Studyworks! Mathematics Deluxe.

MathSoft (101 Main St., Cambridge, MA 02142; 617-444-8000; www.mathsoft.com). c19962002. Windows 98/2000/NT 4.0/Me/XP min. Pentium 133 min., 32MB min. (48MB or higher rec.), 2x CD-ROM drive min., 256-color SVGA min., Windows-compatible sound card & speakers, Internet access req. for Online Homework Help & Internet features, mouse. CD-ROM disk, user's guide. $39.95. JSA 

This CD-ROM features interactive software for learning mathematics. Unlike many other math tutorial packages on the market, StudyWorks is based on math software with numerical and symbolic capabilities, similar to Mathsoft's more powerful Mathcad software. Each StudyWorks document contains text, mathematics, and graphs explaining a topic; some of the mathematical expressions are "live" and editable by the user. A student can experiment with a graph or equations embedded in the document and immediately see the results. The CD covers a broad range of middle- and high-school mathematics topics, including basic math & pre-algebra, algebra I, algebra II, geometry, trigonometry, precalculus, calculus I and II, business math, Write On! Math, and Internet technology. Users can also create their own documents using StudyWorks, enabling teachers to design their own materials from scratch or by cutting and pasting from the documents included on the CD. StudyWorks documents are like blank sheets of paper onto which you can paste text boxes, math boxes, and graphs. The various boxes in a document can interact, such as defining a function in one math box, graphing it in another, and using it in a third; changing the definition of the function in the first box will then update all three. Full CAS (computer algebra system) capabilities are provided, such as factoring, expanding, solving, symbolic derivatives and integrals, etc. The graphing capabilities are fairly full-featured, including support for basic 3-D graphs, but miss features found in some other graphing software packages (e.g., dynamic parameter sliders or graphing of implicit relations).

As with all powerful math software, there is a learning curve involved in getting used to the interface, but I found I ramped up quite quickly, especially when compared to learning the math languages in Maple or Mathematica. However, I found StudyWorks less intuitive to use than TI Interactive!. and found it easier to format graphs the way I wanted them in TI's software than in StudyWorks. The other key usability issue with powerful software is bugs, and I encountered very few issues in using StudyWorks. It even supports embedding StudyWorks objects into Microsoft Word documents, so that double-clicking them in Word activates StudyWorks and lets you edit the objects (a feature which does not work well in TI Interactive!, in my experience).

But the best feature of StudyWorks is the price. For a price comparable to other, simpler tutorial CD-ROM software titles, you also get a powerful mathematics software package with numerical, CAS and graphing capabilities. If you are in the market for either math tutorial software or computer-based CAS software for your middle school or high school, I recommend evaluating StudyWorks. Thomas S. Downey, Teacher, Rivers School, Weston, MA