The Numerical Methods Guy

The blog here at autarkaw.org is now at https://blog.autarkaw.com. All the old posts are available too. Author: Autar Kaw Autar Kaw (http://autarkaw.com) is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of South Florida. He has been at USF since 1987, the same year in which he received his Ph. D. in Engineering Mechanics from Clemson University. He is a recipient of the 2012 U.S. Profes…

As I am writing backend JavaScript for simulations in teaching Numerical Methods, I have also started developing some functions for some numerical techniques. Here is a function for Romberg integration. function auto_integrator_trap_romb_hnm(func,a,b,nmax,tol_ae,tol_rae) // INPUTS // func=integrand // a= lower limit of integration // b= upper limit of integration // nmax = number of partitions, n…

So you want to write a book from many RMD files using bookdown. Here is an R script that strips the YAML lines of an Rmd file because bookdown does not accept files with its own YAML. A new file is created that has no YAML. The program is written just for one Rmd file, and I will be writing an extension of it to do this for a whole directory including subdirectories. I will soon write a script th…

An R Markdown newbie walks on eggshells so as to not look naïve. But the community is so nice to them, and since the help is all in the open, it reaches many more. So here are a few items I learned beyond the usual R Markdown and the ubiquitous example about plotting something about cars. Not Autonumbering Don’t want to autonumber. If you write (1) First, it will automatically start numbering it.…

Many of have been using MS Word as a word processor for decades now. What is then an R Markdown document? An R Markdown document is written in markdown (fancy way of saying that it is all in plain text) and embedded in it can be chunks of R code. Once written, you can render the file into many formats including HTML, MS Word and PDF. So, why would someone like me choose to convert a MS Word file …

Before the pandemic, university students would go to a student-accessibility-services office to take their scheduled examinations and get their needs accommodated. These accommodations include additional time, a separate room to read aloud, and quiet environments. During the pandemic, accommodations for online examinations are generally monitored by the instructor, provided they only involve givi…

Here is a prompt for students to write a short discussion post on what they found difficult in a particular chapter. In 50-100 words or more, describe in complete sentences the most difficult concept or exercise for Chapters 01.XX for you or for a classmate. Include categorically why one would struggle with it. This assignment is extra credit for 5 points on the “Online Assignments”. Grading Crit…

- How do I display the data of an array in MATLAB? - How do I publish in MATLAB? - How do I differentiate in MATLAB? - How do I integrate a continuous function in MATLAB? - How do I integrate a discrete function in MATLAB? - How do I solve a nonlinear equation in MATLAB? - How do I solve a nonlinear equation that needs to be set up in MATLAB? - How do I solve simultaneous linear equations in matr…

This file consists of Gauss quadrature points and weights from n=1 to n=30. The blank spaces separate out the value of n, quadrature points, and weights. The points and weights are for the integration limits of [-1,1]. To convert to any finite integration limits [a,b], multiply the weights by (b-a)/2 and use (b-a)/2*QuadPoint+(b+a)/2 for the quadrature points. The data is also given in a scrapeab…

How many instructors revise their multiple-choice tests based on their students’ responses? If one wishes to make a better multiple-choice test, a statistical analysis of these responses could be helpful. We have developed a freely available web-based program to analyze a multiple-choice test, and it requires no programming experience – just your student response data and the answer key in two ex…

An Example of Doing Learner Introductions in an Online Class Getting coherent, complete, and thoughtful learner introductions in an online class requires intentional prompting and guidance. By Joanna Bartell and Autar Kaw September 2, 2020 Whether we are teaching online, face-to-face, or somewhere in between, having students introduce themselves is essential to the community building … Continue r…

Many students ask me how do I do this or that in MATLAB.  So I thought why not have a small series of my next few blogs do that.  In this blog, I show you how to solve an initial value ordinary differential equation. The MATLAB program link is here. The HTML version of the … Continue reading "How do I solve an initial value ODE problem in MATLAB? Updated for MATLAB 2020a"

While the pandemic has shifted our face-to-face classes to remote learning, finding new tools that are simple to use for the student as well as the instructor is quite a task. The above video shows you how you can use Microsoft forms as a personal response system (clickers). We take you through four steps – … Continue reading "Using Microsoft Forms as a Personal Response System"

HOW DO I DO THAT IN MATLAB SERIES? How do I display the data of an array in MATLAB? How do I publish in MATLAB? How do I differentiate in MATLAB? How do I integrate a continuous function in MATLAB? How do I integrate a discrete function in MATLAB? How do I solve a nonlinear … Continue reading "How do I do that in MATLAB"

These are MATLAB course videos from a professor at Vanderbilt University.  I have made a playlist here for the pre-requisite information you need for EML3041 Computational Methods course!          

Here is a short sample of the submission expectations for a programming project in numerical methods.  I show you this through an example. Here is a sample project assignment [PDF]. Corresponding to the project, the corresponding mfile [m] is developed.   Go through the mfile and note the following: proper comments, writing in sections with the … Continue reading "A short sample programming proje…

March 28, 2020 I am not an epidemiologist but do regression modeling for a living. I have done regression modeling to predict student grades just after the first test, and now we will be using adaptive learning metrics to improve our identification schemes even earlier in the semester. It is not to spell boom or … Continue reading "COVID19 Regression Model and Other Thoughts"

Before COVID19 hit our lives, it was so easy for the student to submit a hard copy.  Now with soft copies being asked for, they and the instructors have to learn a bit. So, I had this programming assignment before COVID19 closed our face-to-face classes. It involved handwritten pages, a published file, and writing out … Continue reading "How to Make a PDF file"

This is how you can get your mfile published. Click anywhere in the mfile (if your cursor is not in the mfile, you may not get the proper menu open) -> Go to PUBLISH -> Click on Down Black Arrow under Publish -> Choose Edit Publishing Option -> click on Output file format and the right … Continue reading "How to PUBLISH in MATLAB"

Problem: A student sent me an email – ” I can’t figure out how to continue my text on another line in the editor while using the fprintf command in MATLAB.  It seems like this should be something simple, but I can’t figure it out.  The closest thing I have tried is: fprintf(‘filler filler filler’, … Continue reading "Ability to break long fprintf statements"