دانلود کتاب Engineering Maths First-Aid Kit

A few words from the author . . .
Over the past three years I have tried to offer mathematical support to many hundreds of
students in the early stages of their degree programmes in engineering.
On many, many occasions I have found that gaps in mathematical knowledge impede progress
both in engineering mathematics and also in some of the engineering topics that the students are
studying. Sometimes these gaps arise because they have long-since forgotten basic techniques.
Sometimes, for a variety of reasons, they seem to have never met certain fundamentals in their
previous studies. Whatever the underlying reasons, the only practical remedy is to have available
resources which can quickly get to the heart of the problem, which can outline a technique or
formula or important results, and, importantly, which students can take away with them. This
Engineering Maths First-Aid Kit is my attempt at addressing this need.
I am well aware that an approach such as this is not ideal. What many students need is a
prolonged and structured course in basic mathematical techniques, when all the foundations
can be properly laid and there is time to practice and develop confidence. Piecemeal attempts
at helping a student do not really get to the root of the underlying problem. Nevertheless I
see this Kit as a realistic and practical damage-limitation exercise, which can provide sufficient
sticking plaster to enable the student to continue with the other aspects of their studies which
are more important to them.
I have used help leaflets similar to these in the Mathematics Learning Support Centre at Loughborough.
They are particularly useful at busy times when I may have just a few minutes to
try to help a student, and I would like to revise a topic briefly, and then provide a few simple
practice exercises. You should realise that these leaflets are not an attempt to put together a
coherent course in engineering mathematics, they are not an attempt to replace a textbook, nor
are they intended to be comprehensive in their treatment of individual topics. They are what I
say – elements of a First-Aid kit.
I hope that some of your students find that they ease the pain!
Tony Croft
December 1999