Newtons Method,

Root Finding with MATLAB and Excel

TOPIC 1
Finding the Roots of
Equations

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 Review: Classification of Equations

Linear: independent variable appears to the first

power only, either alone or multiplied by a
constant
Nonlinear:
Polynomial: independent variable appears
raised to powers of positive integers only
General non-linear: all other equations

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Review: Solution Methods

Linear: Easily solved analytically

Polynomials: Some can be solved analytically (such
as by quadratic formula), but most will require
numerical solution
General non-linear: unless very simple, will
require numerical solution

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Review: The Bisection Method

In the bisection method, we start with an interval

(initial low and high guesses) and halve its width
until the interval is sufficiently small
As long as the initial guesses are such that the
function has opposite signs at the two ends of the
interval, this method will converge to a solution

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method

Newtons Method (also know as the Newton-

Rapshon Method) is another widely-used
algorithm for finding roots of equations
In this method, the slope (derivative) of the
function is calculated at the initial guess value and
projected to the x-axis
The corresponding x-value becomes the new guess
value
The steps are repeated until the answer is
obtained to a specified tolerance

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method

y(xi)
Tangent
Line: Slope =
y(xi)

Initial guess xi

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method

New guess for x:

xn = xi - y(xi)/y(xi)
y(xi)

xi
y(xi)/y(xi)

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method Example

Find a root of this equation:

The first derivative is:

Initial guess value: x = 10

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method Example

For x = 10:

This is the new value of x

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

Newtons Method Example

y = 1350
y = 580

New x-value = Initial

7.6724
guess =
10

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method Example

For x = 7.6724:

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

Newtons Method Example

y = 368.494
y = 279.621
Initial
value =
New x-value = 7.6724
6.3546

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method Example

Continue iterations:

Method quickly converges to this root

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel
 Newtons Method Example

To find the
other roots,
use different
initial guess
values

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method Example

Three roots found:

x = -2.0764 x = 1.4187

x = 5.6577

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Newtons Method - Comments

Usually converges to a root much faster than the

bisection method
In some cases, the method will not converge
(discontinuous derivative, initial slope = 0, etc.)
In most cases, however, if the initial guess is
relatively close to the actual root, the method will
converge
Dont necessarily need to calculate the derivative:
can approximate the slope from two points close
to the x-value. This is called the Secant Method

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 In-Class Exercise

Draw a flow chart of Newtons Method

Write the MATLAB code to apply Newtons Method
to the previous example:

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Define converge
tolerance tol

Input initial guess x

Calculate f(x)

while abs(f(x)) > tol

Calculate slope fpr(x)

x = x f(x)/fpr(x)
Calculate f(x)

Output root x
Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel
 MATLAB Code

MATLAB functions defining the function and its

derivative:

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

MATLAB Code

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 MATLAB Results

>> Newton
Enter initial guess
10
Root found: 5.6577
>> Newton
Enter initial guess
0
Root found: 1.4187
>> Newton
Enter initial guess
-10
Root found: -2.0764

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Excel and MATLAB Tools

Bisection method or Newtons method can

be easily programmed
However, Excel and MATLAB have built-in
tools for finding roots of equations

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Excel and MATLAB Tools

General non-linear equations:

Excel: Goal Seek, Solver
MATLAB: fzero
Polynomials:
MATLAB: roots

Graphing tools are also important to locate

roots approximately

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Excel Tools

We have seen how to use Solver for a system of

equations; we can easily apply it to find roots of a
single equation
There is a tool in Excel even easier to use for a
single equation: Goal Seek
With Goal Seek, we instruct Excel to change the
value of a cell containing the independent variable
to cause the value of the cell containing the
function to equal a given value

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

Goal Seek Example

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

Goal Seek Example

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 fzero Example

The MATLAB function fzero finds the root of a

function, starting with a guess value
Example: function fun1 defines this equation:

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 fzero Example

The function fzero has arguments of the name of

the function to be evaluated and a guess value:
>> fzero('fun1',10)
ans =
5.6577
Or the name of function to be evaluated and a
range of values to be considered:
>> fzero('fun1',[4 10])
ans =
5.6577

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 fzero Example

If a range is specified, then the function must have

opposite signs at the endpoints

> fzero('fun1',[0 10])

??? Error using ==> fzero at 292
The function values at the interval
endpoints must differ in sign.

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Graphing to Help Find Roots

Making a graph of the function is helpful to

determine how many real roots exist, and the
approximate locations of the roots
Example: Consider these two equations:

How many roots does each have?

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Graphing to Help Find Roots

Equation 1: Equation 2:

3 real roots 1 real root

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 roots Example

For polynomials, the MATLAB function roots finds

all of the roots, including complex roots
The argument of roots is an array containing the
coefficients of the equation
For example, for the equation

the coefficient array is [3, -15, -20, 50]

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 roots Example

>> A = [3, -15, -20, 50];

>> roots(A)
ans =
5.6577
-2.0764
1.4187

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 roots Example

Now find roots of

>> B = [3, -5, -20, 50];

>> roots(B)
ans =
-2.8120
2.2393 + 0.9553i
Two complex roots
2.2393 - 0.9553i

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel

 Summary

The bisection method and Newtons method (or

secant method) are widely-used algorithms for
finding the roots of equations
When using any tool to find the roots of non-linear
equations, remember that multiple roots may exist
The initial guess value will affect which root is
found

Engineering Computation: An Introduction Using MATLAB and Excel