Lesson 4

Numerical Methods: Root Finding 2

Prepared by Engr. Kenneth Ryan Llorera
 Objectives

Understand the principles and applications of the Secant Method and

Simple Fixed-Point Iteration for finding the roots.
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Learn how to implement these methods for root finding in various

problems.
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 The Secant Function
The word secant is often associated with the unit circle. It is merely
because it belongs to the common trigonometric functions. These functions
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however are mainly revolving with the assumption of a common radius .

A secant to a curve is a straight line that intersects the curve at two or

more distinct points. The concept of a secant is used in calculus and analytic
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geometry to approximate the slope of a curve between two points. As these

points get closer, the secant line approaches the tangent line at a single point.

A tangent line to a curve at a given point is a straight line that touches

the curve at that point without crossing it. This line has the same slope as the
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curve at the point of tangency, meaning it represents the instantaneous rate of

change or the derivative of the curve at that specific point.
 Tangent vs Secant
For this purpose, suppose that we are interested in the tangent line
at a point P on a curve in the xy-plane and that Q is any point that lies on
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the curve and is different from P. The line through P and Q is called a
secant line for the curve at P. Intuition suggests that if we move the point Q
along the curve toward P, then the secant line will rotate toward a limiting
position. The line in this limiting position is what we will consider to be the
tangent line at P.
 The Secant Method
A potential problem in implementing the Newton-Raphson method
is the evaluation of the derivative. Although this is not inconvenient for
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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

This approximation is used as the derivative in Newton-Raphson

Method.
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 Graphical Depiction
Graphical depiction of the secant
method. This technique is similar to
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the Newton-Raphson technique in

the sense that an estimate of the
root is predicted by extrapolating a
tangent of the function to the x-axis.
However, the secant method uses a
difference rather than a derivative
to estimate the slope.
Notice that the approach
requires
two initial estimates of x. However,
because f(x) is not required to
change signs between
the estimates, it is not classified as a
bracketing method.
 Using Secant Method
Use the Secant method to estimate the root of the function . Start with the
estimates and .
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Seeing this familiar problem, we already know that the true value of the
root is
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Here, we no longer need to differentiate any quantity. We just have to face

a drawback which makes a new challenge. Let us see the first iteration;
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 Using Secant Method
Just like the Newton-Raphson Method, the x of the current iteration is the
result of the previous iteration.
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Let us see the second iteration;

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Just remember this for every iteration;
 Using Secant Method
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Let us see the third iteration;

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Just remember this for every iteration;
 Secant Method Table

2
 Simple Fixed Point Iteration
As mentioned above, open methods employ a formula to predict the
root. Such a formula can be developed for simple fixed-point iteration (or,
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as it is also called, one-point iteration or successive substitution) by

rearranging the function f(x)=0 so that x is on the left-hand side of the
equation:

The goal of rewriting a certain function in this form is to express x

as a function of x which is indirectly implied when the equation’s right-hand
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side is zero.
 Simple Fixed Point Iteration
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Transforming more equations to

The isolated x on one side can be used to predict the next value for
a possible iteration. The next value is predicted using an old value of x.
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 Using Fixed Point Iteration
Use the Fixed-Point Iteration to estimate the root of the function . Start
with the estimate .
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Seeing this familiar problem, we already know that the true value of the
root is
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Here, we have to express x as a function of x;
 Using Fixed Point Iteration
Use the Fixed-Point Iteration to estimate the root of the function . Start
with the estimate .
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For the first and succeeding iterations;

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Next

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Followed by
 Using Fixed Point Iteration

−𝑥 0 0
𝑥1 =𝑒 =𝑒 =1
SHORT BREAK
 Group Yourselves
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 Group Yourselves
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 Group Yourselves
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 Groupwork 1
Every student must stick to their respective groups for the entire
duration of the groupwork. A student must work on his/her own paper so
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that the group can later consolidate a final answer in a form of table with
complete solution. No phones are allowed, notes however, can be freely
accessed by the owners. Students are not allowed to talk to a member from
other groups once the groupwork has started. Any form of cheating will
never be tolerated and will cause an entire group to get a score of zero.

When the time is up, groups must submit their work whether it is
finished or not. Only groups with final answers will be asked to present
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their answers. The instructor will ask questions to any random member.
The names of the members who are absent or did not provide any
contribution must not be written on the submitted paper.
 Groupwork 1
Use a numerical method to get the root of the function below. The root is
between 0.1 and 2.1.
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Use the exact values for your tabulated data.
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Erroneous Table or Values = 20 points
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Correct Table & Values = 40 points
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Did not answer correctly to the instructor’s question = 0 points
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Did answer correctly to the instructor’s question = 60 points
 Groupwork 1
Use a numerical method to get the root of the function below. The root is
between -2 and 0.
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Use the exact values for your tabulated data.
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Erroneous Table or Values = 20 points
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Correct Table & Values = 40 points
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Did not answer correctly to the instructor’s question = 0 points
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Did answer correctly to the instructor’s question = 60 points
 Groupwork 1
Use a numerical method to get the root of the function below. The root is
between 4 and 5.
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Use the exact values for your tabulated data.
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Erroneous Table or Values = 20 points
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Correct Table & Values = 40 points
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Did not answer correctly to the instructor’s question = 0 points
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Did answer correctly to the instructor’s question = 60 points