Mathematica Basics--Using Variables

Introduction

Mathematica handle's variables in a subtly different way to the way we handle them in ordinary written mathematics. Let's go over the details:

Evaluating Commands

Remember, as we said in the introduction to the last notebook, in order to tell Mathematica that you want it to actually evaluate what you have typed, hit the ENTER key over on the extreme right side of your keyboard on the numeric keypad. Again, don't confuse this with the RETURN key, which merely starts a new line of text.



You can now switch to the actual Mathematica practice notebook by clicking on the button at left. It will take a while to start up! Don't forget to come back here when you're done by using the Applications menu! (You can also use this menu just to come back here to reread the instructions.) See you in a few minutes.

Welcome back! Hopefully everything went well. You're now finishing learning about Variables in Mathematica. You may now go to the Table of Contents for the Mathematica Basics Labs, or simply quit.




Mathematica Basics by Christopher A. Barker
©1998 Christopher A. Barker, 5151 Pacific Ave., Stockton, CA 95207, USA
e-mail: barker@inreach.com; WWW: http://barker.sjdccd.cc.ca.us/home.html