Guess this belongs here, since it is not homework. Yet.

I plan to upgrade my education to bachelors degree, starting in September. My ambition is to do all of this while still sailing, meaning I will miss half of the classes.

So I need good self study books while I am at sea, that work without internet or power. I have seen our math text book, and it did not seem friendly.

Here are the topics we will work through:

Linear equations and linear maps. Matrix algebra. Vektor spaces. Eigenvalue problems. Symmetric and orthogonal matrices. Complex numbers. Linear differential equations. Standard functions. Functions of one and several real variables: linear approximations and partial derivatives, Taylor expansions and quadratic forms, extrema and level curves, line, surface and volume integrals. Vector fields, Gauss' and Stokes' theorem.
Applications of MAPLE in the above areas. Examples of applications in the engineering sciences.

Link to course
https://kurser.dtu.dk/course/2020-2021/01005?menulanguage=dk

Any tips?

 

It looks like that course will be a firehose of techniques for solving problems in linear algebra, differential equations, and multivariable calculus. A potential challenge with such a class is that, though the problem sets may be grounded in an engineering context, the mathematical techniques themselves will seem completely arbitrary and mystifying unless you have a solid background in the topics. This is especially true for linear algebra, which underlies both differential equations and calculus. Unless you're already comfortable with vector spaces and thinking of matrices as linear transformations of a space, I'd highly recommend spending some effort on getting to know the "big picture" of linear algebra.

In other words, don't bother pre-studying how to calculate eigenvectors or a change of basis (you'll learn those in class), rather try to develop some intuition on why we care about such things. There is a holistic aspect to all of the mathematical techniques you'll be learning, and it all stems from linear algebra. You know that the exponential function is its own derivative? In the holistic view, exponentials are eigenvectors of the differential operator on the space of differentiable functions, which is a vector space. The set of solutions to a homogeneous differential equation forms a vector space. A multivariable function defines a scalar field, and the gradient of that function is a vector space. An nth-order Taylor expansion is a change of basis to the vector space of nth-order polynomials. Etc., etc.

I truly wish there were a single book or video one could watch to get an intuitive sense of this deep connection between linear algebra and basically everything else, but I don't think such a thing exists (maybe it's not possible). Short of taking a few linear algebra courses, I suggest searching for and watching high-level videos on linear algebra, maybe browsing through a few books, all while focusing on how the fundamental objects of linear algebra (vectors, spaces, matrices) are actually abstractions of more familiar mathematical objects and, consequently, physical processes.

Best of luck.

 

On the basis your in a engineer forum
how about stroud, engineering mathematics,
https://www.worldofbooks.com/en-gb/...Kd0LVq2zaWrlbU_gTgZGFwUB0DkXLcXUaAlE9EALw_wcB

I think there is book one and two,
Its a very chatty book, lots of self tests and answers in the book,

covid19.healthdata.org/united-kingdom?view=daily-deaths&tab=trend

 

@bogosort I did not understand any of what you wrote, had to google my way through it. But thanks for the breakdown of the course, it looks like I will have to get comfy with linear algebra.
I only have high school math, and some citcuit calculations and vectors. I enjoyed it very much, though, and was ok good at it. But this is 9 years ago.

@andrewmm I have Stroud "Advanced engineering mathmatics", but I read it was no good for self study...?

 

@bogosort I did not understand any of what you wrote, had to google my way through it. But thanks for the breakdown of the course, it looks like I will have to get comfy with linear algebra.
I only have high school math, and some citcuit calculations and vectors. I enjoyed it very much, though, and was ok good at it. But this is 9 years ago.

@andrewmm I have Stroud "Advanced engineering mathmatics", but I read it was no good for self study...?

Ok it all depends upon what sort of book you like, it did me and many people I know, which is why I recommend it.
Sorry its not to your liking,

 

@bogosort I did not understand any of what you wrote, had to google my way through it. But thanks for the breakdown of the course, it looks like I will have to get comfy with linear algebra.
I only have high school math, and some citcuit calculations and vectors. I enjoyed it very much, though, and was ok good at it. But this is 9 years ago.

Ah, my bad, I had assumed that this was an upper-level course and that you had already taken the typical calculus sequence. If this is indeed an intro course (i.e., if it doesn't require calculus as a prerequisite), then please ignore my advice until after you've finished the course -- you'll then have a more solid footing on which to expand your linear algebra studies.

 

@andrewmm I am actually glad you liked the book, since I already have a copy (Advanced Eng. Math) I have not read it yet.

@bogosort The course is 20 ECTS + 7,5 ECTS for second part (don't know if it's the same point system as in the US), so I guess it covers a lot of ground. Don't know anything about the difficulty or level, though, I only heard from others, that it is pretty rough.

 

I have Engineering Math and Further Engineering Math by the same author. They are well written and helpful if you know what you want to learn from them.

 

Hello,

You could have a look here for books that you like:
https://the-eye.eu/public/WorldTracker.org/Mathematics/
They are in PDF or DJVU format.
When you like a book, you could look for a hardcopy.

Bertus

 

@bertus that is a lot of books. I will have a look.

I talked with a few guys who had the course, they said just freshen differiental and integral equations, make sure you know them in and out.