Customer Reviews

The Student's Introduction to MATHEMATICA ®: A Handbook for Precalculus, Calculus, and Linear Algebra

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This book is designed to jump start the reader's experience with Mathematica. Since people learn best by example, reviewing "basic" math examples (Algebra, Calculus, and Linear Algebra) provides a "painless" introduction to the new environment. This book is not intended to be complete in any sense. But it WILL make you feel comfortable with the daunting new interface of Mathematica.

This is the only Mathematica book that I have finished. It was a great introduction, and I still use as a reference.

If you are thinking about buying Mathematica--DON'T get it without some introductory book. This one as a good start.

I read through this quickly today and found it very informative, if alittle short
on 'wow' factor. Learning Mathmatica depends on gaining a command of its
quirky syntax and i thought the author did a good job of guiding the reader through
an interesting array of examples in precalc, calc and lin alg, nicely driving home
various syntax issues in multiple contexts. Graphing and Manipulate functions get
special attention. The threshold issue on help books is "is this better than the
documentation". The answer is a decided yes. I might have wished for some extended
problem examples--like newton's method, or pendelum problem--that lend themselves
to the mathmatica notebook format. Minus one star for an unsatisfactory introduction
to wolfram programming. Overall--a very readable and likable presentation of an
exciting software. Addendum: added back a star after visiting the website and
downloading the reference notebooks--an awesome collection of syntax.

I purchased Mathematica v. 8 as an adjunct to my college courses and was finding the included material to be, while thorough, lacking in actual application. I was also unable to shell out for their seminars so, I bought this book which has proved very helpful. It gives a general introduction to Mathematica and it's use using immediately applicable examples and follows by covering areas that are studied in a typical university progression: Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus, Linear Algebra and Matrices, etc. I find myself referencing it just because the examples are very complete. Also included are end-of-chapter exercises to enhance learning (it was written by a professor targeted to a student after all).

This book is easy to follow, explains things well and in detail, and builds on what you learn. It gives you examples which you can replicate and tweak. It has a troubleshooting chapter, which is very useful. It also has some exercises at the end of each chapter if you want to try out your skills. I highly recommend it!

This book is easy to follow. It has relevant examples. However you have to watch for some mistakes. I would strongly recommend this book to a college/high school instructor or a student.

MZ

Being that Dr Bruce Torrence is my academic advisor at Randolph-Macon College, my opinion is obviously biased. However, I do know for a fact that both authors have worked with Mathematica in its many iterations and are very good at what they do; they have watched the software grow and expand and, as such, are very familiar with the program. An excellent supplement for his classroom, this book is a brilliant introduction as well as reference for new and old Mathematica users alike.

This is the perfect start for someone who knows a modest amount of this math and nothing about Mathematica. The exercises flow logically and I find them fun to do. I tried a few other guides and zzzz!

Needed this for a math lab course. Not much to say other than it came in really fast and in great condition... though I'm sure I would only be using it for this semester only.