Ebook: Applied Numerical Methods with MATLAB for Engineers and Scientists, 5th Edition

This book is designed to support a one-semester course in numerical methods. It has been written for students who want to learn and apply numerical methods in order to solve problems in engineering and science. As such, the methods are motivated by problems rather than by mathematics. That said, sufficient theory is provided so that students come away with insight into the techniques and their shortcomings.

MATLAB provides a great environment for such a course. Although other environments (e.g., Excel/VBA, Mathcad) or languages (e.g., Fortran 90, C++, Python) could have been chosen, MATLAB presently offers a nice combination of handy programming features with powerful built-in numerical capabilities. On the one hand, its M-file programming environment allows students to implement moderately complicated algorithms in a structured and coherent fashion. On the other hand, its built-in, numerical capabilities empower students to solve more difficult problems without trying to “reinvent the wheel.”

Algorithms Presented Using MATLAB M-files. Instead of using pseudocode, this book presents algorithms as well-structured MATLAB M-files. Aside from being useful computer programs, these provide students with models for their own M-files that they will develop as homework exercises.