Overview - University of Wollongong Teaching & Learning Journal

Article Title

Engineering project oriented mathematics supported by algebraic software

Abstract

In recent years there has been a revolution in engineering practice with the development of software that will perform basic symbolic mathematical operations. These software packages also have graphics facilities and can be used on desktop computers, including Macintoshes. Desktop computers can now carry out not only numerical calculations to produce numbers but also symbolic calculations to produce algebraic solutions. Provided that engineers understand the input and output parameters of symbolic mathematical calculations, many of the complex but time consuming intermediate steps can be handed over to a desktop computer.