Mathematics for Engineers and Technologists

1

Functions

Summary

Engineers, whether electrical, electronic, mechatronic or mechanical, are concerned with expressing relationships between physical quantities clearly and unambiguously. This might be the relationship between the displacement of an oscillating object and time, or perhaps the amplitude of an a.c. voltage and time. This chapter is about how we can represent such relationships in mathematical terms, taking the opportunity to revise some basic mathematics in the process. This does not mean that it is not important to clearly explain in words what relationships there are between quantities but rather to supplement the written word by using a system that is both clear, unambiguous, and internationally understood, thereby removing ...