This compact introduction to Mathematicaaccessible to beginners at all levelspresents the basic elements of the latest version 3 (front End. txt. Int.:, kernel, standard packages). Using examples and exercises not specific to a scientific area, it teaches readers how to effectively solve problems in their own field. The cross-platform CD-ROM contains the entire book in the form of Mathematica notebooks, including color graphics, animations, and hyperlinks, plus the program MathReader.