|  |
Book PrefaceExcel, developed by the Microsoft Corporation, is the world’s most widely used spreadsheet program. It is frequently used for budgeting, financial planning, and record-keeping activities. However, it also includes special features for solving many of the problems that typically arise in engineering analysis, such as determining the roots of algebraic equations, fitting curves through data sets, analyzing data statistically, carrying out studies in engineering economic analysis, and solving complicated optimization problems. Excel can also be used to solve other types of technical problems, such as the evaluation of integrals and the solution of interpolation problems, even though it lacks special features that automate these tasks. It is especially well suited for displaying data in various graphical formats. Armed with these tools, Excel thus becomes the modern-day equivalent of the engineer’s classical sliderule.
The success of the earlier editions of Spreadsheet Tools has prompted yet another revision of this popular book. This most recent edition has been revised in many ways, in response to the suggestions of several reviewers. In particular:
- The sequence of chapters has been changed so that the chapters are grouped more logically and are introduced in (approximately) the order of increasing complexity.
- New problems and examples have been added in several chapters.
- The material on macros has been expanded into a full chapter.
- Many passages have been rewritten to expand the material and to enhance clarity. The underlying basic ideas always precede the Excel implementation.
- The material on linear interpolation has been combined with the chapter on curve fitting, and the material on polynomial interpolation has been removed.
- Greater emphasis is now placed on the use of trendlines to carry out interpolation.
- A brief appendix has been added, summarizing the Excel functions that are commonly used in engineering applications.
- Descriptive captions now accompany all figures and tables.
- The book is compatible with Excel 2003 (also called Excel 11) and all earlier versions of Excel.
The book is intended primarily as a supplementary textbook for use in introductory engineering courses, although it may also be of interest to more advanced students and many practicing engineers. Chapter 1 sets the tone for engineering analysis in general by presenting a brief approach to problem solving and introducing the role of spreadsheets. Chapters 2 and 3 describe the rudiments of Excel. Although these chapters are by no means exhaustive, they contain enough background material so that the reader can understand and solve the problems in any of the subsequent chapters. Experienced Excel users may choose to review these chapters lightly.
Chapter 4 discusses several different types of graphs that are commonly used in engineering. The material in this chapter provides the graphical background required for some of the later chapters, particularly Chapters 8 and 9. The chapter is primarily concerned with x-y graphs (called XY Charts or Scatter Charts in Excel), including semi-log and log-log graphs. However, line graphs (called Line Charts in Excel), bar graphs (called Column Charts in Excel), and pie charts are also discussed.
Chapters 5 and 6 are concerned with the transfer of data into and out of Excel, and the organization of data within an Excel worksheet. Chapter 7 discusses unit conversions within Excel, and Chapters 8 through 16 address various analytical techniques that are commonly used by engineers.
The last 12 chapters are essentially independent of one another and can be read in any order. Instructors using this book for a course can pick and choose among these chapters freely, in accordance with their own preferences. Each chapter includes several examples and lots of problems. Instructors can easily supplement these problems with other problem sets, reflecting their own disciplinary interests.
Answers to many of the problems can be downloaded from McGraw-Hill’s dedicated website at www.mhhe.com/gottfried3e. Some lengthy data sets are also available for download, allowing you to avoid a great deal of tedious typing.
Corrections and suggestions for the next edition are always welcome. Please send e-mail to bsg@engr.pitt.edu.
In closing, I wish to thank the many readers of the earlier editions for their many helpful comments and suggestions, and I wish to express my gratitude to the editorial staff at McGraw-Hill for their close support and cooperation.
The author would like to acknowledge with appreciation the numerous and valuable comments, suggestions, constructive criticisms, and praise from the following reviewers:
Edward R. Evans, Jr., Penn State, Erie; Hector Gutierrez, Florida Institute of Technology; Chad T. Jafvert, Purdue University; James N. Jensen, University at Buffalo; Christi Patton Luks, University of Tulsa; Ramzi J. Mahmood, California State University, Sacramento; Larry Simonson, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology; J. Steven Swinnea, University of Texas at Austin
Byron S. Gottfried
|
|
|
2007 McGraw-Hill Higher Education