INDUSTRIAL UNIVERSITY OF SANTANDER

SCHOOL PHYSICAL-CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

SCHOOL OF PETROLEUM ENGINEERING
NUMERICAL METHODS

Mathematical modeling approximation and round –

off errors, roots and equations and bracketing
methods(graphical methods,the bisection methods
and the false position method.

Oscar alberto Estevez real

Industrial University of Santander

Numerical methods
2010
NUMERICAL METHODS

Introduction

Numerical methods are techniques by which mathematical

problems are formulated so that they can be solved with arithmetic
operations.Although there are many kinds of numerical methods ,
they have one common characterisstic: they invariably involve large
numbers of tedious arithmetic calculations. It is little wonder that with
the development of fast , efficient digital computers, the role of
numerical methods in ingineering problem solving has increased
dramatically dramatically in recent years.

Mathematical model

A mathematical model uses mathematical language to describe

a system. The process of developing a mathematical model is
termed mathematical modelling (also modeling). Mathematical
models are used not only in the natural sciences (such
as physics, biology, earth science, meteorology)
and engineeringdisciplines, but also in the social sciences (such
as economics, psychology,sociology and political
science); physicists, engineers, computer scientists,
andeconomists use mathematical models most extensively.

Is very important to know that the Mathematical models can take

many forms, including but not limited to dynamical
systems, statistical models, differential equations, or game theoretic
models. These and other types of models can overlap, with a given
model involving a variety of abstract structures.

Examples of mathematical models

Population Growth. A simple (though approximate) model of

population growth is the Malthusian growth model. A slightly more
realistic and largely used population growth model is thelogistic
function, and its extensions.

Model of a particle in a potential-field. In this model we consider a

particle as being a point of mass m which describes a trajectory in
space which is modeled by a function x : R → R3 giving its
coordinates in space as a function of time. The potential field is
given by a function V : R3 → R and the trajectory is a solution of the
differential equation

NUMERICAL APPROACH

Many of the methods in this book are straightforwar in description

and application , it would be very tempting at this point for us to
proceed directly to the main body of the text and teach you how to
use these techniques.However, understanding the concept of error
is so important to the effective use of numerical methods.

is important to note that such errors are characteristic of most of the

techniques described in many biographies.

Truncation error is the discrepancy introduced by the fact that

numerical methods may employ approximations to represent exact
mathematical operations and quantities.

Examples of numerical approximations of π

The earliest evidenced conscious use of an accurate approximation

for the length of a circumference with respect to its radius is of
3+1/7th in the designs of the Old Kingdom pyramids in Egypt.
The Great Pyramid at Giza, built c.2550-2500 B.C, was precisely
1760 cubits around with a height of 280 cubits (1760/280=2xPi).
Egyptologists such as Professors Flinders Petrie [1] and I.E.S
Edwards[2] have shown that these circular proportions were
deliberately chosen for symbolic reasons by the Old Kingdom
scribes and architects[3][4]. The same apotropaic proportions were
used earlier at the Pyramid of Meidumc.2600 B.C. This application is
archaeologically evidenced, whereas textual evidence does not
survive from this early period. This puts the value at approximately
3.142, or 0.04% above the exact value.
An Egyptian scribe named Ahmes wrote the oldest known text to
give an approximate value for π. TheRhind Mathematical
Papyrus dates from the Egyptian Second Intermediate Period—
though Ahmes stated that he copied a Middle Kingdom papyrus (i.e.
from before 1650 BC)—and describes the value in such a way that
the result obtained comes out to 256⁄81, which is approximately 3.16,
or 0.6% above the exact value.
As early as the 19th century BC, Babylonian mathematicians were
using π ≈ 25⁄8, which is about 0.5% below the exact value.
The Indian astronomer Yajnavalkya gave astronomical calculations
in the Shatapatha Brahmana (c. 9th century BC) that led to a
fractional approximation of π ≈ 339⁄108 (which equals 3.13888..., which
is correct to two decimal places when rounded, or 0.09% below the
exact value).
In the third century BC, Archimedes proved the sharp
inequalities 223⁄71 < π < 22⁄7, by means of regular 96-gons; these
values are 0.02% and 0.04% off, respectively. (Differentiating
the arctangent function leads to a simple modern proof that
indeed 31⁄7 exceeds π.) Later, in the second century AD, Ptolemy,
using a regular 360-gon, obtained a value of 3.141666...., which is
correct to three decimal places.[5]
The Chinese mathematician Liu Hui in 263 AD computed π with to
between 3.141024 and 3.142708 with inscribe 96-gon and 192-gon;
the average of these two values is 3.141864, an error of less than
0.01%. However, he suggested that 3.14 was a good enough
approximation for practical purposes. Later he obtained a more
accurate result π ≈ 3927⁄1250 = 3.1416.

ROOTS OF EQUATIONS
Years ago , you learned to use the quadratic formula

(PT2.1)

To solve
(PT2.2)

The values calculed with Ep(PT2.1) are called the ‘roots’ of

eq(PT2.2), they represent the values of x that make Eq (PT2.2)
equal to zero. Thus, we can define the root of an equation as the
value of x that makes f(x)=0. For this reason , roots are sometimes
called the zeros of the equations.

Although the quadratic formula is handy for solving Eq (pT2.2) there

are many other functions for which the root cannot be determined
so easily. For these cases are:

 Graphical methods
 The bisection methods
 The false position method
 Incremental searches and determining initial guesses

Graphical Methods
A simple method for obtaining an estimate of the root of the
equation is to make a plot of the function and observe where it
crosses the x axis.

Example:

The graphical approach

Problem statement. Use the graphical approach to determine the drag

coefficient c needed for a parachutist of mass m=68.1 kg to have a
velocity of 40 m/s after-falling for time t= 10 s Note: the acceleration
due to gravity is 9.8 m/

Solution :this problem can be solved by determining the root of Eq

(PT2.4) using the parameters t=10, g=9.8 v=40 and m= 68.1

Various values of c can be substituted into the right –hand side of this
equation to compute.

c F(x)
4 34.115
8 17.653
12 6.053
16 -2.269
20 -8.401
 40.000
35.000
30.000
25.000
20.000
15.000
Series1
10.000
5.000 root
0
-5.000 0 5 10 15 20 25
-10.000
-15.000

Graphical techniques are of limited practical value because they are not
precise . Howevwe , graphical methods can be utilized to obtain rough
estimates of roots. These estimates can be employed as starting
guesses for numerical methods discussed below.

The Bisection Method

Incremental search methods capitalize on this observation by locating an
interval where the function changes sign. Then the location of the sing
change (and consequently, the root) is indentified more precisely by
dividing the interval into a number of subintervals .

Each of these subintervals is searched to locate the sing change.

In general, if is real and continuous in the interval from and

have opposite signs, that is

then there is at least one real root between

see link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5e1GUYfnc9I

The False-Position Method

A shortcoming of the bisection method

equally dividing the interval

no account for for the magnitudes of

An alternative method is to join by a straight line and the

intersection of this line with the x axis represents an improved estimate of
the root. This mothod is called as method of false position, regula falsi, or
linear interpolation method.

The false-position formula is

Problem statement. Use the false-position method to determine the root

of the same equation investigated

Solution: As in example 5.3, initiate the computation with guesses of

First interation:

— =14.9113

Which has a true relative error of 0.89 percent

Second iteration:

F(

Therefore, the root lies in the first subinterval , and becomes the
upper limit for the next iteration ,
 - =14.7942

Which has true and approximate relative errors of 0.09 and 0.79
percent. Additional iterations can be performed to refine the estimate of
the roots.

See link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPTZXh-hPxc

DOCUMENTS TAKEN FROM

 *Numerical methods for engineers fifth edition steven c.

chapra

Chapter 1,2,3,4,5.

 http://www.cheric.org/ippage/e/ipdata/2001/13/node3.html
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numericos\Mathematical model - Wikipedia, the free
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