Mathematica
After you have access to Mathematica (myQC link) on campus or at home, this is where to come for Mathematica resources related to mathematical modeling.
Course materials:
A condensed list of handy Mathematica commands.
Tutorial 1: Getting started in Mathematica.
Tutorial 2: Using lists in Mathematica. (Save to computer: 245sp16tut2.nb)
Tutorial 3: Plotting functions and data in Mathematica. (Save to computer: 245sp16tut3.nb)
Tutorial 4: Fitting functions to data in Mathematica. (Save to computer: 245sp16tut4.nb)
Tutorial 5: Matrices and Vectors in Mathematica. (Save to computer: 245sp16tut5.nb)
Tutorial 6: Introduction to Random Numbers. (Save to computer: 245sp16tut6.nb)
Tutorial 7: Introduction to Simulation Models. (Save to computer: 245sp16tut7.nb)
Helpful Mathematica techniques
- Keep a diary! Write down commands that you have explored, keeping track of syntax, interesting things that you can do, and questions that pop up.
- Think before you code! Before you start typing, think about what you want the computer to do, and how you would be able to write a logical sequence of commands to do this thing. Write some pseudocode out first.
- Build in stages! When trying to get Mathematica to do a multi-step command, make sure each nested command works before trying to wrap it in another command. Work from the inside of the onion outward!
- Copy, modify, repeat! When you have code that is working, don't modify it. Copy it to the next line and then modify it. This forms a page of scratch work.
Useful links from the Mathematica website:
A few introductory videos:
A sampling of their "How to" guides:
- How to create lists
- How to combine and rearrange lists
- How to plot a graph
- How to plot data
- How to perform a linear regression
A sampling of their Tutorials: