Differential Equations (with CD-ROM) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Paul Blanchard, Robert L. Devaney, Glen R. Hall
Publisher: Brooks Cole
Category: Book
List Price: $185.95
Buy Used: $88.76
You Save: $97.19 (52%)
New (24) Used (24) from $88.76
Rating:  21 reviews
Sales Rank: 241212
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 3
Pages: 848
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 3.4
Dimensions (in): 9.2 x 8 x 1.4
ISBN: 0495012653
Dewey Decimal Number: 511
EAN: 9780495012658
Publication Date: September 19, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Product Description
Incorporating a modeling approach throughout, this exciting text emphasizes concepts and shows that the study of differential equations is a beautiful application of the ideas and techniques of calculus to everyday life. By taking advantage of readily available technology, the authors eliminate most of the specialized techniques for deriving formulas for solutions found in traditional texts and replace them with topics that focus on the formulation of differential equations and the interpretations of their solutions. Students will generally attack a given equation from three different points of view to obtain an understanding of the solutions: qualitative, numeric, and analytic. Since many of the most important differential equations are nonlinear, students learn that numerical and qualitative techniques are more effective than analytic techniques in this setting. Overall, students discover how to identify and work effectively with the mathematics in everyday life, and they learn how to express the fundamental principles that govern many phenomena in the language of differential equations.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
 Excellent Textbook - Not So Good Reference July 25, 2001
R. Rockwell (Angwin, CA USA)
45 out of 49 found this review helpful
As a differential equations instructor I used Boyce and DiPrima for many years. Its a good, solid presentation of differential equations and a great reference. However, I was always disappointed that my students ended up with no "feel" for differential equations. Also I became convinced that more methods were needed for nonlinear differential equations. After using a couple of other books which seemed to be slanted toward more qualitative approaches I came across Blanchard's book. I used it as a textbook for my class for several years now and I have found it to be a near perfect match to my goals. Some consider it wordy but I appreciate the motivation and insight the authors try to bring to the concepts. As a result it is not a good reference but as a textbook it is great. There are plenty of graphical tools. Quite suprising to me is how much the book illuminates DE's by simply analyzing the components of the DE, even before any solution is attempted. These features, along with some integrated applications, gives students much more of the "feel" for differential equations I have been looking for.
The Perfect Soph/Junior level DE book August 17, 2004
Nicholas Hoell (New York City)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
I used this book in a 2003 summer course in DE, and found it to be a wonderful introduction to the subject. I am not sure what some of the other people meant by saying it wasn't for math majors- I am one and found it wonderful. Not everything needs to be concise, (I gave Rudin's book five stars too BTW, so I AM a fan of some concise books).
It gave diverse examples of applications from all over--physics, EECS, ecology, biology, etc. The CD-Rom is a great learning tool. Ultimately analytic techniques are NOT what DE is about, and this book tries to show the student how to use qualitative and numerical methods early on. Anyone who wants to know DE must become familiar with numerics and the qualitative way of analyzing the equations.
This book will show you how to THINK about DE, and not how to mindlessly attack an equation based on its form.
This is the intro ODE book to which all others ought be compared.
If one wants an analytic reference just buy a cheap used copy of any of the countless DE cookbooks out there (I own a Shaums).
Fun to read!! September 2, 2005
Jesus, son of God (Chicago)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Normally I get the homework from the professor and that is usually the only time I crack open any textbook. However, with this book I was able to enjoy the authors' humor and clear description of the material. It is true that the answers in the back of the book are not very helpful, but I think I think the book is written well enough to help you get to the right answer. Furthermore, the CD that comes with the book is not compatable with Mac OS X, but if your University has access to Maple, Mathematica, or Matlab there is no real loss in not being able to use the CD. I would disagree with one of the book reviews that graphical solutions are not important to science majors. Analytical solutions are extremelly important to science and that is why this book is heavy on the graphical solutions, and as a physicist I find these problems and examples the most useful.
An excellent introductory differential equations text August 7, 2003
G. Cantor (Mill Valley, CA USA)
11 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have been teaching differential eequations for over 20 years so am very familiar with the "traditional" approach along with the more "modern" treatment. I have been using this text in my courses for several semesters now and really like it. Finally students can get a real feel for the topic which is/was completely absent from more traditional texts. Frankly, the traditional approach gives one the impression that differential equations (at this level) is simply a collection of party tricks. Nothing could be further from the truth!!I have discovered that a different kind of student excels with this format; one who is not afraid to actually think about the material - what a refreshing change from the common, mindless "crank and grind" student approach!! Sadly, the latter group doesn't really learn any mathematics, just how to calculate - a task computers handle much better!! The problems are fine and allow considerable classroom discussion and flexibility. The CD (DETools) has some shortcomings but you can't beat it for the price! The topic is fundamentally geometric in nature and much can be learned from playing with DETools. Some reviewers complained about the numerical aspect of the text. Having worked as an industrial mathematician, I must say that more, rather than less, about numerical techniques would be good. In the real world, forget analytic methods (they simply don't apply) and reach for RK4 and better. If you're looking for a text to use in your DE class, try this one. One warning, you can never go back!!
great book, even for non math-type people November 12, 1998
5 out of 7 found this review helpful
I have to admit this is the first book that I really liked in a long time. It gives great explainations, and does an excellent job with the concepts and has a very nice natural progression of topics. I strongly dislike math, but needed it for economics, and it actually was extremely useful. It made the previous three semesters of math have meaning
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