Chapter 2
Roots: Bracketing Methods
Chapter Objectives
Understanding what roots problems are and where they occur in
engineering and science.
Knowing how to determine a root graphically.
Understanding the incremental search method and its
shortcomings.
Knowing how to solve a roots problem with the bisection
method.
Knowing how to estimate the error of bisection and why it differs
from error estimates for other types of root location algorithms.
Understanding false position and how it differs from bisection.
Roots
“Roots” problems occur when some function f can be
written in terms of one or more dependent variables x,
where the solutions to f(x)=0 yields the solution to the
problem.
These problems often occur when a design problem
presents an implicit equation for a required parameter.
Graphical Methods
A simple method for obtaining the estimate
of the root of the equation f(x)=0 is to make a
plot of the function and observe where it
crosses the x-axis.
Graphing the function can also indicate
where roots may be and where some root-
finding methods may fail:
a) Same sign, no roots
b) Different sign, one root
c) Same sign, two roots
d) Different sign, three roots
Bracketing Methods Page 127
Bracketing methods are based on making two initial guesses that
“bracket” the root - that is, are on either side of the root.
Brackets are formed by finding two guesses xl and xu where the
sign of the function changes; that is, where f(xl ) f(xu ) < 0
The incremental search method tests the value of the function at
evenly spaced intervals and finds brackets by identifying
function sign changes between neighboring points.
Bisection
The bisection method is a variation of the
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 within the subinterval where the
sign change occurs.
The absolute error is reduced by a factor
of 2 for each iteration.
Step 1: Choose lower xl and upper xu guesses for the root such that the function changes
sign over the interval. This can be checked by ensuring that f(xl)f(xu) < 0.
Step 2: An estimate of the root xr is determined by
Step 3: Make the following evaluations to determine in which subinterval the root lies:
(a) If f(xl)f(xr) < 0, the root lies in the lower subinterval.
Therefore, set xu = xr and return to step 2.
(b) If f(xl)f(xr) >0, the root lies in the upper subinterval.
Therefore, set xl = xr and return to step 2.
(c) If f(xl)f(xr) = 0, the root equals xr; terminate the computation.
Example
Determine the real roots of f(x) = -0.5 x2 +2.5x + 4.5
Using three iterations of the bisection method to determine the highest root.
Employ initial guesses of xl = 5 and xu =[Link] the estimated error 𝜀 e
and the true error 𝜀 t after each iteration.
Programming Bisection
False Position
The false position method is another bracketing
method.
It determines the next guess not by splitting the bracket
in half but by connecting the endpoints with a straight
line and determining the location of the intercept of the
straight line (xr).
The value of xr then replaces whichever of the two
initial guesses yields a function value with the same sign
as f(xr).
False Position Illustration
x r xu f (x u )(x l x u )
f (x l ) f (x u )
Example
Determine real root of f(x) = -2x3 - 2x2 +20x +10
Using false position method, Employ initial guesses of xl = 2.5 and xu = 5 and iterate until
the estimated error 𝜀 a < 5%
Assignment 2
1. Determine real root of f(x) = 5 x3 - 5x2 +6x -2
Using false position method, Employ initial guesses of xl =0 and xu = 1 and
iterate until the estimated error 𝜀 a falls below a level of 𝜀 s = 5%.
2. Determine the real root of f(x) = -25 + 82x - 90x2 + 44x3 - 8x4 + x5 ;
a) Using bisection to determine the root to 𝜀 s = 10%. Employ initial guesses of xl
= 0 and xu = 1
(b) Perform the same computation as in (a) but use the false-position method and
𝜀 s = 0.2%.
3. Find the smallest positive root of the function (𝑥 is in radians) 𝑥 2cos 𝑥 =5
using the false-position method. To locate the region in which the root lies, first
plot this function for values of 𝑥 between 0 and 5. Perform the computation until
𝜀 a falls below 𝜀 s = 1%. Check your final answer by substituting it into the original
function.
End of Chapter 2
Quiz 1 (5 mark)
Allowed time 15 minute
Determine real root of f(x) = x2 sin(x)+2x +10
Using bisection method, Employ initial guesses of xl = 4.5 and xu = 7 and iterate until the
estimated error 𝜀 a < 5%.