SMath for Physics (IOP Concise Physics: A Morgan & Claypool Publication)

SMath is a free mathematical notebook program similar to Mathcad that provides many options for studying and solving complex mathematical equations. This book is a primer providing a concise but thorough introduction that keeps physics at a fairly low level so readers can concentrate on understanding the SMath features. A wide range of topics are discussed in SMath for Physics including: using SMath as a simple scratch pad; getting familiar with the functions (polyroots, roots, and solve) to find the roots of the equations; making use of SMath's built-in ability to perform symbolic and numerical differentiation and numerical integration; using the vector and matrix features; and performing linear and non-linear regression analysis. The student who learns how to use SMath can expect to get more accurate results compared to a paper and calculator method, since input errors are more easily spotted on the SMath ""page"". The skills acquired learning SMath will help the reader in future work - even if they end up working for a company that uses Mathcad, since the interface and features are very similar.