Newton’s Method — Question 9

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Question 9

Approximate a solution to the equation: x3+x−1=0x^3 + x - 1 = 0 using Newton’s Method. Start with x1=0.5x_1 = 0.5, and compute x2x_2, x3x_3, and x4x_4, rounding each to four decimal places.

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Original worksheet page 1: question and worked solution for 4-13-009
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Question 9 - Solution

Newton’s iteration is

xn+1=xn−f(xn)f′(xn),f(x)=x3+x−1,f′(x)=3x2+1.x_{n+1}=x_n-\frac{f(x_n)}{f\prime(x_n)},\qquad f(x)=x^3+x-1,\quad f\prime(x)=3x^2+1.

Keeping full precision internally gives

x2=0.5000000000−−0.37500000001.7500000000≈0.7143x3=0.7142857143−0.07871720122.5306122449≈0.6832x4=0.6831797235−0.00204329382.4002036038≈0.6823\begin{aligned}x_{2}&=0.5000000000-\frac{-0.3750000000}{1.7500000000}\approx\boxed{0.7143}\\[6pt]x_{3}&=0.7142857143-\frac{0.0787172012}{2.5306122449}\approx\boxed{0.6832}\\[6pt]x_{4}&=0.6831797235-\frac{0.0020432938}{2.4002036038}\approx\boxed{0.6823}\end{aligned}

Original worksheet page 2: question and worked solution for 4-13-009

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