solving-equations.org
changeset 81 2eff0ebac2dc
parent 79 3893bac8e424
child 82 c7abfeddc958
--- a/solving-equations.org	Sat Apr 17 12:50:42 2010 +0530
+++ b/solving-equations.org	Sat Apr 17 15:51:43 2010 +0530
@@ -9,12 +9,12 @@
 *** Script
     Welcome. 
     
-    In this tutorial we shall look at solving linear equations, roots
-    of polynomials and other non-linear equations. In the process, we
-    shall look at defining functions. 
+    In this tutorial we shall look at solving linear equations, obtaining
+    roots of polynomial and other non-linear equations. In the process, we
+    shall look at defining functions as well. 
 
     We would be using concepts related to arrays which we have covered
-    in previous session
+    in a previous tutorial.
 
     Let's begin with solving linear equations. 
     {show a slide of the equations}
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@
     be in the form of matrices to solve the system of linear equations. 
 
     Lets start ipython -pylab interpreter.    
-    Then we begin by entering the coefficients and the constants as
+    We begin by entering the coefficients and the constants as
     matrices. 
 
     In []: A = array([[3,2,-1],
@@ -45,9 +45,9 @@
     In []: Ax = dot(A, x)
     In []: Ax
 
-    The result Ax, doesn't look exactly like b, but if you carefully
-    observe, you will see that it is the same as b. To save yourself
-    this trouble, you can use the allclose function. 
+    The result Ax, doesn't look exactly like b, but if we carefully
+    observe, we will see that it is the same as b. To save ourself
+    all this trouble, we can use the allclose function. 
 
     allclose checks if two matrices are close enough to each other
     (with-in the specified tolerance level). Here we shall use the
@@ -58,30 +58,32 @@
     x, and b are close enough. This validates our solution x. 
 
     Let's move to finding the roots of polynomials. We shall use the
-    roots function to calculate the roots of the polynomial x^2-5x+6. 
+    roots function to calculate the roots of a polynomial. 
 
     The function requires an array of the coefficients of the
     polynomial in the descending order of powers. 
+    Consider the polynomial x^2-5x+6
     
     In []: coeffs = [1, -5, 6]
     In []: roots(coeffs)
-    As you can see, roots returns the result in an array. 
-    # It even works for polynomials with imaginary solutions.
-    # roots([1, 1, 1])
+    As we can see, roots returns the result in an array. 
+    It even works for polynomials with imaginary roots.
+    roots([1, 1, 1])
 
-    To find the roots of non linear equations, we use the fsolve
-    function. We shall use the function sin(x)+cos^2(x) as our
-    function, in this tutorial. This function is not part of pylab
-    package which we import during starting, so we will have to 
-    import it. It is part of scipy package.
+    What if I want the solution of non linear equations?
+    For that we use the fsolve function. We shall use the function
+    sin(x)+cos^2(x) as our function, in this tutorial. This function 
+    is not part of pylab package which we import at the beginning,
+    so we will have to import it. It is part of scipy package. Let's
+    import it using.
 
     In []: from scipy.optimize import fsolve
 
-    Now, let's look at the documentation of fsolve using fsolve?    
+    Now, let's look at the documentation of fsolve by typing fsolve?    
     
     In []: fsolve?
 
-    As mentioned in docs the first argument, func, is a python 
+    As mentioned in documentation the first argument, func, is a python 
     function that takes atleast one argument. So, we should now 
     define a python function for the given mathematical expression
     sin(x)+cos^2(x). 
@@ -98,17 +100,17 @@
     ...        return sin(x)+cos(x)*cos(x)
     ...
     ...
-    hit return thrice for coming out of function definition. 
+    hit the enter key thrice for coming out of function definition. 
    
     def, is a key word in python that tells the interpreter that a
     function definition is beginning. f, here, is the name of the
     function and x is the lone argument of the function. The whole
     definition of the function is done with in an indented block same
-    as for loops and conditional statements we have used in our 
-    earlier sessions. Our function f has just one line in it's 
+    as the loops and conditional statements we have used in our 
+    earlier tutorials. Our function f has just one line in it's 
     definition. 
 
-    You can test your function, by calling it with an argument for
+    We can test our function, by calling it with an argument for
     which the output value is known, say x = 0. We can see that
     sin(x) + cos^2(x) has a value of 1, when x = 0. 
 
@@ -126,8 +128,7 @@
     fsolve has returned a root of sin(x)+cos^2(x) that is close to 0. 
 
     That brings us to the end of this tutorial. We have covered solution
-    of linear equations, finding roots of polynomials and other 
-    non-linear
+    of linear equations, finding roots of polynomials and non-linear
     equations. We have also learnt how to define functions and call
     them.