Drawing Math graphs

[Cuckoo]

Hi All,

For this semester I have to turn in a Math paper. With some equations and some other graphs.

Can anybody hint what app would be best suited for such a paper.

I know MS word has a nice, but not very efficient equation editor. But i need to draw some real graphs, like Gauss-curvs and stuff.

What program would be suited to preferbly write the whole thing? And if not, I'll write it in Word, but what do I use to draw these graphs in?

Any Advice is appriciated
and
Thanks in Advance

Cuckoo

EDIT: Some weird typo

 

[Rend It]

Mathematics graphing and equations

As far as graphing, you can try downloading or purchasing CPlot (3-D), or Curvus Pro X (2-D/3-D). These are minimal graphing tools (just type equation and get graph, with some adjusting of how it looks). Now, for serious Math and some extra money, you can always get MATLAB, Mathematica, or Maple. Maple is probably the easiest to start using.

For writing beautiful Mathematical expressions, there's only one way: learn LaTeX ("Lay-teck"). LaTeX is a typesetting tool designed for writing math expressions the way they should be. You can get a complete LaTeX distribution and a nice editor on a Mac for free (for OSX). I use TeXShop (editor) and TeXLive-teTeX (distribution). Both can be downloaded from:

http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~koch/texshop/texshop.html

For an introduction to LaTeX start here:

http://www.esm.psu.edu/mac-tex/

Otherwise, try the book Learning LaTeX by Griffiths for a very good, very short introduction (~70 pages). You can also get a free program called LaTeX Equation Editor, where you can type the code and it gives you the equation in a small .pdf file, which can be dragged into Word, Keynote, etc. as a picture. You'll still need the TeXLive distribution.

I attached a .pdf file of a paper I wrote last semester so you can see an example of what I'm talking about. If you purchase one of the three big math packages mentioned above, they usually have a feature for exporting your work to LaTeX code (I know for sure MATLAB and Maple do). This way, you can get the graphs and the beautiful equations from the same application.

Good Luck!

 

[Cuckoo]

Wow,

Thanks for the bundle of information. This should get me right on track...

Thanks

Cuckoo

 

[MisterMe]

Re: Drawing Math graphs

Originally posted by Cuckoo
Hi All,

For this semester I have to turn in a Math paper. With some equations and some other graphs.

Can anybody hint what app would be best suited for such a paper.

I know MS word has a nice, but not very efficient equation editor. But i need to draw some real graphs, like Gauss-curvs and stuff.

What program would be suited to preferbly write the whole thing? And if not, I'll write it in Word, but what do I use to draw these graphs in?

Any Advice is appriciated
and
Thanks in Advance

Cuckoo

EDIT: Some weird typo

You did not state the kind of graphs that you want to include in your paper. There are several 2-D and 3-D graphing applications. If you need one now, then you can't do better than ProFit. It is incredibly powerful. Its $99 US price makes it a steal. The thing that I have always appreciated about QuantumSoft is that the company keeps its products synchronized with current Mac technologies better than just about anybody outside Apple itself.

As for your document editor, bear this in mind: If your professor did not assign a particular suite of applications that you are supposed to use, then your mark on your paper will not be based on the software you use to compose it. It will be based on the quality of the content. If you have the time to learn TeX, then your professor may really appreciate your taking the time to do so. As a free download, you certainly can't beat TeX's price.

If you are secure in your manhood and have limited funds, then you may look at AppleWorks. With it, you can edit text. You can generate graphs with the spreadsheet component. You can edit equations with the bundled MathType Equation Editor. If you have MS Office v.X, you may also use that.

 

[Cuckoo]

Thanks for the reply, well, nothing fancy, 3d stuff, unfortunately, it's more of a normal distribution i need to draw, in various sorts, and let two distributions overlap... and stuff like that... not my personal favorite, but what the heck

Thanks for the pointer.

Cuckoo

 

[kenkooler]

Check out Graph-O-Matic
http://www.spiderland.org/graph/

 

[MisterMe]

Originally posted by Cuckoo
Thanks for the reply, well, nothing fancy, 3d stuff, unfortunately, it's more of a normal distribution i need to draw, in various sorts, and let two distributions overlap... and stuff like that... not my personal favorite, but what the heck

Thanks for the pointer.

Cuckoo

As I said, ProFit is the application for you.

 

[Rend It]

Just an additional word on TeX...Using the TeX book by Goosens et al, I learned TeX the week prior to writing that paper I attached. So, as far as time involved, it's very minimal. Also, If you already have data and are looking to display or fit it to known distribution functions, then ProFit would be a good idea. I use it because Origin is not available for the Mac.

But, the registered version costs $95.00, and for $15.00 to $20.00 more you can get one of the full featured programs (e.g., MATLAB). Of course, I'm assuming you can get the educational versions, since you're a student (full-featured, just cheaper). These have data display capabilities and fitting, but they also offer symbolic manipulation and a number of other features. All the current versions also have 3-D OpenGL capabilities.

So, if you are plotting equations, and money is an issue, try Graph-O-Matic (pointed out by someone else) or the two I mentioned. If it's data you're plotting, then ProFit is worlds better than MS Excel. And if money isn't that tight, and you're in a science or engineering degree program, then Maple or MATLAB will prove very useful throughout your academic career.