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Title:
Elementary Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems |
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Authors:
William E. Boyce and Richard C. DiPrima |
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Edition:
Eighth Don't try to use an earlier edition - many of the page and exercise numbers have changed. |
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isbn:
0-471-43338-1 |
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L.C. catalog number:
QA371.B773 2004 |
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Software disk:
There is a CD of "enrichment materials" included with the book. Use of this is optional |
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You will need a graphing calculator for the course. Trying to get along without one is decidely
an unwise economy. Especially in connection with the material of Math 217, pictures and graphics are a major help in solving problems. There are a number of calculators which would be appropriate, but the best choice is probably the TI-83. It is the calculator in most commmon use in the Mathematics department, and a large body of instructions for its use has accumulated in the last few years. See, for example, this link: Information on TI-83 use in calculus Some sophisticated calculators include a "computer algebra system" (CAS), which is able to find solutions of differential equatgions. Since a large part of math 217 involves learning to perform these manipulations manually, use of such a calculator is clearly inappropriate. For obvious reasons, these calculators are not allowed on exams. Use of a CAS calculator during an exam is considered cheating and will be referred to the Academic Integrity Committee. Some common CAS calculators are the TI-89, TI-92, HP-48 and HP-49. |
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Access to a computer and a mathematical utility program like MATLAB, Maple or Mathematica can be
very helpful. If you are in science or engineering you'll want to learn to use such a program in any case, but it is by no means required in this course. There is also a software disk bundled with the text, which you may find useful. |