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Simpson

The document discusses the Newton–Raphson Method, a numerical technique for solving nonlinear equations, exemplified by finding the root of f(x) = x³ - x - 2. It highlights the method's advantages, such as fast convergence and high accuracy, as well as disadvantages like the requirement for derivatives and sensitivity to initial guesses. Additionally, it compares the Newton–Raphson Method to other numerical methods and provides an Excel setup for implementing the iterations.

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taporocjames09
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3 views4 pages

Simpson

The document discusses the Newton–Raphson Method, a numerical technique for solving nonlinear equations, exemplified by finding the root of f(x) = x³ - x - 2. It highlights the method's advantages, such as fast convergence and high accuracy, as well as disadvantages like the requirement for derivatives and sensitivity to initial guesses. Additionally, it compares the Newton–Raphson Method to other numerical methods and provides an Excel setup for implementing the iterations.

Uploaded by

taporocjames09
Copyright
© All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Newton–Raphson Method

Taporoc, James A.
May 19, 2026

1 Introduction
One commonly used numerical method is the Newton–Raphson Method
for solving nonlinear equations.
Suppose we want to solve:

f (x) = x3 − x − 2
We want to find the root of f (x) = 0.
The Newton–Raphson iteration formula is:

f (xn )
xn+1 = xn −
f ′ (xn )
For this example:

f (x) = x3 − x − 2

f ′ (x) = 3x2 − 1

2 Example Iterations
Take the initial guess:

x0 = 1.5
Then compute iteratively.
Approximate root:

1
Iteration n xn f (xn )
0 1.500000 -0.125000
1 1.521739 0.002137
2 1.521380 0.000001
3 1.521380 0

Table 1: Newton–Raphson Iterations

x ≈ 1.52138

3 Advantages
3.1 Very Fast Convergence
Near the root, Newton’s method converges quadratically.
That means the number of correct digits roughly doubles each iteration.

3.2 High Accuracy


Only a few iterations are needed to obtain a highly accurate answer.

3.3 Widely Used


Applications include:

• Engineering

• Physics

• Optimization

• Machine learning

• Computer simulations

2
4 Disadvantages
4.1 Requires Derivatives
You must compute f ′ (x), which may be difficult or expensive.

4.2 Sensitive to Initial Guess


A poor starting value may:

• diverge,

• oscillate,

• or converge to the wrong root.

4.3 Fails When f ′ (x) = 0


If the derivative becomes zero or very small, the formula becomes unstable.

5 Convergence of Newton–Raphson Method


The method has quadratic convergence if:

1. f (x) is differentiable near the root,

2. the root is simple,

3. the initial guess is sufficiently close.

Mathematically:

en+1 ≈ Ce2n
where:

• en = current error,

• C = constant.

This shows the error decreases extremely rapidly.

3
Method Convergence Speed Requires Derivative?
Bisection Slow (linear) No
Secant Faster No
Newton–Raphson Very fast (quadratic) Yes

Table 2: Comparison of Numerical Methods

6 Comparison with Other Methods


7 Suggested Excel Setup
You can create columns:

A B C D
Iteration xn f (xn ) xn+1

Example Excel formulas:

• f (x) = x3 − x − 2

• f ′ (x) = 3x2 − 1
f (x)
• xnext = x −
f ′ (x)
This allows automatic iteration.

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