Tip 75. Compromise of form and
content of Mathcad-document
Fig. 75. Nautilus
II
This tip is formed in development of the theme that has been begun in
the previous tip, where we have solved the problem about the size of the
submarine “Nautilus” of captain Nemo. Another two obtained solutions of this
problem is shown in the fig. 75. At that the
equations are simplified in the first solution but in the second
solution on the contrary they are à complicated. These operations do not
have an influence[1] on the
results of solution. However they can have an influence on understanding the
main sense of the problem by user. “Some simplicity (simplification) is worse
than stealing!” – this way we could call this tip as since the main point of it
concludes in the following. It is not worth to simplify the formulas in Mathcad-document
in the hope of “help” a computer to solve a problem. On the contrary it is
worth to complicate the formulas for help a man to understand the main
point of the problem and features of its solution. To simplify a formula (see
the area with the name “Simplification of formula” in the fig. 75) it is possible with help of the command
Simplify from menu Symbolic with following handmade revision. To complicate the
problem (see the area “Complication of formula” at fig. 75)
it is possible by three methods:
§
formulas are “hanged round” with commentaries: textual embedding (the
equation for the area of the submarine) or textual constants (the equation for
volume of the submarine);
§
the sum in the equation for the area of the submarine is written not as
a line but as a column (for it we use the chord Ctrl+Enter, which inserts break
of a page in “clear field but in formula this chord is the operator of addition
in column);
Under the word Given there are two equations that
explain a main point of the problem (geometry of the rostrum and stern of the
submarine), that are turned off from the calculations[2]
(see the square in the right upper corner of the formulas) and that have become
the commentaries. Turning off the operator from the calculation is good
commentary (it is impossible to input mathematical operators in a text).