CPSC 303: Numerical Approximation and Discretization

Mathematical models are used to describe natural phenomenons. These models typically involve continuous quantities, which cannot be exactly represented on computers. Scientific computing deals with finding approximate solutions to such models via discretizations, which involves discretization errors. This course covers aspects of the construction and analysis of basic approximations. Topics studied include aspects of computer arithmetic, polynomial and spline interpolation, best approximations, Fourier transform, numerical differentiation and integration, and numerical initial value problems for ordinary differential equations.