Numerical Mathematics and Computing [Hardcover]

E. Ward Cheney (Author), David R. Kincaid (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0534389937 | ISBN-13: 978-0534389932 | Publication Date: July 25, 2003 | Edition: 5

Authors Ward Cheney and David Kincaid show students of science and engineering the potential computers have for solving numerical problems and give them ample opportunities to hone their skills in programming and problem solving. The text also helps students learn about errors that inevitably accompany scientific computations and arms them with methods for detecting, predicting, and controlling these errors. A more theoretical text with a different menu of topics is the authors' highly regarded NUMERICAL ANALYSIS: MATHEMATICS OF SCIENTIFIC COMPUTING, THIRD EDITION.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The objectives and the goals of our course have been met using this text. We want our students to learn the importance of seeking a numerical solution to a practical problem by applying relevant algorithms and analyze the speed of convergence, reliability, and validate the solution. We want our students to write programs using the same approach starting with a careful pseudo code before coding into the computer. We want our students to be exposed to the use of computer algebra systems. We want our students to be able to work on a variety of problems. This book has definitely met all our needs. This is why we have adopted it."

"This is one of the best textbooks on elementary numerical analysis available today. The instructor can easily tailor the abundant material it offers for any particular course need. Another bright spot of this book is its myriad selections of excellently compiled exercise problems that go very well with the main text."

"This is a well written text full of excellent examples."

About the Author

Ward Cheney is Professor of Mathematics at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interests include approximation theory, numerical analysis, and extremum problems.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 840 pages
• Publisher: Brooks Cole; 5 edition (July 25, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0534389937
• ISBN-13: 978-0534389932
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 6.9 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #696,447 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars NOT Recommended, April 6, 2006

By 

JonD "JonD" (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Numerical Mathematics and Computing (Hardcover)

I was a teaching assistant for an introductory numerical mathematics course which used this text. It's a satisfactory text (nothing special) if you already have a basis in numerical analysis, however students which have no foundation struggle severely.

The problem stems from the fact that the authors, Kincaid and Cheney, first wrote a graduate level numerical analysis text and then they created this text based on the content from the first book. Needless to say, this "introductory" text makes several [invalid] assumptions about the introductory student's abilities.

It's frustrating to see students struggle because numerical analysis is really not that difficult -- but they have to be taught the procedures clearly. This text does not have enough example problems and the ones they included do not describe the steps thoroughly or the logic behind performing them. The text does include a large quantity of homework problems, but the selected answers in the back of the book provide only answers and no explanation of how the answer was arrived at.

Anyways, if you're still going to buy this book its probably becausre you're a student. Hang in there. It's really not that hard but seek help from other textbooks if needed.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Basic but Good, February 11, 2002

By 

Hrafn (Denver, CO) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Numerical Mathematics and Computing (Hardcover)

This is a good, basic, undergraduate text covering scientific computing. It gives a nice, broad overview of some basic topics, problems for the student to solve, and is generic as far as programming languages are concerned.

That being said, for my use this book was not detailed enough and failed to go into sufficient detail into many different areas (such as the eigenproblem). It is definantly an undergrad text and would be an excellent choice for a 300-level math or computer science class, it also provides a good general background in numerical computing. In that regard this book is a fine choice.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Reader from Belgium compares to the wrong book, February 8, 2000

By 

Dirk Laurie (Vanderbijlpark, South Africa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Numerical Mathematics and Computing (Hardcover)

The description "it looks like they cut the 2nd edition in half and labeled it '4th edition'" would be approximately correct if you talk about the 2nd edition of the much more advanced text by approximately the same authors, "Numerical Analysis: Mathematics of Scientific Computing" by Kincaid, Cheney and Cheney, which was published in 1995 and does conform to the description "covered so much in detail". If you expect graduate level coverage, that is the book to get, not this one, which is an undergraduate text, and aimed at students that don't major in math.