Software Highlights: Curriculum Software - Three Curriculum Software Stand-Outs
Billed as “one-stop shopping” software for math learning, Mathematica
is arguably the most recognized name in computational technology software. Mathematica
has earned its reputation by combining a numeric and symbolic computational
engine, documentation system, graphics system, programming language, the world’s
most complete collection of mathematical functions, and advanced connectivity
to other applications.
Mathematica for Students 5 has the same powerful features as the professional
version at about 10 percent of the price. Only enrolled students working toward
a degree at an accredited institution may purchase the product at this reduced
price.
What can Mathematica do? Depending on the user’s level of expertise, Mathematica
can be a super-calculator or a computational powerhouse. It can handle complex
equations involving millions of terms. It performs numerical modeling and simulations.
It loads, analyzes, and visualizes data. It lets users create 2-D and 3-D animations
and graphs. It has sound capabilities. It can, in fact, work with any data,
not just numerical data. If you want it to process the dictionary in order to
find specific types of words, it can do that. Finally, it helps users to collect,
synthesize, and present mathematical information for reports, lectures, or application
development.
Users can share files, thanks to Mathematica’s platform-independent notebook
file format. It is also applicable to a wide range of mathematics and mathematics-heavy
disciplines, including engineering, physics, computer science, and chemistry.
The software is available in the following platforms: Windows 95/98/Me/NT/2000/
XP, Mac OS 7.5.3 or later, Linux (PC, Power PC) Mac OS X.
Contact: Wolfram Research, Champaign, Ill.;
(217) 398-0700; www.wolfram.com.