Newton–Raphson Method
Solution of Systems of Nonlinear Equations
JKK Asamoah, PhD
Department of Mathematics
March 9, 2026
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Introduction
Given a nonlinear system
f (x, y ) = 0
(1)
g (x, y ) = 0
Let (x0 , y0 ) be an initial approximation to the root of Eq (1). If (x0 + h, y0 + k) is the root of
the system, then we must have
f (x0 + h, y0 + k) = 0, g (x0 + h, y0 + k) = 0. (2)
Assuming that f and g are sufficiently differentiable, we expand both the functions in Eq (2)
by Taylor’s series to obtain
∂f ∂f ∂g ∂g
f0 + h +k + · · · = 0, g0 + h +k + · · · = 0, (3)
∂x0 ∂y0 ∂x0 ∂y0
where
∂f ∂f
= , f0 = f (x0 , y0 ), etc.
∂x0 ∂x x=x0
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System of Linear Equations
Neglecting the second and higher-order derivative terms, we obtain the following system of
linear equations:
∂f ∂f
h +k = −f0
∂x0 ∂y0
(4)
∂g ∂g
h +k = −g0
∂x0 ∂y0
Equation (4) possesses a unique solution if
∂f ∂f
∂x0 ∂y0
D= ̸= 0. (5)
∂g ∂g
∂x0 ∂y0
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Cramer’s Rule & Update Formula
By Cramer’s rule, the solution of Eq (4) is given by
∂f ∂f
−f0 −f0
1 ∂y0 1 ∂x0
h= and k = . (6)
D ∂g D ∂g
−g0 −g0
∂y0 ∂x0
The new approximations are, therefore,
x1 = x0 + h and y1 = y0 + k. (7)
The process is to be repeated till we obtain the roots to the desired accuracy. As in the case
of a single equation, the convergence is of second order.
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Example 1
Solve the system
f (x) = 3yx 2 − 10x + 7 = 0, g (x) = y 2 − 5y + 4 = 0.
using the Newton–Raphson method to the second iteration.
Solution:
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Example 1
Solve the system
f (x) = 3yx 2 − 10x + 7 = 0, g (x) = y 2 − 5y + 4 = 0.
using the Newton–Raphson method to the second iteration.
Solution:
We have
f (x) = 3yx 2 − 10x + 7 = 0, g (x) = y 2 − 5y + 4 = 0.
Then,
∂f ∂f ∂g ∂g
= 6yx − 10, = 3x 2 , = 0, = 2y − 5.
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y
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Example 1 - First Iteration
Taking x0 = y0 = 0.5, we obtain
∂f ∂f ∂g ∂g
= −8.5, = 0.75, f0 = 2.375, = 0, = −4, g0 = 1.75.
∂x0 ∂y0 ∂x0 ∂y0
Hence,
−8.5 0.75
D= = 34.
0 −4
Therefore,
1 −2.375 0.75 1 −8.5 −2.375
h= = 0.3180, k= = 0.4375.
34 −1.75 −4 34 0 −1.75
It follows that
x1 = 0.5 + 0.3180 = 0.8180 and y1 = 0.5 + 0.4375 = 0.9375.
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Example 1 - Second Iteration
For the second approximation, we have
∂f ∂f ∂g ∂g
f1 = 0.7019, g1 = 0.1914, = −5.3988, = 2.0074, = 0, = −3.125.
∂x1 ∂y1 ∂x1 ∂y1
Therefore,
−5.3988 2.0074
D= = 16.8712.
0 −3.125
Hence,
1 −0.7019 2.0074 1 −5.3988 −0.7019
h= = 0.1528, k= = 0.0612.
16.8712 −0.1914 −3.125 16.8712 0 −0.1914
It follows that
x2 = 0.8180 + 0.1528 = 0.9708 and y2 = 0.9375 + 0.0612 = 0.9987.
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Example 2
Solve the system
x2 + y2 = 1
y = x2
by Newton–Raphson method.
Solution:
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Example 2
Solve the system
x2 + y2 = 1
y = x2
by Newton–Raphson method.
Solution:
Let
f = x2 + y2 − 1 and g = y − x 2.
∂f ∂f ∂g ∂g
= 2x, = 2y , = −2x, = 1.
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y
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Example 2 - First Iteration
We start with x0 = y0 = 0.7071 obtained from the approximation y = x. Then we compute
∂f ∂f ∂g ∂g
= 1.4142, = 1.4142, = −1.4142, = 1.
∂x0 ∂y0 ∂x0 ∂y0
Therefore,
1.4142 1.4142
D= = 3.4142; f0 = 0, g0 = −0.2071.
−1.4142 1
Hence,
1 0 1.4142 1 1.4142 0
h= = 0.0858, k= = −0.0858.
3.4142 −0.2071 1 3.4142 −1.4142 −0.2071
It follows, therefore,
x1 = 0.7071 + 0.0858 = 0.7929 and y1 = 0.7071 − 0.0858 = 0.6213.
The process can be repeated to obtain a better approximation.
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Example 3
Solve the system
sin x − y = −0.9793, cos y − x = −0.6703
with x0 = 0.5 and y0 = 1.5 as the initial approximation.
Solution:
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Example 3
Solve the system
sin x − y = −0.9793, cos y − x = −0.6703
with x0 = 0.5 and y0 = 1.5 as the initial approximation.
Solution:
We have
f (x, y ) = sin x − y + 0.9793 and g (x, y ) = cos y − x + 0.6703.
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Example 3 - First Iteration
For the first iteration, we have
f0 = 0.0413, g0 = 0.2410,
D = fx gy − gx fy = cos(0.5)(− sin 1.5) − (−1)(−1) = 1.8754.
Note: For the trigonometric ratios, we use radians.
f0 gy − g0 fy g 0 fx − f0 g x
h= = −0.1505, k= = −0.0908.
D D
Therefore,
x = 0.5 + 0.1505 = 0.6505 and y = 1.5 + 0.0908 = 1.5908.
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Example 3 - Second Iteration
For the second iteration, we have x0 = 0.6505 and y0 = 1.5908. Then we obtain
D = 1.7956, h = 0.003181, k = 0.003384.
Hence the new approximation is
x = 0.6505 + 0.0032 = 0.6537, y = 1.5908 − 0.0034 = 1.5874.
Substituting these values in the given equations, we find that these are correct to four decimal
places.
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Assignment
Solve the following systems of nonlinear equations by Newton–Raphson method.
1 x 2 + y 2 = 1 and y = x 3 . Take (x0 , y0 ) = (0.5, 0.5)
2 x 2 − y 2 = 4 and x 2 + y 2 = 16. Take (x0 , y0 ) = (0.5, 0.5)
3 x 2 + y = 11 and y 2 + x = 7. Take (x0 , y0 ) = (0.5, 0.7)
4
1
3x1 − cos(x2 x3 ) − 2 =0
x12 2
− 81(x2 + 0.1) + sin x3 + 1.06 = 0
10π − 3
e −x1 x2 + 20x3 + =0
2
With initial guess x (0) = (1, 1, 1)
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Thank You
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