1.1. Introduction

Mathematica is among the most powerful modern computer systems for scientific calculations. Everything that can be calculated manually and/or with a computer from the different mathematical disciplines and applications of mathematics are easily treated by Mathematica. The highly developed symbolic calculation, graphics capabilities and interactive style make the system suitable for development of interactive lessons and educational aids. This is why it is equally useful to teachers, lecturers, informatics, engineers and researchers from a variety of fields. Currently Mathematica is widely covered in the training process of a large number of universities worldwide for studying algebra, calculus, differential equations and other disciplines, and it is also used in schools. The number of users is over two millions. Besides the standard versions of the system there are different packages on the market, aimed at different fields of research, such as applied physics, financial mathematics, applied statistics, biomathematics etc. Mathematica is on of the most developed computer systems for scientific calculation alongside Matlab, Maple, Derive, Reduce etc.

Mathematica is a product of Wolfram Research: www.wolfram.com