A Basic Tutorial in Mathematica

The purpose of this web page is to present a discussion of some of the primary applications of Mathematica through the use of examples. Each topic below has a set of examples meant to describe the corresponding commands. As a matter of fact, each set of examples is an actual Mathematica session. If you read through the examples within each topic, you will have a good working knowledge of Mathematica. If there are other things you would like to see included, let me know and I will add them. Important: When giving a command in Mathematica, you must hit "shift" and "enter" together.

Basic Arithmetic: The arithmetic operations using Mathematica are pretty much the same as they are on a graphing calculator. The one difference is that multiplication can be accomplished by simply putting a space between the two numbers being multiplied. Examples

Numerical Arithmetic: Mathematica can also do numerical approximations to any desired accuracy and this includes the approximation of sums of infinite series. Note: the % sign always refers to the previous output and thus it represents a different thing each time you use it. Examples

Algebra: We can do powerful algebraic simplifications using Mathematica. Examples

Graphing in two and three dimensions: We can graph curves given in Cartesian and polar coordinates and also curves given implicitly and parametrically. In addition we can plot complicated surfaces. Examples

Differentiation: Using Mathematica, we can take ordinary and partial derivatives of first and higher order. Examples

Integration: We can do antiderivatives and definite integrals of first and higher order. Examples

Differential Equations: Using Mathematica, we can solve a number of important differential equations. More difficult differential equations can be solved numerically. Examples

Some Linear Algebra: We can do many of the expected operations on matrices using Mathematica. Be sure to take note of the procedure for defining matrices. Examples

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