Differential Equations

Student solutions manuals are always invaluable study tools for any class. HOWEVER, you must not look at the solution until you have really attempted the problem, or else it will just hurt you when exam time comes.

I ordered the wrong book. However, the book was like new and the seller gladly bought the book back from me.

and I don't "do" hyperbole. As a math instructor (and math student), I have seen texts on everything from fundamentals of math to real analysis. This book is more practical, clear, and concise than any of them. Students will not only learn techniques to solve differential equations, they will learn the scope and limitations of each technique. A student who truly reads and absorbs this book will walk away with not only an understanding of but also a healthy skepticism toward mathematical models. The harsh realities of mathematical modeling, such as sensitive dependence on initial conditions, are emphasized rather than downplayed. In the section on motion problems, students are treated to a discussion of how solar system models have evolved. Models must adapt to explain new data. Sometimes a model can be "tweaked" at the expense of simplicity, while some models must be scrapped altogether. Scientific ideas are not gospel, but merely a description of the world as we see it today. Unfortunately, this text is the ONLY book I have seen which truly addresses the issues described above (and that's very sad because my undergrad degree is in chemistry). Aspiring scientists and engineers need to learn intellectual flexibility as much as they need to learn facts and formulas. This book teaches both. If the applications in this book were not so overwhelmingly excellent, I would have started this review by exalting the proofs and derivations. They too are unusually well done. The authors do an excellent job of choosing which proofs to include, and they make them as readable as humanly possible. (I hear the bitter chuckles of innumerable math students as I type the previous sentence...) Yes, learning to read proofs IS hard. But, trust me, this book is where you want to start. First graders think adding and subtracting whole numbers is hard. They're right; for them, it is. But imagine how much harder it would be if first graders had to work with fractions! To paraphrase Aristotle, "learning is painful". No one can make differential equations easy (why do you think scientists and engineers get paid so well?). However, the authors of this text make it as easy and pleasant as possible. I suspect that students who disliked this book but were able to "learn" diff. eq. merely learned enough to pass the test. Students who do not take advantage of the learning opportunity provided by this book are doing themselves a serious disservice. Take home message- buy it and make it the central element in your studies of differential equations. You will be glad you did.

I loved this book. The examples are clear, the proofs are easy to follow, and the book has a major applications aspect regarding applying what you learn on the computer and Matlab. My only complaint is that ch 5 (Laplace Transformations) is a little too terse, but besides that it is perfect. This and Lay's Linear Algebra book are my favorite mathematics books I've used so far.

This is truly a great math textbook, in fact it's the first that I've ever noticed _good_ things about while working through it, instead of bad things. Also interesting is seeing Dr Polking teach, while reading through the book (I go to Rice) - I've never before seen an author of a math text. This book has a good but not over-bearing connection to technology; the accompanying MATLAB manual delves deeper into that aspect. The problem sets are interesting, instead of just being "grunt-work" they require some real thinking, and go into applications such as physics, etc. Overall a good buy.