Numerical Methods for Engineers

Book excerpt: The Fourth Edition of Numerical Methods for Engineers continues the tradition of excellence it established as the winner of the ASEE Meriam/Wiley award for Best Textbook. Instructors love it because it is a comprehensive text that is easy to teach from. Students love it because it is written for them--with great pedagogy and clear explanations and examples throughout. This edition features an even broader array of applications, including all engineering disciplines. The revision retains the successful pedagogy of the prior editions. Chapra and Canale's unique approach opens each part of the text with sections called Motivation, Mathematical Background, and Orientation, preparing the student for what is to come in a motivating and engaging manner. Each part closes with an Epilogue containing sections called Trade-Offs, Important Relationships and Formulas, and Advanced Methods and Additional References. Much more than a summary, the Epilogue deepens understanding of what has been learned and provides a peek into more advanced methods. What's new in this edition? A shift in orientation toward more use of software packages, specifically MATLAB and Excel with VBA. This includes material on developing MATLAB m-files and VBA macros. In addition, the text has been updated to reflect improvements in MATLAB and Excel since the last edition. Also, many more, and more challenging problems are included. The expanded breadth of engineering disciplines covered is especially evident in the problems, which now cover such areas as biotechnology and biomedical engineering.