anyone dealing with intermediate maths. If you want to explore the subjects covered in this book with deep details, you should buy a book per chapter.

The content is well divided in numerous chapters, each covering a specific field like geometry, linear and vector algebra, calculus, Laplace and Fourier transforms and series, statistics (less useful, a complete reference is better). The book starts with a good introduction recalling important concepts required to understand the following chapters (partial fractions expansion, functions, complex numbers, matrix, algebra, etc.) Once you master these, you can move throughout the chapters and master or revise the math techniques with the great examples (well explained, they generally cover most of the possible cases).

A complete set of problems with answers is available at the end of each chapter. The book is well illustrated, but a few graphs could have been more clear.

A great reference book for any math user. Complete, it is an extended summary of a dozen of other "specific subject" books.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good text reference, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Mathematical Techniques: An Introduction for the Engineering, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences (Paperback)

If you need as few texts as possible that cover all the maths you need for engineering purposes, this book is a must buy. Adding Kreyzig's Advanced Engineering Mathematics and maybe a Statistics text to it and you should have no problems with 99% of the maths for the rest of your life (unless you want to do substantial computer program design, in which a discrete maths text may help).

A few problems though: a proper treatment on sequences and series is absent, l'Hopital's rule is not discussed either (both presumably because they are too pure maths for engineering, but some advanced engineering maths courses do use them), and there are some topics (like Simpson's rule) that are only discussed in problems sections but not in the main text.