Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Adventures
Srinivasan Nenmeli-K
I sincerely hope that math teachers pick up some of these and enliven their math
classes with these tid-bits. They can serve as fillers for 10 to 15 minutes.
I also add a few historical notes that might interest you.These are marked: 'H N.'
You can skip these at first reading.
All you need is a paper,pencil and a calculator for these exercises.
I would also encourage students to write simple computer programs for some of
the computations using the steps here.
I hope that at the end of this study, if you are a high school student,you will gain
"mathematical maturity" to pursue further work in the college.
Above all, share these mathematical tidbits with your friends.! You can study the
various sections in any order you like.
Here we go!
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PART 1
[H N :
Heron could have found this formula by trial and error or empirically, but we can derive this
formula using a method called "Newton-Raphson method" which you will learn in a "Calculus"
course.Incidentally, Alexandria was a centre of great learning and math knowledge.The Library
at Alexandria was a treasure-house of great math manuscripts.This place was later destroyed
twice--once by Romans and later in the 7th century [around 641AD]by muslim invaders who
burnt the library.Now a modern library has been built at the same site in 1999.]
Can we extend this method ,similar to Heron's formula, to find cube-roots? The
answer is yes.
But to get at that formula,you have to use Calculus and Newton's method.
The iteration formula for 4th root? ---well, you can guess :
x' = 1/4[3x+n/x^3]
[May be, you can remember formula 1 and 2 for your future work in school.
Successive Approximation
We have used the iterative method to find square roots. This can also be called a
method of successive approximation.We start with a rough estimate of the
solution and refine it gradually by iteration.
To solve algebraic equations, you have to rewrite the equation in the form :
x= f(x) --------------------FORMULA 4
Fixed Points
You may wonder whether successive numbers will converge to some value.This is
a big question.
Let us get some bearing on this problem.
Graphical method
Suppose you want a graphical method for this problem:To solve x=f(x)
Write two equations: y= x
y1= f(x)
y=x is just a straight line passing thro origin....easy to draw.
Now draw the function y1= f(x)
The point where the two curves intersect , gives the solution where x=f(x)
But we start at some value x close to the solution x* , gradually approaching the
point of intersection if the method yields the root.
There is considerable theory behind these fixed points....This topic also leads to
the topic of 'Fractals' which was developed in 1950's.See Part 9 later.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 2
Golden Ratio
= 1.61803
This magic number is called the Golden Ratio which was used by Greek architects
to design 'Parthenon" :the height/width ratio is this number---aesthetically
satisfying.
Renaissance writers called this ratio "The divine proportion".
You might have visited this ratio in your geometry book...Check this.
A/B = (A+B)/A
See the diagram below:
<--------A---------><----B----->
|--------------------|---------------|
<----------------A+B ----------->
The designation of phi comes from the name of the Greek artist 'Phidias' who
had used this ratio frequently in his sculpture.!
[Draw one rectangle of length A=3.22 in and width B= 2 inches.Draw another
rectangle with length =5.22 ih and width =3.22.Look at the figures now.They
are in golden ratios]You can learn from geometry books how to draw rectangles
with the Golden ratio.
Check for yourself: x = 1.61803 = 1/0.61803
Properties of phi
This 'phi' has many interesting properties. Several pages can be written on that.
What about higher powers of phi?:
What do you find? The third number is sum of the previous two.The numbers
are the sum of previous two numbers.This sequence is a fascinating one.
In general:
You may say: "Leave aside the Greek architects and masons.What are the uses
of this phi?"
To see this let us move on to the next,related topic.
Fibonacci Sequence
You see the pattern: just keep adding the previous two numbers.
We will show the close link with the golden ratio "PHI" immediately....
Take the ratio of any two consecutive numbers:
R = 21/13= 1.61538
R = 34/21=1.61905
R = 89/55= 1.61818 18
R = 144/89=1.617977
R = 233/144 = 1.618055
The ratios go towards phi= 1.61803 ,the same Golden ratio.
In mathematical language ,the limit of this sequence is the golden ratio,phi.
[ HN:
Historically ,the Fibo sequence was given by Indian mathematicians, following some musical
notes.Gopala (about 1135) and Hemachandra (about 1150) mentioned Fibo sequence explicitly.
Ref: Donald Knuth -The Art of Computer Programming].
Now the higher orders of phi given earlier follow the equation:
Thus
Knowing the Fibo sequence, we can easily work out any higher power of phi.
You have definitely studied in Algebra and Geometry the Pythagorean formula
and triples: {3,4,5}
which means:
There are other triples too.How to discover them.?
Take the Fibo sequence and choose the alternate numbers after 5:
0,1,1,2,3,[5], 8, [13] , 21 [34], 55, [89] ,144, [233], ....
These numbers are the 'hypotenuses' of the triples!
For example, male honey bees have only one parent, a female.Female honey
bees hatch from fertilised eggs; therefore female bees have two parents-one male
and one female.The family tree then follows a Fibo sequence.
There are excellent web sites devoted to Fibo sequence and even a dedicated
journal:'Fibonacci Quarterly.'
Continued "staircase-like" Fraction
x=a+1
---
b+1
---------
c+1
--------
d+1
---------
This is represented by the notation:
x= [a; b,c,d...]
For golden ratio: phi = [1;1,1,1,1,....] Very simple!
We give here one such continued fraction ,which can be used for approximating
pi.
[HN:
The subject of continued fraction was written down by the Hindu mathematician Aryabhatta
sometime in 5th century.He also made many other math work like the sine tables. He was a
noted astronomer.He gave the circumference of the earth as 62832 miles.He gave a value of
pi=3.1416,taking earth's diameter as 20000 miles.!He used the 'arabic numerals' with decimal
point system.He wrote the 'sutras' or formulas in the classical language of India--'Sanskrit'
and used letters for numbers and vowels for decimal points.!He also introduced the word
"approximate " ['asanna'] in math work.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 3
S= 1+2+3+5 +6 ------------+96+97+98+99+100
2S= 10100
S= 5050
Cool algorithm!
There are many such tricks used by mathematicians for finding sums for series of
numbers.
Triangular Numbers
These are number of units or dots you would need to build a triangle as shown
below:
*
* * *
* * * * * *
* * * * * * * * * *
[HN:
Leibniz (1646-1716) succeeded in developing Calculus at the same time as Isaac Newton and
there was bitter verbal battle between them for claiming the priority for "Invention of
Calculus."
In those days,math results were communicated through letters to friends,professors and
leading lights of the day.There were no research journals. Communication was slow and also the
translation from one language to another and the problem of notation cropped up.So,there were
many reasons for misunderstanding over priority claims and bitter feelings between
mathematicians in Newton's time.There was also the issue of national pride and rivalry between
Britain and France ,France and Germany and so on.]
We shall now explore the sums of infinite and finite series by clever
methods,starting with the Geometric Series you have learnt in Algebra or
Precalculus.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Geometric Series
If r= 1/2, we get:
S = 1+(1/2) + (1/4) + (1/8) + (1/16)------ = 1/(1-(1/2)=2
Sounds remarkable!
We call this a 'converging series' because the sum leads to a final number.
St IVES PROBLEM
I was going to St Ives, I met a man on the way with seven wives;Each wife had
seven sacks; Each sack had seven cats;each cat had seven kittens; How many
were going to St Ives ?
Using your result from Geometric series:
For many polynomial work,Horner's rule is handy,as we used for the St Ives
problem.
Example:
Evaluate the polynomial: y = 2 + 3x +4 x^2 + 6x^3 + 7x^4 at x= 2
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There were seven houses,each had seven cats, each cat caught seven mices
,each mouse had seven spelt and each spelt seven hekat. How many total were
there?
The answer is : S = 1+ 7 + 7^2 + 7^3 +7^4 + 7^5 = 28043
Using Horner's rule, S0 = 1
S1 = 1.7 +1 = 8
S2 = 8.7 +1 = 58
S3 = 58.7 +1 =407
S4 = 406.7 +1 =28043
[H N:
'Rhind Mathematical Papyrus' is a Egyptian mathematical document purchased by Alexander
Henry Rhind in 1858 in Luxor ,Egypt and now kept in the British Museum.It contains 64
problems, algebra and even trig included ,and is the main source of Egyptian mathematics
available.There is another similar document in Russian museum as well]
In digital computers, with base or radix 2, these numbers are just a string of
ones:
[HN
Mercenne's numbers have been used to hunt for large prime numbers,using a computer
program,since 1970's.A major project was undertaken at UCLA [Univ of California,at Los
Angeles] and they found a million digit prime with Mercenne's number.If Mn is a prime,then n
is a prime too.]
This can be easily found with a small computer program you can write for
yourself.
Find
A theorem due to Nichomachus [about 100 AD] gives this interesting
relationship:
Example: John has a set of cubical boxes of width: 1in,2in,3in,4in and so on.The
biggest box is of 8 inches.Find the total volume of all the boxes:
S = (1+2+3+4+5+6+7+8)^2= [8(9)/2]^2= 36^2=1296 cubic inches
Harmonic Numbers
[ H N:
They came from Switzerland and studied with Leibniz in Berlin .Jakob Bernoulli,[1654-1705],the
elder one,did much work in infinite series and Calculus.
His early work leads us to another topic: the Catenary curve, the curve you find for a cable
suspended between two poles .Galileo thought that this curve is a parabola,but it is not.It is
described by 'hyperbolic functions' which you might have studied in Precalc.
The great arch in St Louis ,Missouri is designed,upside down, with the same catenery
curve.Jakob took one year to try to solve this catenary problem ,but could not succeed; but the
younger fellow,Johann [1667-1748] did that by 'burning mid-night oil' over a single night-
time.Johann was justifiably proud of his achievement.[Jakob Bernoulli's tombstone was
decorated with a logarithmic spiral ,shown later in this article!]
What is the equation for a catenary or hanging cable?
where a is the minimum distance of the cable from the ground and y is the height.
You can consider thisfunction as intersection of two curves: y1=(a/2)exp(-x/a) and
y2=(a/2)exp(x/a)
The two curves meet when y1=y2 at x=0..
Then y(0)=a/2 + a/2=a
There was a brilliant genius studying under Johann Bernoulli who cracked many problem s of
"infinite sums"--sums of infinite series--and he did have a productive life for 76 years before
Gauss came over the scene.You will meet his name repeatedly in many branches of
mathematics: Leonhard Euler.(1707-1783) ]
Euler [pronounced "oiler"] tackled the infinite sum for this series:
---------------------equation (1)
This is a remarkable result because the sum leads to a term involving pi.We can
use such a series to find the value of pi, as we shall see later.
It is also strange that while harmonic series does not converge,this series is
converging.[Sorry, I am not giving the proof ,which is available in many books.]
Armed with this result, Euler reaped a rich harvest of many results;here are a
few:
-----equation(2)
--------equation (3)
With these three infinite sums, S,S' and S'', Euler opened up a new area in
infinite sums....
[H N :
Gauss (1777-1855) is credited with least-square method of curve fitting ,at the age of 15 or
so, to aid his astronomical observations.Gauss's work on magnetism was significant that the
magnetic flux is now measured in "Gauss" units--like we use 'Newton' as the unit for force.The
fundamental theorem of algebra was also proved by Gauss...read about this in
algebra/precalculus book. He also found methods for numerical integration,known as
Quadrature methods.Perhaps many people remember Gauss for the bell-shaped curve-'Norm al
distirbution 'in statistics--the Gaussian distribution.]
Substitute -x for x:
--------------------------
equation 4
---------------------------
equation 5
------------------------------equation 6
------------------------------equation 7
With geometric series alone,we can generate many infinite series.
[Can you prove equations 6 and 7 ? ]
Power series / Taylor series and Approximations
Taylor series gives an easy and powerful method for generating power series for
many functions.But you must learn basic 'differential calculus' for that.
Suppose you want to find a function f(x) at some value close to x ,say x+a.
Knowing the function at x, that is f(x),
--------------equation 8
The denominator terms are : factorials: 1!, 2!,3! and so on.
The coefficients are the derivatives of f(x).
Taylor series can be treated as an approximation to f(x+a) ;We find f(x) and add
small terms to it and arrive at f(x+a).
-------------------------------equation 9
----------equation (10)
Example: Find the value of exp(.2) taking only the first three terms in eqn(10):
At this point , you may be wondering why we should use these expressions or
approximations when we can find these values easily with a calculator or
computer.
The reason is simple: You should know how your calculator or computer
computes these expressions. In fact they use the same or similar expressions in
their software built in;this is how computer algorthms are developed in real life.
Suppose you write a gaming software.You have to compute such numbers
quickly.You may use these approximate relations.!
But this function is a tricky one.Remember ln (1) is taken as zero. Let us expand
the function: ln(1+x) around 1:
If you know how to differentiate, it becomes easy:
y= f(x)= ln (1+x)
f'(x) = 1/(1+x) ----> f'(0) =1
-------------equation(12)
It was a great exercise to find the ln(x) values and many mathematicians spent
years in constructing this table of log values for several decimal places.You can do
all that in a few minutes now ,using a computer and the above equation (11) of
infinite series.
It is enough if we calculate ln(x) for x>1 and x<2. Other values we can
compute easily with the formula: ln x^n = n lnx Suppose you want to find
ln(8) -->ln(8)= 3ln(2).
The above series converges slowly;so take many terms in the series.
[H N
This series is attributed to Nicolaus Mercator [1620-1687] who also did navigation lines called
Mercator lines which are used in long-distance flights,using Spherical geometry.]
It is easy now to expand which you will find useful for error function and
Gaussian distribution in later work.
Trigonometric Functions
Computing trig fns [sin x ,cosx,and tanx ] had been tough for ancient
mathematicians.They needed them for many astronomical [and also astrological]
calculations.Even for calculating sun-rise and sun-set times at a given latitude,
they needed trig function tables. They developed several empirical formulas and
also rapid means of computation.
[H N :
The Hindu mathematicians had their own formulae for trig functions , which some astrologers
still use in India. The early formulae for sine x function was developed by Bhaskara II
(1114-1185) in 11th century and filtered through the Arab writers and entered Europe.]
-------------equation 13
------------equation 14
------------equation 15
--------------equation 16
It is easy to use this series for finding the value of pi.It is called Madhava-Gregory
series.
[H N :
This series is often credited to James Gregory,[1638-1675] ---this series is not very useful
since it converges slowly and you may have to add several hundred terms.
This is also called Gregory-Leibniz series ,since Leibniz also found this.Historians tell us that
one Hindu mathematician 'Madhava of Sangamagrama' [Kerala,India] found this series
sometime in 14th century and it is now called Madhava-Leibniz Series.also!][See the historical
note at the end.]
Srinivasa Ramanujan [1887-1920], an Indian mathematical prodigy who was mostly self-taught
, was invited by Prof G H Hardy to Cambridge Univ, UK..Ramanujan colloborated with G H
Hardy for about 5 years [during World War I years] .He gave many useful results and one was
an infinte series for 'pi' which converges very fast and is used in many computer algorithms.He
also did work on primes,continued fraction and elliptic integrals[See William Dunham for a brief
biography of Ramanujan and Donald Knuth for some of Ramanujan's work.]
This topic takes us to slightly advanced methods.I just indicate the steps;
For many rational expressions, it is difficult to integrate.The clever method is as
follows:
Expand the rational function as an infinite series using Taylor series or geometric
series as given earlier, and then integrate term by term.[A similar method is used
for solving many differential equations by "series method".]
Example
Expand this function using geometric series and equation (4) given earlier:
f(x) = 4 / (2+x)=4/2(1+x/2)= 2 /(1+x/2)
Practice Problems:
1 Expand using Taylor series and integrate term by term from
x=0 to x=0.5 and compare with table values for cumulative normal [Gaussian]
distribution.
2 Expand arctan(x) where x= 1/sqrt(3)
3 Find the series expansion for cosh(x) and sinh(x)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 4
Binomial Theorem
There is a still easier way: take the various powers of 11 and write out the digits
for first four powers::
Pascal triangle would give the numbers if we add the two numbers above in the
pyramid.
1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
1 5 10 10 5 1
1 6 15 20 15 6 1
PASCAL'S TRIANGLE
------------ equation 1
The interesting thing about this theorem is that n need not be an integer;it could
be a fraction or negative too.
For instance, find the expansion for: with n=1/2
Newton [ around 1669] was delighted by this.Now he can expand many functions
into infintie series by his theorem. Newton found that n can be negative too.This
leads to negative binomial series:
---------------equation 2
Newton used this theorem to find square roots and other roots too:
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 5
Polar - Cylindrical Coordinates & DNA Spiral helix & spiral stair cases
You have learnt to locate points and draw lines and curves in the x-y coordinates
,invented by Rene Descartes [ a famous mathematician and philosopher ];hence
the name Cartesian system.But there are other ways of locating points and
doing calculations in the X_Y plane.One method is to use polar coordinates. Take
a point P(x,y) and join this with the Origin O(0,0).
The line OP is called the radius line or polar line.Now form a right triangle by
drawing a perpendicular line PQ from P to the x -axis.Now OPQ forms a right
triangle and the angle ^qop is called . Let OP =r.
You can see readily:
If you are chasing a rabbit, you would be interested in the distance between you
and the rabbit and the angle this distance line makes with some reference line or
changes in the angle.Then use polar coordinates.
Astronomers often used the polar coordinates to denote the position of stars and
planets.If r remains the same,the distance moved by the planet when the angle
changes over say 18 degrees, will be : Arc distance S = r (theta) with the angle
in radians.
No surprise here.
Drawing spirals
Drawing a spiral is easy with polar coordinates....Let the value of r increase with
increasing theta.You will get a spiral line:
Now let this function be a linear relation: r = a + b (theta)
Take a specifc example: r= 2 +0.1 (theta)
If you are designing a spiral stair case in your building [like the Guggenheim
Museum of Art in New York] you will use these spiral equations.
Can you model a spiral galaxy in the sky.!
What about other functions for a polar equation?.We can generate closed curves
with a sine function:
Cylindrical Coordinates
Having learnt polar coordinates, the next step is to move to three dimensions
and the cylindrical coordinate system.Take the cartesian X-Y-Z system; retain the
Z axis as before---say the vertical axis as the Z axis.The horizontal plane of X-Y
axes,convert to polar coordinates as r,theta.
So any point in 3-D space (x1,y1,z1) can be expressed as
Take the previous example: x=2 y= 3 and add z=4.
In cylindrical coordinate system, P[r,theta,z] =
Spiral Helix--DNA structure You want to represent the peptide groups stringed
in a spiral [double helix].Take the structure of the molecule as a cylinder,find the
pitch of the spiral,use cylindrical coordinate to represent the position of any
group.You can also write the equation for horizontal rungs of the spiral joining the
peptide groups.{see the figure above}.One author contends that the diameter of
this DNA is about 20 angstrom unit ,while the axial length is 34 AU,the ratio of
20/34 is close to Golden ratio--should be 21/34---we have not reached perfection
yet.![ Angstrom = 10^(-10)meter]
Parametric Equations
We have been writing y = f(x) for our representation of x and y
relationship.Suppose we find a common parameter ,say 't' ,through which we can
represent x and y.Then we get parametric equations.For instance, x= g(t) and
y=h(t) are the two other functions.
Practice problems
1 Write the parametric equations for volume and surface area of a right cylinder
keeping height as constant. Write also the equation for the ratio of volume to
surface area.
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PART 6
The exponential [base of the natural logarithm] came from the sequences and
limits and might have been inspired from compound -interest formula.
Is there is any connection between the two? Are there expressions which use
both?
A complex number is composed of two terms, a real part and an imaginary part:
Example: x = 2 + 3i
The real part is 2 and the imaginary part is 3.
It is like the thief and his shadow under the street lamp!;both have meaning and
can reveal something about the thief.
How do we do algebraic operations with this complex number?
You have learnt the following:
Take the 'complex conjugate' of x:
Euler gave a simple ,but profound relation which connects this complex number
to 'e':
Now
--------------------(2)
[As a short form, you can write thus:
Note that the Euler equation combines sine and cosine in a single expression.
Let |x| = r =1
Now we return to our main adventure:
In the Euler equation (1), put
We get
This is a remarkable relation: we have united 'e' and pi with the help of imaginary
quantity 'i.'
Note that e is a number (=2.72.....) and pi is also a number (3.14....).They are
united here by 'i'..
Now
You can separate the real and imaginary parts in the expansion:
Thus, we have got the result --"Euler Formula" using exponential function
expansion.!
One more extension of this leads to another famous formula used in precalc
books:
A Math Tidbit
We have seen the expansion of exp(x) and the Euler's formula.Here is
another interesting number:
What is ?
You can expand this with the formula:
We get
This is called 'Gelfond's constant after Alexsand Gelfond.
[HN:
De Moivre was a contemporary of the English and scottish mathematicians of Newton's
time.There is an interesting anedote.He found that he slept 15 minutes longer at certain
age.Then he made a sum with arithmetic progression of 15 mins and predicted the day of his
death,which was true!.]
PART 7
Interpolating Polynomials
Certain polynomials are used for 'interpolating' between data points ,usually
found from experiments.
For instance, you measure the solubility of a chemical in water at three
temperatures.You write the function: y=f(x) where y is the solubility and x is the
temperature.
We wish to find solubility at some temperature between the measured ones.We
need to know f(x) ,but we can approximate f(x) by simple polynomials.
[Again this topic is not discussed in many math text books,except as additional
problems.It is of major interest to all science/engineering students!]
Linear Interpolation
The simplest interpolation is linear interpolation where we join neighbouring
points by a straight line or linear variation of y with x.
We take the three data points and find a parabola which passes through these
points ---and then employ the quadratic equation of the parabola for
interpolation.
First we derive the formula for the quadratic equation.
Note that we have taken the simpler case,when x values are equally spaced:
x2-x1=x1-xo=10 in this case.
Let the spacing between x values be h.
Then write : y = ax^2 + bx + c
Our aim is to find the values of the coeffcients,a,b and c from the given three
data points;
To reduce our work, we shift the x values such that xo=-h , x1=0 & x2=h
{This trick of shifting the x values we often do in algebra/calculus to reduce our
work}
Let us write this polynomial for the solubility data of Prof.Cavendish and find the
solubility at 28deg:
y = [(5.5-12.6+7.5)/200] x^2 + [(7.5 -5.5)/20] x + 6.3
= 0.002 x^2 + 0.1 x + 6.3
One can develop interpolating polynomial for four data points using a cubic
polynomial.If we have n+1 data points, we use a polynomial of nth degree.
We can also have polynomials for data not equally spaced in x values.These are
treated in books on Numerical methods.
I mention this topic in passing because this has been treated in another tutorial
on integrals.
Prof Cavendish is interested in finding the average solubility in the temp range 25
to 45 deg C.
This is really easy using the interpolating polynomial:Integrate the polynomial
for the temperature range and divide by 20:
[Note: The integration between the limits 25 to 45 degrees ,gives the area under
this curve,between x=25 and x=45.Dividing by the interval 20 gives the average
height of a rectangle of same area;hence we get the average value of y.]
This method of finding average of a function is widely used in science and
engineering.!
Numerical Differentiation
Prof Cavendish wants to know the rate of change of solubility of his sweetener
with temperature, from his data points.Can we find this for him?
Since we already have the interpolating polynomial from the three data points,we
can differentiate the polynomial to get the derivative:
Solubility y = 0.002x^2 + 0.1x + 6.3 where x is the
temperature.
5 Find the infinite series expansion for f(x) = 3/ (2x- 1) using the geometric
series. [around x=0]
6 Find the approximate value of sin (18 degrees) using Taylor series.
7 Find the approximate value of ln(1.3) using Taylor series to three decimal
places.
8 Expand using the Taylor series expansion for exp(x) and then
integrate term by term to find the error integral:
9 Find the power series for using the Taylor series expansion given.
10 Find the power series expansion for
11 Find the binomial series for (x+a)^8 using Pascal triangle.
12 The data on lead emissions in the USA for the years 1992,94 and 96 are as
follows:
Find the interpolating 'quadratic' polynomial for the data and find the interpolated
value of y for the year 1995.Find also the average value of lead emissions in the
years 1992-96.
[Ans: y= 4.04 + 0.0175x - 0.051 x^2 For 1995, y= 4.007]
13 Evaluate the stopping distance for a car when it moves at a speed x (miles per
hour) and brake is applied: d (feet) = 0.14x.x -4.4x + 58.0 for x=60 mph using
Horner's rule.
Ans:134.8 feet
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 7
Suppose you want to solve y= f(x) =0. Assume that the function f(x) is
continuous.Then choose two numbers x1 and x2 such that f(x1) is negative (<0)
and f(x2) is positive (>0).Since the function is continuous,it passes through the x
axis [when y=f(x)=0] and the root x* must lie between x1 and x2.Now take the
root x* = (x1+x2)/2
Find f(x*); if f(x*) is negative,the root must be in the interval [x*,x2] If f(x*) is
positive,the root must be in the interval [x1,x*]
Find the new root and proceed as before.
2nd iteration:
f(.75)=0.75exp(.75) - 2 = 2.117x0.75-2=-0.4122 <0
The root must lie in the interval: x: [0.75,1]
Take x* = (0.75+1)/2=0.875
3rd iteration:
f(0.875)= 0.875.exp(.875)-2 =2.099-2=0.099 >0
The root must lie in the interval:[0.75,0.875]
Take x*=0.8125 f(0.8125)= 0.8125exp(0.8125)-2=-0.169
Note that ,with each iteration,we are halving the interval.If the original interval
was 1,then after 8 iterations,we will get an interval of (1/2)^8=0.125 or the
root obtained will be < |0.125| of the actual root.
You may feel that this method is rather slow and involves lot of function-
evaluation;this is a kind of trial and error method.But it is easy to do with
computers and always works.Hence it is very popular with computer software
people.
Practice Problem
Try this problem:
Solve
and find the root as the golden ratio by the bisection method.Start with
x:[1.5,1.7]
x* = x1-f(x1)/m----------------------equation (1)
{Note that in this method,f(x1) and f(x2) need not be of opposite signs ,like in
Bisection method.}
x* = 0.5 - (-1.176)/3.792=0.8101
f(x*)= 0.81exp(.81)-2=0.81(2.248)-2=-0.179
One warning though: Bisection method will always work,but secant method fails
in those cases when the slope m is close to zero,because m is in the denominator
and instead of getting close to root ,we may wander away.!
Once you know where the root is by the bisection method,then you can apply the
secant method.
These methods are interesting because both use very simple mathematics.
They are widely used in computer programming for solving equations.
Practice Problems
1 Leonardo of Pisa [Fibonacci again] solved this equation in the year 1225 by a
method close to the secant method.
You can now try with secant method:
The root is near 1.35. Leonardo got the result: x= 1.368 808 107.
2 Math historians tell us that Isaac Newton solved the following equation using
Calculus [his Newton-Raphson method] in 1669. You can try to solve using the
secant method.Take the initial interval as x1=1.8 and x2=2.2.
3 Solve this problem using the secant method: with intial values:
x=0.6 and x=0.8
{Ans [0.865]
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PART 8
Finding the area under a curve
You are asked to find the area under a parabola : y=-x.x +9 between x = -3
and x =+3.
This becomes easy once you learn the topic of "integration" in Calculus.But now
we shall explore a simple numerical procedure,used later in Calculus of course.I
am discussing here the midpoint method:
I cut up this area into small vertical strips, between close values of x.Then take
the middle value of the function y in each strip.I assume this area is close to the
area of a rectangular strip.
Area of the strip a(1) = width. height = width .(y at the midpoint of x)
For convenience ,I divide the x interval, [-3,3] into equal width of 1 units:
[-3,-2], [-2,-1],[-1,0],[01],[1.2][2,3] along the x axis.
I have six widths and so six rectangular strips.What are the y values?:
Let us construct a small table for these calculations:
X width midvalue of x y value area of strip
[-3,-2] -2.5 y(-2.5)=- 6.25 +9 a0= 1(2.75) = 2.75
[-2,-1] -1.5 y(-1.5)= -2.25+9 a1 = 1(6.75) = 6.75
[-1,0] -0.5 y(-0.5) = -.5+9 a2= 1(4.5)= 8.5
[0,1] 0.5 y(0.5) = -0.5 +9 a3= 1(4.5) = 8.5
[1,2] 1.5 y(1.5) = -2.25+9 a4 = 1(6.75) =6.75
[2,3] 2.5 y(2.5) = -6.25 + 9 a5 = 1(2.75)=2.75
Total area = a0+a1 +a2 +a3 + a4 +a5= 35.5 units.
Practice Problem:
1 Find the area under the curve: y=1/(1+x.x) for x=0 to x =1 by taking
midpoint values of width 0.25, using the midpoint method.
[Hint: area = 0.25 [ y(.125)+ y(.375) + y(.625)+y(.875)] ]
2 Do the same problem using the Simpson's rule with three points along the x
axis 1,0.2,05 and another 0.5,0.75,1.0.
What do you find? The area under this curve should be equal to .How close is
your value? This provides yet another method for finding 'pi'.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 9
Take the case of compound- interest formula.Suppose your bank is adding the
interest for the previous year to the previous year's principal amount and treat
that amount as the new principal for this year.We can write a recurrence
relation:
where the principal for (t+1) year is related to the principal of 't' th year and r is
the annual rate of interest.
We have already seen one important recurrence relation: the Fibonacci
sequence:
starting with
We are adding the two previous terms , and this is called a second order relation.
Substitute:
Divide by :
1 You can use them for interest related calculations and annuities as given
earlier;
2 Paul Samuelson, a great economist at MIT and Nobel Laureate for economics
[year:1970] developed an equation relating consumer spending and investments
with a relation:
3 Difference relations are widely used in population models.You know that Fibo
series is also a population model for rabbits.!
When you have a biological system with hosts and parasites, you can write
coupled difference equations :
Host population:
Parasite population:
You can see how the parasite population increases as the host population
increases,and the host population decreases as the parasites increase.! This is
called Nicholson-Bailey model.
Such 'prey-predator models' are widely used in biology and wild life conservation
projects.
Practice problem:
1 Develope the sequence : with
x1= 46 x2= 1.8 x 46 + 10 = 92.8 x3= 1.8x92.8+10 .......
[You can use nested multiplication you learnt [Horner's rule] for such
problems.]
For a given value of r, one can find the x values starting with a given value for
x.This leads to logistic growth map; "r" is the growth rate; the curve eventually
leads to a stable value for r <1.
For some values of r ,say r=1,the relation will lead to a 'fixed point' . After that
,further numbers in the series will be the same:
Let xo= 0.2, r=2
xo=0.2 x1==2*0.2*0.8=0.32 x2= 2*0.32*0.68=0.435
x3=2*0.435*0.565=0.4915
x4=2*0.49*0.51=0.5014
x5= 2*0.5014*0.4986=0.4999
This series,sometimes called time series,' reaches the fixed point of 0.50.It will
not change further.
But if you choose r= 3.9,the story is different.
What happens when r is 3?The values of x will oscillate between some values..If r
exceeds the magic number 3.57,chaos starts.The values of x keep changing
almost crazy---like a random stuff,but not exactly random. It is chaos!
With each iteration,the snow flake grows but at a lesser rate.As n appraoches
infinity,the area An tends to 8/5 of the original area of the triangle=8/5(initial
area)=1.6Ao ----- a neat result!
You can create beautiful pictures of Koch curves , as these are called ,due to Koch
around 1904.
It is easy to see that for Koch curve, the area tends to a constant finite value
with each iteration while the perimeter P increase to infinity: P = number of
sides,N x length of each line l.
Now N increase in the ratio of 4/3 and so explodes as (4/3)^n where n is the
number of iterations.
There is another curve called 'Anti-Koch curve' where the reverse is true.The
perimeter reaches a constant value while the area keeps increasing and tending
to infinity.How to draw this curve? Instead of drawing an equilateral triangle,draw
a trough,triangle upside down at each side of the original triangle and iterate.
Practice Problems
1 Construct a Koch curve using an equilateral triangle of 6 cms,on paper with
pencil.Try to approximate the area after 4 iterations by enclosing another bigger
triangle.[You can use a triangular gird, download form www.math.rice.edu]
2 Construct a square fractal using a procedure similar to Koch curve...
3 Find an equation for the increase in perimeter of Koch curve with each
iteration.Does this series converge.? Ans:p(n)=3(4/3)^n.
4 What would be the equivalent figure for 3-dimensional Koch 'curve' or prism
using a triangular prism.?
5 Define fractal dimension.
Fractal Food: Study the shape of the vegetable 'Romansco Broccoli" and relate to
problem 4.This vegetable,a form of cauliflower, is called a Fractal food;the shape
of each cone follows the logarithmic spiral which we have learned earlier.
[H N
What I am writing here is recent history in math ,not 17th or 18th century math!Poincare did
some early work too--but this is 20th century math.
Edward Lorenz ,a meterology professor at MIT, found that the logistic equation can lead to
chaos.He found that small changes in the inital value led to tremendous randomness in the
values of x found..He was trying to predict weather;but he founded the chaos theory.H e spoke
of "butterfly effect"---how a small change in initial value can result in chaos.Then comes the
work of May and Feigenbaum and later fractals by Julia sets and Mendelbrot sets ,with beautiful
computer graphic pictures you have seen,like the Maine coast in USA...The Koch curve given
here is a simple way.
Mandelbrot coined the word: "fractals".
Most early workers toyed by putting r = 4 in Logistic map, including the great mathematician
and early computer wiz, John Von Neumann.Try reading about this relation when r =4 or
higher..In 1970,May and Feigenbaum discovered that this logistic map leads to Chaos when r is
close to 4.You can demonstrate that by starting with x= 0.3,r=4 and repeat the recurrence
relation given earlier.Write a computer program!
The relation is well-behaved if r is less than 1;that is what the population experts like
Verhulst used.
Refer to this website: www.math.rice.edu ----Cynthia Lanius web pages Click here
-->
Website on Koch curves,fractals ]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PART 10
We can study many dynamic systems in real life using linear relations[straight
lines] and quadratic equations.These equations resemble recurrence relations,but
a bit more complicated.Consider this scenario:
Farmers have large yields of corn this year.After six month,when they are
harvested and brought to the market,the supply is huge and the price falls.
Therefore, the equation of price versus quantity is a straight line with negative
slope:
price = P = a - b Q
But this involves the time factor.Let t be counted in six-month period.
The price depends on quantity grown in the previous time period.This we call a
'delay or lag equation".
This equation is the demand equation of economists.
Now, traders usually increase the price when the demand quantity goes up.This is
a sraight line with positive slope: P=c +dQ
Again there is a time shift : This is called the supply equation.
The two lines will intersect at the equilibrium value: [Q*,P*]
But things are not that simple.We do not always have the equilibrium value
operating at a given time..You start with some value of Q,Q1 away from Q*.
Then you get a value of P1 .Then for that P1,certain quantity Q2 is made
available in the market.But for this quantity Q2,there is a price p2 from the
demand equation...These changes keep happening over time intervals,till you
reach the equilibrium value...This leads to a powerful model ,called Cobweb
model.Though mathematically simple,the real-world implications are huge.
Note the the equilibium may be reached after some time period.This point is the
fixed point discussed earlier.Next year's yield may be high or low.Another cycle
starts.
Population Models are the most widely used models, in several subjects, not just
demography.Most of them are modified forms of exponential growth-- modified in
some way.
-----equation(1)
where P(0) is the population at some time t=0 as reference year.'k' is the growth
rate.The doubling time, the time for the population to double itself, is given by:
If the growth rate is 2%, the population doubles itself in about 35 years or just
one generation!.This did happen for human population in the early 20th century
and may happen in third world countries and African states.!
A thumb rule to remember is this: if the growth rate is k %,the doubling time is
nearly 70/k.
Biologists study 'drososphila' or fruit fly for genetic studies---which doubles its
population in a few days. Bacteria double their population in 20 mins to one
hour.!
Equation (1)implies that the population keeps growing at the same rate for
ever.It would lead to infinite population.But in real world,the population--human
or fish or tiger or cell phones,gets limited.
The resource limitation, for instance, food for a fish population in a lake,could
restrict the population growth.The population grows exponentially but tends to
reach
a maximum value.
----------equation (2)
When t =0, P(t) =0.The population grows and, as t tends to infinity, exp(-kt)
goes to zero, P(t)= N,the maximum value or stable value for the
population.When P(t) is close to N, we note that the birth rate and death rate of
the species are the same! N is the population that can be 'sustained' by the lake
for fish population.! This model may not hold for all population scenarios.
Another well-known model is that the growth rate increases first and then starts
decreasing:
For this we use the Logistic equation we have seen before in Chaos theory.This is
called Verhulst model.
y= r x (1-x) = rx - rx.x
Here the maximum growth rate is reached when x= 1/2, that is half of the max
population predicted.. 'r' is called the growth rate; y varies from 0 to 1.
You can also write logistic equation as a quadratic equation:
Growth rate = ----------equation (3)
The first term gives the exponential growth, but the second term ,which is
negative, reduces the growth rate and is proportional to the square of the
population.By adjusting the value of b,we can get realisitic growth rate for any
population .
This is the process of modeling.We pick some equations and then adjust the
parameters and constants to fit the real-world data or experimental data.
Consider the human population;The growth rate [birth rate - death rate], 'a, in
the above equation was nearly 2% per year, with a doubling time of about 35
years.
In most countries, the growth rate has reduced to 1.1% or less.For USA, it is
around 1%.Some countries may have a negative growth too...the population
keeps decreasing.!
Demographers take the average growth rate for World human population as
1.4%.[base on a UN report.]
Then the doubling time =0.69/0.014= 70/1.4= 50, nearly 50 years.
If the trends don't change, we will have a human population of 12.4 billion [from
the present 6.2 billion in 50 years],that is by 2059.
A pictorial representation of growth rates for various countries based on a UN
report is given here..
Possibly, the growth rate will decrease in all countries to 1.1% or less and the
human population may stabilise around 8 billion.I do not expect that large scale
famine or disesases or wars will wipe out large population,the ""Malthusian devils"
will not operate in the next 50 years.!Nuclear holocaust is another problem.
This stopping distance is of great use for three sets of people: vehicle designers,
the traffic cops who investigate the vehicle speed and road conditions during
accidents ,and highway engineers.[Traffic cops measure the length of scratch
marks on the road to estimate the stopping distance and the speed of the
vehicle.]
speed: 32 64 96 (kmph)
reaction time: 6 12 18 (secs)
braking distance: 6 18 55 (metres)
The equation is: S = 0.006 v.v +0.125 v + 2.38 metres
[You can get the coefficients by using the interpolation formula we got earlier:
See Part 7.]
What if we neglect the first term: S= 0.125 v +2.38 ? What is the % error for a
speed of 100 kmph.? Find this out!
Vehicle designers use more complex models. One such equation is:
S = 1.47 vt - v.v/ ( 30 (f+-G))
where v is the speed in mph, time in seconds, f is the coefficient of friction
between tires and the road and G is the gradient.Such models are developed
based on extensive testing by auto companies.
In some cases, airplane pilots overshoot the runway and stop the aircraft in a
ground beyond th e runway.This may happen during poor visibility conditons and
also when the landing speed is high or the runway is covered with snow or wet
with rain.The aircraft engineers again model the stopping distance by a quadratic
equation..The pilots add 15% more distance for a wet runway.You can read up on
that.
We can develop a simplified model for spread and control of epidemics, like the
recent SARS epidemic in 2003. This model is due to Kermack and Mac Kendrick
(1927).
Let us assume that the transition from Susceptible to Infective ,S--> I depends
on the contact of S with I and is proportional to the product SI.[This term is often
called 'interaction term' in these models.]
Take a time interval of one day. "a" and "b" are constants. Changes from one
day to the next is written down:
Change in S, the number of susceptible = ----------equation 1
Change in I, the number of infectives = equation
2
equation 4
Note that the number R,depends on the number infected and b is a constant.The
number of infectives I gets increased by those getting infected from S, and
reduced by bI,the number removed.
The total change is zero:add the three equations,1,2 &3.
How to solve these equations?...[These are difference equations, but you can use
differential equations approach also, taught in Calculus courses.]
Find the ratio of I/S: We are interested in the ratio of I to S,which should not
increase! This ratio will increase with the onset of the epidemic,reach a maximum
and then start decreasing!
Dividing the first two equations, [1/2] we get
an equation that is independent of time.This shows that the change in infectives
is proportional to the ratio of b/a, the two constants....
Now let us return to solve the system of equations using a tabular calculation:
Take s= 1 million, a=0.001, b=0.1,I=100 , R=0.
Run the cycle of calculations:
You can continue with the table.Note that the increase in I ,the infectives is quite
high in the first two days and then starts decreasing slowly from day 3 ,for this
set of parameters.This is typical---the epidemic rages fast in the first few days or
weeks and then slowly tapers off.You can see the 'alarming figures' which sets
the panic during the onset of any epidemic....The value of I decreases
apporximately by 0.09 million, every day after peak. If you continue, you may
reach a figure of I=10-4 ,after 15 days or so....then the epidemic has died down.
Practice problems:
1 Plot I versus # of days using the above table.
2 Change the parameters to this set: a=0.0001.Observe the slow onset of
epidemic.
3 Change the parameters to : a=0.0001, b=0.2 Observe the variation in I.
4 Since the progress of epidemic is sensitive to 'a' and 'b', pick a few past
epidemics and collect the data for these parameters and analyse the trends as
observed.
During SARS epidemic in 2003, isolation was quickly and effectively done and the
epidemic died down.During the flu epidemic in 1917,this could not be done and
many millions died.
Note that change in I infectives,
or S = b/a . That is the point when I reaches a maximum ,before I starts to
decrease.
Let S = 30000,when the I was maximum. Then if b/a =30000.We can now
proceed to solve the equations with a =1,b=30000= 3x10-2 million,S=1
The SIR epidemic model has other uses too. Modeling forest fires,marketing
strategies and pest control models are modified form of SIR models.
HN
The population studies, demography, and the epidemic studies have occupied
hundreds of mathematicians and stat experts in many countires.Earlier,Malthus
and Vilfredo Pareto did pioneering work---they were part demographers and part
economists.Verhulst,Gomberg and others did extensive modelling in these
fields..These models have been widely employed in business schools too...
Leslie came up with a 'model or theory,using 'Leslie matrices'.He included the
reproductive age group in the population,say % of women in the age group 15 to
45 years,with three 10 year intervals, and their fertility rates.Note that the
fertility rate may change a lot due to social mores,economic pressures and
government intervention.In a country with aging population as in Japan,the
population growth will automatically decrease.Some governments regulate the
immigration policies based on the growth rate: Canada ,Australia,New Zealand for
instance.
Practice problems
1 A small lake can support a particular fish population of nearly 5000 fishes.If the
population initially was 200 at time t=30 days, find the growth equation.When
the population would reach a figure of 4500.
Hint: 200 = 5000(1-exp(-30k)) Solve for k.Use the equation to find t for 4500.
2 Comparing China and India, find the doubling time if the pop growth rate is 0.6 for china and
1.4 for India.
3 For the population of an island, the growth rate R = aP - bp.p is quite valid. a= 0.005 and b
= 0.0001.
Find the growth rate for p= 1million and 5 million population.
4 The stopping distance [D] for a truck is given by the following data:
Speed: 30 40 50 [mph]
D: 20 32 48 [feet.]
Fit a quadratic equation using the intrepolation method given earlier.
5 Develop a population model taking into account the age groups in the population,with % of
popualtion in the age group [15 to 30] and another age group [30 to 45] with different fertility
rates,say 3% and 2% in the equation. [Hint: replace a by weighted avarage of fertility rate
taking % population in the age groups.You can get plenty of data from open sources,especially
UN /UNICEF reports.]
6 Develop an epidemic model with a =0.001, The decrease in S is mainly due deaths in early
epidemics like the Plague during the medieval renaissance time in Italy.Taking s=0.75 of intial
population of say 1 million,find the possible value of b and I =100, S= 10^6
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Historical Note
Madhava of Sangamagrama [a village in Kerala, near Kochi,India] lived in the years 1350 to
1425.His school of mathematics discovered many results in mathematical analysis and
calculus.Madhava found the infinite series expansion we have given here ,for sine x and arctanx
.He had developed the Taylor series expansion and had discussed the correction term too.He
calculated the value of 'pi' upto 11 decimal places using his infinte series.He introduced the
concept of limits which is central to Newton-Leibniz calculus,almost 200 years before
Newton.He is also credited with concepts of convergence and ratio test,usually ascribed to
Cauchy.He/his students had also used methods similar to secant method,approximations
similar to Taylor series expansion and Rolle's theorem.He had also worked on continued fraction
which was known to Hindu mathematicians since Aryabhatta in 5th century.There are som e
surmises that the Jesuit missionaries who were located in those parts of Kerala might have
taken these concepts to Europe.
There is gradual acceptance of Madhava's works that Gregory series is now called Madhava-
Gregory series, and so on.Some have stated that Madhava is the original founder of
Mathematical analysis,though Newton and Leibniz developed calculus futher with their notations
.
The Madhava school flourished for nearly 200 years [14th to 16 th centuries] and many more
outstanding mathematicians contributed from that school.[See the corresponding web-sites ]
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