Practical, readable volume offers advanced undergraduates and beginning graduate students the essential mathematical tools required for thorough comprehension of their disciplines. Topics cover elementary vector calculus, special functions of mathematical physics, calculus of variations, curve fitting and numerical approximation methods, and much more. Rather than aiming at complete mastery of these complicated subjects, the text focuses on the fundamental applied mathematics needed by students to deal with physics and engineering problems. An excellent self-contained study resource. 1968 ed.