Heh, I hated dif equations because my professor could never explain how I would use any of it in real life… then I started graduate school and wished I had actually learned it…
All the sites so far are great and x2 for wikipedia, it is usually a pretty great site for most of that info…
My undergraduate is in Mechanical and my Graduate is in Electrical but working on my doctorate in Business. Imagine that!
The thing that helped me the most was a TI-89 titanium (does, Diff EQ’s, single, double and triple Integrations symbolically and) and I was able to procure a Teacher edition’s solution manual for all of my courses via half.com and other websites. The solution manual was great because I was able to walk myself through the process and understand how to apply the concepts. It didn’t matter what problem was thrown at me, the way to approach a certain problem will be structured to a degree. But, you will have the tools you need to ask the right questions if you don’t understand, as opposed to going to the professor or teacher’s aid and saying I just don’t understand and don’t know where to start. Professors and teachers aids hate that!
Good luck on your studies!
[quote]MetalGrasshopper wrote:
Calc 1 - 4 (diff eq) aren’t too bad- you can generally google whatever topic you need help with and it’ll have something on there.
You’ll eventually learn something called Numerical Methods, which basically lets you get numerical answers using algorithms in programs like matlab or mathematica without having to actually do the differentiation/integration/etc…
At the same time, its not a bad idea to have a fairly strong command of the math, depending on what kind of engineering you’re looking to get into. Mechanical/BioMed engineers have to know diff eq and calc 3 very well for understanding fluid and heat transfer equations. [/quote]
QFT. The applications for analytical calculus are limited and normally pointless in the real world. It’s useful for systems control and some in electronics, but not much else. Real world systems essentially never have an analytical solutions. Thermo, structures, fluid flow, est. are all analyzed numerically in the real world.
I love numerical analysis. It is my favorite subject, along with linear algebra. It’s the programming and the real-world applications that do it for me.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
I concur with the opinion that calculus 1 is the foundation for the rest of calculus and should be taken for the full semester. Six weeks is too short a time to cram all that info into. The next semesters of calculus are just a restatement of the first semester with some special cases thrown in.[/quote]
I agree with these guys about taking Calc 1 for a full term. I tested out of Calc 1, and thought I was smooth so I went straight to Calc 2 and I regretted it immensely. I think the rest of my math career was a little off because I always felt like I was playing catch-up.
Go directly to the physics department and ask for approval to take them both together. I bet you anything that they would let you. Then your undergrad advisor just has to sign off (which he will do with physics consent)
[quote]TakeDamage wrote:
…
So i wanted to see if anyone knows a good website for learning higher division math? anything will help.
[/quote]
Got your perfect site right here.
http://www.howtodogirls.com/episodes/s1e1_intro_to_bikini_calculus.php
A.
[quote]TakeDamage wrote:
Hey, im hoping to be an Engineer when i graduate. i just finished my second year of college. im taking calc 1 now in the summer and have been using youtube to learn a lot of the concepts and its been pretty awesome, since the book is the least helpful thing i have. But im a little worried about calc2 calc3 and deferential equations.
So i wanted to see if anyone knows a good website for learning higher division math? anything will help.
[/quote]
Is a defferential equation one that thinks you are wonderful?
And discreet math won’t put naked pictures of you on the internet.
[quote]LIFTICVSMAXIMVS wrote:
Pick up a copy of Schaum’s Advanced Mathematics for Scientists and Engineers. It covers differential and integral calculus in all major multi-variable coordinate systems, liner algebra, and differential equations (with a few special chapters devoted to methods of solving multi variable, partial-differential equations). It will cost about $20 but it is a great reference. [/quote]
That book saved my ass. I struggled through Calc 1-4 and diff. equations (though in hindsight they weren’t that bad). I seemed to get the concept the semester AFTER I took and somehow passed the course, lol.
I pretty much owe my ECE degree to that book, lol.
[quote]phil_leotardo wrote:Ironically enough almost every reaction rate that I measure, we find a way to make it linear instead of taking derivatives of the slope.
[/quote]
hah! awesome. so pretty much everything comes down to linear approximations…
i’d agree that all the analytical stuff is nice, but doesn’t really help to much when you’re struggling with real heat and fluids problems (and is it just me, or are there way too many fudge factors in heat/fluids? specifically convective heat transfer. wtf).
if i had to do it all over again, i would have paid VERY close attention in linear algebra and differential equations. i’m finding linear algebra is used all over the place. so far it’s been a big part of modal analysis in dynamics, optimization, and nonlinear control. if my lin alg had been stronger, i would have picked up on some of this stuff a lot faster.
also, pretty much everything that matters involves differential equations. and the good stuff involves partial differential equations. not that you’d likely solve any pde’s in an undergrad course, but i think you should still pay very close attention to ode’s.
also, i don’t buy the line about taking 4 months to cover calc topics. all of our undergrad classes were 7 weeks long and it’s plenty of time. granted you have to stay on task, but that’s what you’re there for.
By the way…Engineering Mathematics and Higher Engineering Mathematics by John Bird are excellent IMO. I been using them for nearly 5 years now. Pretty decent.