Start Maple from Start Menu/Program Files/ or using the icon
in f:\"math 1204". Note that the orange icon (classic worksheet)
is faster and has all of the features we need for this class.

Every Maple command must end with a semi-colon ";" for instance
>   2+1;
Every time I give you a command to use I will give the > symbol.
You are free to copy the command from this file and paste into maple,
this will ensure you don't make a mistake when typing it in.

Multiplication of numbers uses *, division uses / and powers are ^.
Pick two integers and combine them using these two symbols.
Don't forget the semi colon! Notice that Maple does not use 
decimals by default, and neither will I, in class.

We can use ":=" to assign a value to a name, usually a letter
>   a := 7;
This is case sensitive, so we can set 
>   A := 4;

For an unknown variable, Maple will just report that name:
> a+b;

Now set b to be some randomly chosen value and use Maple to 
determine the values of these expressions.
 3*a-b 
 3*A-b
 3*(a-A)
 3*a - A
 3*A/13
 (b-a)^2

Notice that it does not change the a+b line unless you
ask maple again to evaluate a+b. Maple just answers questions sequentially,
and so I encourage you to work down the worksheet without editing earlier
lines so that the confusion is lessened. 

You can go back up the worksheet 
and insert new lines if necessary using control-j or control-k.
You can reset a variable's value to unknown using 
> a:='a';

Do this and verify that a+b is now what you would expect it to be.

 In the other labs I will use capital letters for matrices, sometimes 
with a number after them, and lower case letters for numbers, but 
it isn't mandatory.


When I introduce a function it is a good idea to read the help page
for that function. You can do that for the function sqrt by 
visiting 
  http://www.maplesoft.com/support/help/Maple/view.aspx?path=sqrt
and can search for any other function in that webpage too.

You can also do it by using the Maple "Help" menu or by typing
> ?sqrt
However, ? can be slow to work, and might crash your computer.
To recover, press the octagonal red button marked "stop".

To exit from the help page, close the subwindow, use alt-tab or the 
Window menu to move between them.

Use sqrt to determine the square roots of A and 10.
Notice that, similarly to fractions, square roots are left as is too, 
unless the number is a perfect square.

We can use the command evalf to find the decimal digits of a number, 
if we work carefully, noticing that it rounds the last digit.

Use evalf to find the 121st decimal place in the square root 
of 3 and the 13th digit of Pi/4 (note that you must use Pi for the
mathematical constant, not PI or pi, both of which are greek letters). 

Set lambda (a lower case greek letter) equal to Pi+Pi/2 and find 
sin(lambda) and the square root of the sine of lambda too.
I is a reserved letter in Maple, and so is D and some other letters too.

Maple can also deal with polynomials:
>  p:=(2-x)*(x+5);

Use the commands 
> expand(p);
> factor(p); 
> solve(p=0); 
> diff(p,x);
to see the results are as you expected.

It is sometimes useful to be able to substitute a value into a polynomial.
Use the help menu to find out how to use the function "subs" to find out
what value p has when x=-1 and when x=3.

It is possible to graph any function too, using the function "plot".
Get Maple to plot p for x between -6 and +4.

Repeat the above steps with q when it is defined to be x^2-10, and note 
that it shouldn't factor out since 10 is not a perfect square.

Use Maple to solve for which values of x it is true that p and q are equal
and use subs to verify this.

Find how to draw both p and q on the same axes using help or guesswork
and check that the points where they meet match the values you found.

When you have completed all these tasks, let me know and I'll OK you 
to leave if you have finished...