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'This book is meant to be suitable for typical science and engineering students in their first year of college. That is, we do not expect preparation beyond what is typically required for other entry-level science and mathematics courses. Mathematical maturity is important. While we do not dwell on mathematical material, we do refer to the mathematics curriculum that students have taken in high school, including algebra, geometry, and trigonometry. Most students in our target audience (those intending to major in the sciences and engineering) automatically meet these requirements. Indeed, we take advantage of their familiarity with the basic curriculum to introduce basic programming concepts. Scientific curiosity is also an essential ingredient. Science and engineering students bring with them a sense of fascination in the ability of scientific inquiry to help explain what goes on in nature. We leverage this predilection with examples of simple programs that speak volumes about the natural world. We do not assume any specific knowledge beyond that provided by typical high school courses in mathematics, physics, biology, or chemistry. Programming experience is not necessary, but also is not harmful. Teaching programming is our primary goal, so we assume no prior programming experience. But writing a program to solve a new problem is a challenging intellectual task, so students who have written numerous programs in high school can benefit from taking an introductory programming course based on this book (just as students who have written numerous essays in high school can benefit from an introductory writing course in college). The book can support teaching students with varying backgrounds because the applications appeal to both novices and experts alike. Experience using a computer is also not necessary, but also is not at all a problem. College students use computers regularly, to communicate with friends and relatives, listen to music, process photos, and many other activities. The realization that they can harness the power of their own computer in interesting and important ways is an exciting and lasting lesson. In summary, virtually all students in science and engineering are prepared to take a course based on this book as a part of their first-semester curriculum.'

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