MATH 130 NUMERICAL SOLUTION TO CE PROBLEMS
PRELIM
LESSON 3: ROOTS OF EQUATION
DESIRED LEARNING OUTCOMES:
1. To understand what roots problems are and where they occur in engineering
2. To understand incremental search method and its shortcomings
3. To know how to solve a roots problem with the bisection method.
I. INTRODUCTION
ROOTS OF EQUATION Define as the value of x that makes f(x) = 0. Roots are sometimes called
the zeros of the equation.
There were equations that could be solved directly, there were many more that could not. For
example, even an apparently simple function such as 𝑓𝑥 = 𝑒 −𝑥 − 𝑥 cannot be solved
analytically. In such instances, the only alternative is an approximate solution technique.
One method to obtain an approximate solution is to plot the function and determine where it
crosses the x axis. This point, which represents the x value for which f ( x ) = 0, is the root
An example is the equation, derived from Newton’s second law for the parachutist velocity:
𝑔𝑚
𝑣= (1 − ⅇ−(𝐶 ⁄𝑚)𝑡 ) Eq.PT2.3
𝐶
where velocity v = the dependent variable, time t = the independent variable, the
gravitational constant g = the forcing function, and the drag coefficient c and mass m =
parameters.
Suppose we had to determine the drag coefficient for a parachutist of a given mass to attain a
prescribed velocity in a set time period. There is no way to rearrange the equation so that c is
isolated on one side of the equal sign. In such cases, c is said to be implicit.
Reexpressing the EQ. PT2.3 is done by subtracting the dependent variable v from both sides of
the equation to give
𝑔𝑚
𝑓(𝑐) = (1 − ⅇ−(𝐶 ⁄𝑚 )𝑡 ) – v
𝑐
The value of c that makes f ( c ) = 0 is, therefore, the root of the equation. This value also
represents the drag coefficient that solves the design problem.
MATHEMATICAL BACKGROUND
By definition, a function given by y = f(x) is algebraic if it can be expressed in the form
𝑓𝑛 𝑦 𝑛 + 𝑓𝑛−1 𝑦 𝑛−1 + ⋯ 𝑓1 𝑦 1 + 𝑓0 = 0
where fi – an ith-order polynomial in x. Polynomials are a simple class of algebraic functions that
are represented generally by
𝑓𝑛 (𝑥 ) = 𝑎0 + 𝑎1 𝑥 + 𝑎2 𝑥 2 + ⋯ + 𝑎𝑛 𝑥 𝑛
where n = the order of the polynomial and the a’s = constants. Some specific examples are
𝑓2 (𝑥 ) = 1 − 2.37𝑥 + 7.5𝑥 2
and
𝑓6 (𝑥 ) = 5𝑥 2 − 𝑥 3 + 7𝑥 6
A transcendental function is one that is non-algebraic. These include trigonometric,
exponential, logarithmic, and other, less familiar, functions. Examples are
𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑙𝑛 𝑥 2 − 1
And
𝑓 (𝑥 ) = 𝑒 −0.2𝑥 sin(3x – 0.5)
Roots of equation may be either real or complex. Although there are cases where complex roots
of non-polynomials are of interest, such situations are less common than for polynomials. As a
consequence, the standard methods for locating roots typically fall into two somewhat related but
primarily distinct problem areas:
1. The determination of the real roots of algebraic and transcendental equations. These
techniques are usually designed to determine the value of a single real root on the basis of
foreknowledge of its approximate location.
2. The determination of all real and complex roots of polynomials. These methods are
specifically designed for polynomials. They systematically determine all the roots of the
polynomial rather than determining a single real root given an approximate location.
II. BRACKETING METHODS
Techniques on roots of equation that exploit the fact that a function typically changes sign in the
vicinity of a root. As the name implies, these
guesses must “bracket,” or be on either side of, the root. The particular methods described herein
employ different strategies to systematically reduce the width of the bracket and, hence, home in
on the correct answer.
1. Graphical Methods
A simple method for obtaining an estimate of the root of the equation f(x) 5 0 is to make a
plot of the function and observe where it crosses the x axis. This point, which represents
the x value for which f(x) 5 0, provides a rough approximation of the root.
Example:
Use the graphical approach to determine the drag coefficient c
needed for a parachutist of mass m 5 68.1 kg to have a velocity of 40 m/s after freefalling for
time t = 10 s. Note: The acceleration due to gravity is 9.81 m/s2
SOLUTION: use the formula:
𝑔𝑚
𝑓(𝑐) = (1 − ⅇ−(𝐶 ⁄𝑚 )𝑡 ) – v
𝑐
9.81∗68.1
𝑓(𝑐) = (1 − ⅇ−(𝐶 ⁄68.1)10 ) - 40
𝑐
These points are plotted in Fig. 5.1. The resulting
curve crosses the c axis between 12 and 16.
Visual inspection of the plot provides a rough
estimate of the root of 14.75. The validity
of the graphical estimate can be checked by
substituting it into Eq. (E5.1.1) to yield
9.81∗68.1
𝑓(14.75) = (1 − ⅇ−(0.14684 ⁄68.1)10 )
𝑐
- 40
= 0.100
Which is close to zero It can also be checked by substituting it into EQ. PT2.3 along with the
parameter values which is very close to the desired fall velocity of 40 m/s
𝑔𝑚
𝑣= (1 − ⅇ−(𝐶 ⁄𝑚)𝑡 )
𝑐
9.81∗68.1
= (1 − ⅇ−(14.75⁄68.1)10 )
14.75
= 40.100
2. Bisection Methods
The bisection method, which is alternatively called binary chopping, interval halving,
or Bolzano’s method, is one type of incremental search method in which the interval is
always divided in half. If a function changes sign over an interval, the function value at
the midpoint is evaluated. The location of the root is then determined as lying at the
midpoint of the subinterval within which the sign change occurs. The process is repeated
to obtain refined estimates.
Figure 5.5 is a simple algorithm for the bisection calculation (below)
EXAMPLE:
Using Bisection Method determine the drag coefficient c needed for a parachutist of mass m =
68.1 kg to have a velocity of 40 m/s after freefalling for time t = 10 s. Note: The acceleration due
to gravity is 9.81 m/s2.
SOLUTION:
Guess two values of the unknown that gives values for f(c)) with different signs.
𝟏𝟐 + 𝟏𝟔
𝒙𝒓 = = 𝟏𝟒
𝟐
Compute the product of the function at the lower bound and at the midpoint
f(12) f(14) = 6.114 (1.611) = 9.850
Which is greater than zero, and hence no sign change occurs between the lower bound and the
midpoint.
Consequently, the root must be located between 14 and 16. Therefore, we create a new interval
by redefining the lower bound as 14 and determining a revised root estimate as
𝟏𝟒 + 𝟏𝟔
𝒙𝒓 = = 𝟏𝟓
𝟐
Compute the product of the function at the lower bound and at the midpoint
f(14) f(15) = (1.611)(-0.384) = -0.619
Therefore, the root is between 14 and 15. The upper bound is redefi ned as 15, and the root
estimate for the third iteration is calculated as
𝟏𝟒 + 𝟏𝟓
𝒙𝒓 = = 𝟏𝟒. 𝟓
𝟐
which represents a percent relative error of 2%.
BISECTION ALGORITHM: The algorithm employs user-defined functions to make root
location and function evaluation more efficient. In addition, an upper limit is placed on the
number of iterations. Finally, an error check is included to avoid division by zero during the error
evaluation.
III. NEWTON-RAPHSON METHOD
Most widely used of all root-locating formulas (see figure 6.5)
The first derivative at x is equivalent to the slope:
Eq. 6.5
Which can be rearranged to yield
Eq. 6.6
Use the Newton-Raphson method to estimate the root of f(x) = e-x – x, employing an initial
guess of x0 = 0.
The first derivative at x is equivalent to the slope:
f(x) = - e-x – 1
Which can be substituted along with the original function Eq. 6.6
IV. THE SECANT METHOD
A potential problem in implementing the Newton-Raphson method is the evaluation of the
derivative. Although this is not inconvenient for polynomials and many other functions, there are
certain functions whose derivatives may be extremely difficult or inconvenient to evaluate. For
these cases, the derivative can be approximated by a backward finite divided difference, as in
(Fig. 6.7)
This approximation can be substituted into Eq.6.6 to yield the ff iterative equation
Eq. 6.7
EXAMPLE:
Use the secant method to estimate the root of f(x) = e-x – x. Start with initial estimates of x-1 = 0
and x0 = 1.0
V. ASSIGNMENT N0. 4
INSTRUCTION: Write your solution in 1 whole coupon bond (any size). Write your name,
course and section at the upper left; date at upper right and title (Assignment No. 4) at center top.
All solution must be hand written and submit it through LMS Moodle / Canvas Platform.
(Deadline will be 1st week after posting of this lesson)
1. Determine the real root of f (x) = 5x3 - 5x2 + 6x - 2:
(a) Graphically.
(b) Using bisection to locate the root. Employ initial guesses of xl = 0 and xu = 1 and iterate until
the estimated error εa falls below a level of εa = 10%.
Congratulations you completed the Lesson, you can now proceed to
next Lesson.
