Math 242: Lab 1 August 2009 Name:

1 Introduction
T.A.: William DeMeo
Office: Keller 403F
Email: williamdemeo@gmail.com
Homepage: http://www.math.hawaii.edu/williamdemeo
Office Hours: PSB 208 Lab: Tue & Thu 88:30
Keller 403F: Wed 13:0014:00, Thu 13:3014:30

2 wxMaxima
In this course, among other things, you will learn how to use a computer program for doing calculus.
The program, called wxMaxima, is a powerful tool for performing many of the operations tradi-
tionally found in a modern calculus course. For example, wxMaxima can simplify mathematical
expressions, solve equations, graph functions, and compute limits, derivatives, and integrals.

To complete todays lab assignment, follow the steps below.

1. Login. Log in to your computer lab account, launch Firefox (or the other browser), and
point to the following page:
http://www.math.hawaii.edu/home/wxmaxima.html
The lower half of this page presents a list of wxMaxima demonstration sessions, from Basic
calculations and algebra to Surface plotting and contour animation. Today we will exper-
iment with the demo Basic calculations. We may work through some of the others as the
semester progresses, but you are encouraged experiment with them on your own time, either
by downloading wxMaxima on your own computer1 or by coming to the computer lab during
the open hours listed in the schedule posted at
http://www.math.hawaii.edu/home/PSB208-schedule.html

2. wxMaxima Basics. Click on the pdf link next to the item Basic calculations and algebra.
This should open a file called first session.pdf, which describes an example wxMaxima
session. Keep this window open on your desktop, go to the windows start menu, and launch
the wxMaxima program.
Work through a couple of the examples in first session.pdf to familiarize yourself with
some of the basics of the wxMaxima program, in particular, how to input expressions. Note
in particular how to enter the Euler constant e in wxMaxima.

1
Note that wxMaxima can be downloaded for free from http://wxmaxima.sourceforge.net/wiki/index.php/Main Page
and installed on your own computer. I highly recommend getting your own copy of wxMaxima, since it can be very
useful when doing homework and studying for exams.

1
3. wxMaxima Help. One reason wxMaxima is so easy to use is because of its excellent
help facilities. Suppose you want to know how wxMaxima represents the natural logarithm
function, ln(x). Click on the Help menu in the wxMaxima window and select Maxima
help (F1). In the left-hand window pane there are three tabs. In the Contents tab should
be listed one entry, Maxima manual. Click on the arrow next to this entry to expand it.
You should see a long list of topics. This is a great resource for learning about what Maxima
can do.
Next, click on the index tab. In the box type log and hit enter. What appears is a list of
commands containing the word log Find the entry log in the list and select it. What
appears in the right-hand pane is a description of the Maxima natural logarithm function.

4. The exponential function. This is the most important function in mathematics.2 It is

defined, for every number x, by the formula

X xn
exp(x) = . (1)
n!
n=0

The series (1) converges absolutely, for every x R, and the following product rule, or law
of exponents holds:
exp(a) exp(b) = exp(a + b) (2)
We define the number e to be exp(1), and usually write exp(x) using the shorter expression
ex . For example, we write the law of exponents as ea eb = ea+b .

a. Using Maximas help facility, determine how Maxima represents the number e and the
function ex . Write these expressions here:

e: ex :

b. Use the Maxima function you found in part a. to verify that e0 = 1.

(Hint: There are a number of ways to do this. One way is to simply input the Maxima
expression for e0 on the command line and check that it evaluates to 1. Another is to use
the Maxima command is, which you can find in the help index.)
c. Use wxMaximas is function to verify the law of exponents (2) by typing the following in
the wxMaxima command window:
is(%e^a * %e^b = %e^(a+b))

Write down the result (Maximas output) here: (one word)

5. Write your name on the front of this sheet and submit it to your TA at the end of lab today.
(Any assignments submitted after the beginning of next weeks lab will receive at most 7
points.)

2
Rudin, Real and Complex Analysis, McGraw-Hill, 1987.