A Crash Course in Mathematica [Paperback]

This compact introduction to Mathematicaaccessible to beginners at all levelspresents the basic elements of the latest version 3 (front ?End.txt.Int.:, kernel, standard packages). Using examples and exercises not specific to a scientific area, it teaches readers how to effectively solve problems in their own field. The cross-platform CD-ROM contains the entire book in the form of Mathematica notebooks, including color graphics, animations, and hyperlinks, plus the program MathReader. A Crash Course in Mathematica is a compact introduction to the program Mathematica, which is widely used in mathematics, as well as in the natural and engineering sciences.A Short Tour.- Formula Entry.- Numerical Calculations.- Symbolic Mathematics.- Graphics.- Programming.- Some of the Most Important Functions.- 1: The Basics.- 1.1 The Structure of the Program.- 1.1.1 The Front End.- 1.1.2 The Kernel.- 1.2 Online Documentation.- 1.3 Formulas.- 1.3.1 Formats.- 1.3.2 Entering Formulas and Special Characters.- 1.4 Simple Calculations.- 1.4.1 Conventions.- 1.4.2 Numerical Calculations.- 1.4.3 Algebraic Manipulation.- 1.4.4 Transformation Rules and Definitions.- 1.4.5 Equations.- 1.4.6 Calculus.- 2: Graphics.- 2.1 Graphs of Functions of One Variable.- 2.2 Graphs of Functions of Two Variables.- 2.2.1 Surfaces.- 2.2.2 Contours.- 2.2.3 Density Plots.- 2.3 Parametric Plots.- 2.3.1 Two-Dimensional Parametric Plots.- 2.3.2 Three-Dimensional Parametric Plots.- 2.4 Tools from Standard Packages.- 2.4.1 Three-Dimensional Contour Plots.- 2.4.2 Tools for Two-Dimensional Graphics.- 2.4.3 Tools for Three-Dimensional Graphics.- 2.4.4 Legends.- 2.4.5 Vector Fields.- 2.5 Animations.- 2.6 Exporting to Other Programs.- 3: Lists and Graphics Programming.- 3.1 Lists.- 3.1.1 Creating One-Dimensional Lists.- 3.1.2 Manipulating Lists.- 3.1.3 Multidimensional Lists.- 3.2 Calculating with Lists.- 3.2.1 Automatic Operations.- 3.2.2 Mapping Functions on Lists.- 3.2.3 Pure Functions.- 3.2.4 Using List Elements as Argul(