Lect. 2-1numerical Solution of Nonlinear Equations Part1
Lect. 2-1numerical Solution of Nonlinear Equations Part1
INSTRUCTOR
Lect. Yousra Abd Mohammed
1- BISECTION METHOD
The bisection method is a bracketing method for finding a numerical solution of an
equation of the form f(x) = 0 when it is known that within a given interval [a, b], f(x) is
continuous and the equation has a solution. f(x) will have opposite signs at the endpoints of
the interval. As shown in Fig. 1, if f(x) is continuous and has a solution between the points x
= a and x = b , then either f(a) > 0 and f(b) < 0 or f(a) < 0 and f(b) > 0. In other words, if
there is a solution between x=a and x = b, then f(a)f(b)< 0.
Solution: With a graph, it is easy to check that 1 < α < 2. We choose a = 1, b =2; then f(a) =
−1, f (b) = 61, and the requirement f (a) f (b) < 0 is satisfied. The results from Bisection are
shown in the table. The entry n indicates the iteration number n.
2- METHOD OF FALSE POSITION
The method of False Position (also called the Regular False method, and the
linear interpolation method) is another well-known bracketing method. It is very
similar to Bisection method with the exception that it uses a different strategy to end
up with its new root estimate. Rather than bisecting the interval (a, b), it locates the
root by joining f (a1) and f (b1) with a straight line. The intersection of this line with
the x-axis represents an improved estimate of the root.
Here again, we assume that within a given interval (a, b), f (x)
is continuous and the equation has a solution. As shown in the
Figure(2), the method starts by finding an initial interval (a1,
b1) that brackets the solution. f (a1) and f (b1) are the values of
the function at the end points a1 and b1. These end points are
connected by a straight line, and the first estimate of the
numerical solution, 𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠1 , is the point where the straight line
crosses the axis. For the second iteration, a new interval (a2,
b2) is defined. The new interval is either (a1,𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠1 ) where a1 is
assigned to a2 and 𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠1 to b2 or (𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠1 , b1) where 𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠1 is assigned to
a2 and b1 to b2. The end points of the second interval are
connected with a straight line, and the point where this new
line crosses the x-axis is the second estimate of the solution,
𝑥𝑥𝑠𝑠1 . A new subinterval (a3, b3) is selected for the third iteration
and the iterations will be continued until the numerical solution
is accurate enough.
The equation of a straight line that connects points (b, f (b)) to
point (a, f (a)) is given by:
(1)
Figure 2: False position method
The points xs where the line intersects the x-axis is determined by substituting y = 0 in Eq.( 1) and solving the
equation for x. Hence:
(2)
Example 3
Using the False Position method, find a root of the function f (x) = ex – 3x2 to an accuracy of 5 digits. The root is
known to lie between 0.5 and 1.0.
Solution
We apply the method of False Position with a = 0.5 and b = 1.0. Equation (2) is
The calculations based on the method of False Position are shown in the Table:
Q2) Use the Bisection method to find a root of the equation x3 – 4x – 8.95 = 0 accurate to three
decimal places using the Bisection Method. Note: a = 2 and b = 3