College of Engineering Pune

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Computational Methods & Programming

Welcome!!
Session 6
 Regula Falsi method
(False position method)
Regula Falsi method
• Although bisection is a perfectly valid technique for determining roots, its
approach is relatively inefficient for some cases.
• False position is an alternative based on a graphical insight.
• A shortcoming of the bisection method is that, in dividing the interval from
x1 to x2 into equal halves, no account is taken of the magnitudes of f (x1)
and f (x2).
• For example, if f (x1) is much closer to zero than f (x2), it is likely that the
root is closer to x1 than to x2 (see the figure). f(x2)
Y = f(x)
Y = f(x)

x1

x x2

f(x1)
Regula Falsi method
• An alternative method that exploits this graphical insight is to join f (x1)
and f (x2) by a straight line.
• The intersection of this line with the x axis represents an improved
estimate of the root.
• The fact that the replacement of the curve by a straight line gives a
“false position” of the root is the origin of the name, method of false
position, or in Latin, regula falsi.
• It is also called the linear interpolation method. f(x2)
Y = f(x)
Y = f(x)

x1 x3

x x2

f(x1)
Regula Falsi method
Y = f(x)
f(x2)

x1 x3

x x2

Y = f(x)
f(x3)
f(x1)
Regula Falsi method
Y = f(x) Y = f(x)
f(x2)

x1 x3

x x2

f(x3)

f(x1)
Regula Falsi method
Y = f(x) Y = f(x)
f(x2)

x3
x1

x x2
f(x3)
f(x1)
 Regula Falsi method
Y = f(x)
Consider triangle f(x2) x3 x2 f(x2)
and
Triangle f(x1) x3 x1
Observing the similar angles we can
write,
𝑓(𝑥1 ) 𝑓(𝑥2 )
− =
𝑥3 −𝑥1 𝑥2 −𝑥3
Or
x1 x3
𝑓(𝑥1 ) 𝑓(𝑥2 )
= x2
𝑥3 −𝑥1 𝑥3 −𝑥2 x
Cross multiply and get
𝑓 𝑥1 𝑥2 −𝑓(𝑥2 )𝑥1
𝑥3 = Y = f(x)
𝑓(𝑥1 )−𝑓(𝑥2 )
𝑓 𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑓(𝑥2 )𝑥1 f(x3)
𝑥3 = −
𝑓(𝑥1 ) − 𝑓(𝑥2 ) 𝑓(𝑥1 ) − 𝑓(𝑥2 ) f(x1)

Add and subtract x2 on RHS

𝑓 𝑥1 𝑥2 𝑓(𝑥2 )𝑥1 𝑓 𝑥2 (𝑥1 − 𝑥2 )
𝑥3 = 𝑥2 + − 𝑥2 − Cross multiply 𝑥3 = 𝑥2 −
𝑓(𝑥1 ) − 𝑓(𝑥2 ) 𝑓(𝑥1 ) − 𝑓(𝑥2 ) 𝑓(𝑥1 ) − 𝑓(𝑥2 )
Use false position method to locate the root of
𝐟 𝐱 = 𝒙𝟏𝟎 − 𝟏

Y = f(x)

f(x2)

x1 x3 x3
x2
x

f(x1) f(x3) f(x3) f(x3)

Y = f(x)
Use Bisection method to locate the root of
𝐟 𝐱 = 𝒙𝟏𝟎 − 𝟏

Y = f(x)

f(x2)

x1 x3 x3
x2
x
f(x3)
f(x1) f(x3)

Y = f(x)