Differential Equations (2nd Edition) | 
 enlarge | Authors: John Polking, Al Boggess, David Arnold
Publisher: Prentice Hall
Category: Book
List Price: $128.00
Buy New: $97.20
You Save: $30.80 (24%)
New (11) Used (9) from $86.30
Rating:  9 reviews
Sales Rank: 151485
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 2
Pages: 656
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3
Dimensions (in): 10 x 8 x 1
ISBN: 0131437380
Dewey Decimal Number: 515.35
EAN: 9780131437388
Publication Date: July 24, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Combining traditional material with a modern systems approach, this handbook provides a thorough introduction to differential equations, tempering its classic "pure math" approach with more practical applied aspects. Features up-to-date coverage of key topics such as first order equations, matrix algebra, systems, and phase plane portraits. Illustrates complex concepts through extensive detailed figures. Focuses on interpreting and solving problems through optional technology projects. For anyone interested in learning more about differential equations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 4 more reviews...
 Great book for the 21st century and beyond... September 19, 2001
skye (Houston, TX)
4 out of 10 found this review helpful
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.
Simply the best undergraduate text extant... April 18, 2007
Phoenix Omega
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
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.
A book that teaches you how to apply what you learn May 15, 2003
2 out of 6 found this review helpful
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.
 Great companion to lectures. April 27, 2007
Hansi Jiang (Stanford, CA)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
The most important thing to keep in mind would be the intended audience of this book. Specifically, the concepts outlined in this text should complement the content provided by a legitimate math instructors. If I were to use this book to self-teach or something of the sorts, I'm sure I would hate this book as well. Although the examples are sometimes unclear, the summaries of techniques are the most helpful parts in the book. At the end of a section, a blue box outlining the fundamental steps in a process reveals the simplest way to approach any problem. For example, this text's summary of Variation of Parameters pretty much sums up everything about that process in a clear and concise way.
Anyways, it's not as if you have any other choice when the instructor assigns this text as a required material. If looking for a self-teach sort of book, this text is not that great. But if you're looking for a review of ODEs and whatnot, I would recommend this book.
 lack of examples and horrible explanations make a ghastly diffE text October 13, 2005
Shann Yu (Nashville, TN)
12 out of 12 found this review helpful
Because the guy who initiated the project of writing the book is here at Rice, the rest of us are unlucky enough to have to use this book. If your class uses this book, prepare to go to class. All the time. That's because if you fall behind, the book does not do a good job of explaining things to you. Examples are generally vague and only apply to a few types of problems provided at the back of each section. A lot of the time, I'd find myself stumped on a problem, looking back, and realizing there was no example problem for me to get ideas from.
Yes there are lots of problems and that's good, in a way. But what's the point of having all those problems if the book never teaches you how to do them?
Furthermore, it is a poorly written book. Generally, reading through the book is like searching for a needle in a haystack. Literally speaking. You spend all that time figuring out what the authors talk about and once you figure it out, it was not even worth all that time.
So go to class. All the time. If the prof isnt that great, get yourself another workbook. I havent seen Schaum's but I'm pretty sure they'll do a better job on covering the topics than this text does.
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