Differential Equations - Creating Slope Fields - Summary

This procedure may be used to make pictures of slope fields by hand, however, a far less tedious option is to have the computer follow these steps for you.

1. Put the differential equation in the form dy/dx = g(x,y)
2. Decide upon what rectangular region of the plane you want to make the picture
3. Impose a grid on this region
4. Calculate the value of the slope, g(x,y), at each grid point, (x,y)
5. Sketch a picture in which at each grid point there is a short line segment having the corresponding slope

Hopefully those steps make sense... Anyway, let's get back to the main introduction.

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