Vector Calculus
April 30, 2008
Michael Corral of Schoolcraft College has just let us know about his Vector Calculus which is available as a PDF under the GFDL. Its source will be available soon.
The book description says:
This is a text on elementary multivariable calculus, designed for students who have completed courses in single-variable calculus. The traditional topics are covered: basic vector algebra; lines, planes and surfaces; vector-valued functions; functions of 2 or 3 variables; partial derivatives; optimization; multiple integrals; line and surface integrals.
The book also includes discussion of numerical methods: Newton’s method for optimization, and the Monte Carlo method for evaluating multiple integrals. There is a section dealing with applications to probability. Appendices include a proof of the right-hand rule for the cross product, and a short tutorial on using Gnuplot for graphing functions of 2 variables.
There are 420 exercises in the book. Answers to selected exercises are included.
Update 2008-05-06: The LaTeX source is now available!
Filed under: maths, open textbooks

3 Comments Leave a Comment
1.
Michael | May 3, 2008 at 1:10 pm
I just put the LaTeX source code for the book on the website.
2.
rohdydog | August 27, 2008 at 6:47 pm
This is actually a pretty good book. Very clear text, lots of useful figures, examples and exercises. I was pleasantly surprised by its high quality. If the author could only write a similar text on linear algebra!
3.
Frank | May 15, 2010 at 10:37 pm
I enjoyed reading this book. Well written and highly comprehensible.
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