Instructions for Use

The whole introduction provided here consists of about 240 pages (232 HTML files and about 450 files containing graphs and diagrams).

Depending on your existing knowledge, we think that you will have to invest between 35 to 60 hours; 10 to 15 % of those hours you will work with your PC, 85 to 90 % you will work on the material and checks on your own.

Please select one complete section for each individual session. You may either follow the sequence of the table of contents or your interests and needs. You may also simply test your knowledge using the checks and then decide which sections you want to print and study in depth.

Do not proceed too hastily and work meticulously. Print the pages as you need them (this will save on-line costs); if necessary, use textbooks dealing with the field you are studying.

Do not be discouraged by the "compressed" form! If you concentrate on the allocated examples and diagrams, you will progress neatly enough after a period of getting used to the process. This is exactly what our experience with hundreds of beginners has shown - and these beginners had a quite uneven previous range of mathematical knowledge: some had more than others, but all graduated successfully.

There are no additional on-line explanations for the individual studying units; neither is there additional on-line support. It is of utmost importance to you, therefore, to find helpers, e.g. graduated engineers, friends who also want to be students, maybe even your old math teachers and others. Team spirit and team work are absolutely essential - why not start right away?

The exercises are the main focus of this course. Please work on them with pen and paper only without checking the solutions provided first. This is the only way of learning and studying successfully. And you want to gain more knowledge, donīt you?

And now, ENJOY!