**Course Title:** MATLAB Programming: Applications in Engineering, Data Science, and Simulation **Section Title:** Introduction to MATLAB and Environment Setup **Topic:** Set up MATLAB, explore the interface, and write a basic script that performs mathematical calculations.(Lab topic) **Objective:** By the end of this lab topic, you will be able to set up MATLAB on your computer, explore the interface, and write a basic script that performs mathematical calculations. **Step 1: Setting up MATLAB** To start, ensure you have MATLAB installed on your computer. You can download a trial version or purchase a license from MathWorks, the developers of MATLAB (https://www.mathworks.com/downloads/). Follow the installation instructions provided by MathWorks to complete the setup process. **Step 2: Exploring the MATLAB Interface** Once you have MATLAB installed, open the application and take some time to familiarize yourself with the interface. The default layout consists of the following components: 1. **Command Window**: Where you can execute commands and see the output. 2. **Workspace**: A storage area for your data and variables. 3. **Command History**: A record of your previous commands. 4. **Current Folder**: Displays the files and folders in your current working directory. **Step 3: Creating a New Script** To create a new script in MATLAB, follow these steps: 1. Go to **File** > **New Script** or press **Ctrl + N** (Windows) or **Command + N** (Mac) in the Command Window. 2. The MATLAB Editor will open with a blank workspace. You can start writing your script here. **Step 4: Writing a Basic Script** Let's write a simple script that calculates the area of a rectangle: ```matlab % Define the length and width of the rectangle length = 5; width = 3; % Calculate the area of the rectangle area = length * width; % Display the result disp(area); ``` **Explanation:** * The `%` symbol denotes a comment, which is ignored by MATLAB. * We define two variables, `length` and `width`, and assign them values using the assignment operator (`=`). * We calculate the area of the rectangle using the multiplication operator (`*`) and store the result in the `area` variable. * Finally, we use the `disp` function to display the result in the Command Window. **Running the Script** To run the script, follow these steps: 1. Save your script by going to **File** > **Save** or pressing **Ctrl + S** (Windows) or **Command + S** (Mac). 2. In the Command Window, navigate to the directory where your script is saved using the `cd` command. 3. Type the name of your script (without the extension) and press **Enter**. **Practical Takeaway:** You can use MATLAB to perform mathematical calculations and visualize results. In this lab topic, you set up MATLAB, explored the interface, and wrote a basic script that calculates the area of a rectangle. **Exercise:** * Modify the script to calculate the area of a circle given its radius. * Use the `disp` function to display a message with the result. **What's Next?** In the next topic, we will cover 'Introduction to arrays and matrices: Creation, indexing, and manipulation' from the section 'Working with Arrays and Matrices'. This topic will build on your understanding of basic MATLAB syntax and introduce you to working with arrays and matrices. **Comments and Help:** Leave a comment below if you have any questions or need help with this lab topic.