Additional information
by Alfred Gray (Author), Mike Mezzino (Author), Mark Pinsky (Author)
The purpose of this companion volume to our text is to provide instructors (and eventu- ally students) with some additional information to ease the learning process while further documenting the implementations of Mathematica and ODE. In an ideal world this volume would not be necessary, since we have systematically worked to make the text unambiguous and directly useful, by providing in the text worked examples of every technique which is discussed at the theoretical level. However, in our teaching we have found that it is helpful to have further documentation of the various solution techniques introduced in the text. The subject of differential equations is particularly well-suited to self-study, since one can always verify by hand calculation whether or not a given proposed solution is a bona- fide solution of the differential equation and initial conditions. Accordingly, we have not reproduced the steps of the verification process in every case, rather content with the illustration of some basic cases of verification in the text. As we state there, students are strongly encouraged to verify that the proposed solution indeed satisfies the requisite equation and supplementary conditions.
