Practical 7: Symbolic Toolbox: Toolbox Functions

sym(‘x’) or syms x	Creates a symbolic variable $x$
sym(1/4)	Creates symbolic number 1/4
double(1/4)	Converts symbolic number 1/4 to standard 0.25
subs(f,x,a)	Substitutes a variable x in $f(x)$ with value $a$ and finds $f(x)$
x=a eval(f)	Finds value of $f(x)$ at $a$ by assigning $a$ to $x$ first.
ezplot(f,a,b)	Plots the symbolic function $f(x)$ over the interval $[a,b]$
pretty	Formats output to look like type-set mathematics
simplify	Performs algebraic and other function simplifications
simple	Tries a number of simplification techniques including trigonometric identities. Running this command twice can further simplify complex expression.
collect	Collects like terms
factor	Attempts to factor the expression
expand	Expands all terms
poly2sym	Converts an array of polynomial coefficients into a symbolic expression with $x$ as the variable
sym2poly	Converts symbolic polynomial into its coefficient array
diff(f,x)	Finds 1^st derivative of $f(x)$ with respect to $x$
diff(f,x,n)	Finds n^th derivative of $f(x)$ with respect to $x$
int(f,x)	Indefinite integral of $f(x)$
int(f,x,a,b)	Definite integral of $f(x)$ with endpoints $a$ , $b$