MATHCAD

Computer Methods in Chemical Engineering

Table of Contents

Introduction

Mathcad is a mathematical program that closely resemble a work sheet. Its primary strength lies in its graphical user interface (GUI) and its what-you-see-is-what-you-get (WYSIWYG) feature; unlike any programming language or spreadsheet, equations in Mathcad look just like the way we write them. Mathcad allows you to use variables easily like a programming language does (as opposed to cryptic reference to cells A1, B2, etc. in a spreadsheet), do programming (albeit a bit limited), call predefined and user-defined functions, calculate symbolically with Maple, and update results automatically like a spreadsheet. As implied by the MathCAD icons (an abacus or a calculator), it is an advanced calculating program. The price of the product has jumped by 10X in recent versions, but one can find the software at reduced prices at eBay.

Getting Started at College Park

Mathcad is not normally loaded in computers in UMCP computer labs. You need to install yours or a trial version in a temp folder. Note that Mathcad is mutually incompatible across different versions. For example, if you save a Mathcad file in version 6 or 7, you will not be able to open it with Mathcad version 5.

Mathsoft (Maker of Mathcad)

Mathsoft's Home Page Similar information is also available at Adept Science I keep a couple of trial/demo versions under my web server to speed up downloading from UMCP. Mathcad Manuals:

Scientific Notebook

Scientific Notebook is a mathematical program from MacKichan Software ($99 for students as of 2006) which runs under Windows and is practically a close clone of Mathcad. It saves worksheet in the LaTeX format. Has a wide range of scientific/engineering examples under |Help|Resource Center| from the menu bar.

TKSolver

TKSolver is a mathematical program that is conceptually similar to Mathcad in terms of displaying equations in the manner we write them, but it is closer to a spreadsheet program in terms of the general look and feel. Information on TKSolver is available from Universal Technical Systems (UTS).

DADiSP

DADiSP is another mathematical package with its own user interface. You can download a 4.0 demo version or download a full Student Edition for MS Windows along with a tutorial (Student's Guide) in Windows MS Word format. At Maryland, you can avoid the heavy internet traffic by downloading from UMCP:

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Computer Methods in Chemical Engineering -- Mathcad
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