Product Description

Here's the perfect self-teaching guide to help anyone master differential equations--a common stumbling block for students looking to progress to advanced topics in both science and math. Covers First Order Equations, Second Order Equations and Higher, Properties, Solutions, Series Solutions, Fourier Series and Orthogonal Systems, Partial Differential Equations and Boundary Value Problems, Numerical Techniques, and more.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #177383 in Books
• Published on: 2004-08-24
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 323 pages

Review
...an important subject...serious, straightforward work...emphasis is consistently...on...computations needed to find...solutions to specific equations... -- Choice, February 2005

explanations, models...examples that lead from differential equations to higher math concepts in a self-paced format...includes solutions to…exercises and…final -- Sci-Tech Book News, Dec. 2004

Review
From review by M. Henle, Oberlin College

Differential equations is an important subject that lies at the heart of the calculus. Here one sees how the calculus applies to real-world problems. Differential Equations DeMystified, (to use the spelling on the cover) is ...a serious, straightforward work. In style and substance this book is like standard differential equations books...The emphasis is consistently...on the computations needed to find...solutions to specific equations... (Choice )

Krantz asserts that if calculus is the heart of modern science, differential equations are the guts. Writing for those who already have a basic grasp of calculus, Krantz provides explanations, models, and examples that lead from differential equations to higher math concepts in a self-paced format. He includes chapters on first-order and second-order equations, power series solutions and spatial functions, Fourier series, Laplace transforms, numerical methods, partial equations and boundary value problems. His models come from engineering, physics and other fields in math. He includes solutions to the exercises and a final exam. (Sci-Tech Book News )

From the Back Cover
A DIFFERENT WAY TO LEARN DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

Now anyone with an interest in stepping up to higher math can do so—without formal training, unlimited time, or a genius IQ. In Differential Equations Demystified, award-winning math professor Steven Krantz provides an effective, anxiety-free method to get past common obstacles on the road to success in higher math and science.

With Differential Equations Demystified, you master the subject one step at a time—at your own speed. This self-teaching guide offers unique "Math Notes" and "You Try It" exercises, problems at the end of each chapter to pinpoint weaknesses, and a 100-question final exam to reinforce the great information in the entire book.

If you want to master differential equations fearlessly, here's a fast and effective self-teaching course to help you do just that. Get ready to --

• Solve both ordinary and partial differential equations—
• Work detailed examples and stimulating do-it-yourself exercises
• Discover multiple ways to solve equations, moving seamlessly into higher dimension math concepts
• Apply the analytical power of differential equations in engineering and science,
• Score better on science, math, and standardized tests

A fast, effective self-teaching course, Differential Equations Demystified is the perfect shortcut to confidence and skill with crucial mathematical skills. (20041201)

Customer Reviews

Greatly Underwhelmed
Except for the interesting treatment of Kepler's equations in chapter 2, there is not much to reccommend this version over others. This is a greatly stripped-down rehash of the standard fare: problems, exams and all. I was greatly underwhelmed. Demystification requires at the very least minimal discussions of some of the applications and the nature and utility of differential equations to other areas of mathematics. I found none of that here and thus expected a lot more. Instead of Demystification, it should just be called a "rehashed summary of differential equations."

Great book for review/introduction
I read some of the other reviews before writing this, and -- with all due respect, etc. etc. -- I think some of the other reviewers are missing the point of the entire series (Demystified) books.

The book is intended as a short, pithy, introduction to the topic. It makes no pretense of providing in-depth coverage, either of theory, or of all possible topics. This series of books is intended to provide a survey of many, but not all, commonly used techniques in a field; and it is intended to provide relatively simple examples and exercises so that the self-teaching student can get his/her feet wet.

I've just finished two chapters (and skimmed the rest), and so far I'm very pleased with the level of the treatment. You do need some prior calculus background, but if you have that, the book should be easy to follow. My own background was undergraduate physics, and, years later, I've decided to brush up. The book provides excellent review, as well as introducing me to topics I never quite "got" back in college.

If you want in-depth theory, or more comprehensive coverage of various techniques, or more advanced and challenging examples/home work problems, *or* conditions for solubility, go buy a standard, $100 college textbook on DiffEQs. However, if you want an accessible, inexpensive, brief but not overly-brief treatment of the fundamental techniques of solving differential equations, this book is very good. (By the way, the book includes the basics for at least some partial differential equations, as well as ordinary differential equations.)

Is it perfect? No. There is one subsection, for example, on using DiffEQs to make the connection between Newton's laws and Kepler's laws, and that particular subsection is not entirely clear. But I can forgive an occasional rough spot in a book that is overall clearly written, and well-designed for the self-study student.

Avoid if you're a math student
Avoid this book if you are a math student and need a more rigorous approach that deals with the Lipschitz condition etc. This book doesn't cover the necessary conditions under which one can find a solution, Picard's iteration, or the method of Frobenius, all of which are needed in most math-major type of ODE classes.

If you need a quick reference, Schaum's provides more bang for your buck.