Differential Equations Workbook For Dummies

Steven Holzner, PhD, served on the faculty of Cornell University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is an award-winning author who has written Physics For Dummies, Quantum Physics For Dummies, and more.

• Introduction 1Part I: Tackling First Order Differential Equations 5Chapter 1: Looking Closely at Linear First Order Differential Equations 7Chapter 2: Surveying Separable First Order Differential Equations 29Chapter 3: Examining Exact First Order Differential Equations 59Part II: Finding Solutions to Second and Higher Order Differential Equations 79Chapter 4: Working with Linear Second Order Differential Equations 81Chapter 5: Tackling Nonhomogeneous Linear Second Order Differential Equations 105Chapter 6: Handling Homogeneous Linear Higher Order Differential Equations 129Chapter 7: Taking On Nonhomogeneous Linear Higher Order Differential Equations 153Part III: The Power Stuff: Advanced Techniques 175Chapter 8: Using Power Series to Solve Ordinary Differential Equations 177Chapter 9: Solving Differential Equations with Series Solutions Near Singular Points 199Chapter 10: Using Laplace Transforms to Solve Differential Equations 225Chapter 11: Solving Systems of Linear First Order Differential Equations 249Part IV: The Part of Tens 273Chapter 12: Ten Common Ways of Solving Differential Equations 275Chapter 13: Ten Real-World Applications of Differential Equations 279Index 283