ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY

College of Engineering and Architecture

EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Lesson 5: Bisection Method

Objectives:
This lesson will introduce you to the bracketing method in finding the root of a single non-linear equation. In
completing this topic the students must acquire the following;
 Understanding how to solve the roots problem with the use of the Bisection Method
 Understanding the False Position and how it is varied from Bisection.

At the end of this lesson, the student will learn how to use the bisection method as a means to extract the root of
an equation of one variable by manually computing and using a spread sheet application MS Excel.

Discussion:
In Mathematics, the bisection method is a straightforward technique to find numerical solutions of an equation with
one unknown. Among all the numerical methods, the bisection method is the simplest one to solve the transcendental
equation. In this lesson, we will discuss the bisection method with solved problems in detail.
The bisection method is used to find the roots of a polynomial equation. It separates the interval and subdivides
the interval in which the root of the equation lies. The principle behind this method is the intermediate theorem for
continuous functions. It works by narrowing the gap between the positive and negative intervals until it closes in on the
correct answer. This method narrows the gap by taking the average of the positive and negative intervals. It is a simple
method and it is relatively slow. The bisection method is also known as the interval halving method, root-finding method,
binary search method or dichotomy method.
Let us consider a continuous function “f” which is defined on the closed interval [ x L , x U ], is given with f( x L ,) and

f( x U ) of different signs. Then by intermediate theorem, there exists a point x belong to ( x L , x U ) for which f(x) = 0.

Steps on how to manually compute the root of an equation using the Bisection Method:

STEP 1: Choose lower x l and upper x u in a given equation for the root such that the function changes sign over the
interval. It can be checked if the roots lies in either lower sub-interval or upper sub-interval.
STEP 2: An estimate of the root x r is determined by
xl + xu
x r=
2
ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

STEP 3: Make the following evaluations to determine in which sub-interval the root lies for the next iteration:
a. If f ( x r ) <0, the root lies in the lower sub-interval. Therefore, set x l = x r∧x u =xu and return to Step 2.

b. If f ( x r ) >0, the root lies in the upper sub-interval. Therefore, set x u = x r∧x l =xl and retu`rn to Step 2.

Sample Problem #1:

Find the real root of x 2−3=0 @ [1,2] with e=1 x 10−6.
Type the following parameters in your spreadsheet application (MS Excel).

Where: x L =lower limit; x U =upper limit; x r =midpoint

First, at iteration 1, input the lower and upper limits and get their midpoint.

Second, get the function of xl, xu and xr. This is done by simply substituting the value of xl, xu and xr to the equation.

Third, get error result (e=absolute value of f(xr)).

ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Therefore, the value of the function at “xr” is

f (x r ) = f(1.5) = (1.5)2-3 = 2.25 – 3 = -0.75 < 0
If f ( x r ) <0, assume x l = x r∧x u =xu and If f ( x r ) >0, assume x u = x r∧x l =xl .

f ( x r )is negative, so x l is replaced with x r = 1.5 for the next iterations.

ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Based on the results, the new xl and xr is 1.5 and 2 respectively. Do several iterations until e<1x10^-6. In our
case, the root is 1.732050896.

Sample Problem #2:

Determine the real root of the equation f ( x)=2+ x−1 lnx ; [0.1, 1] using the Bisection Method in excel until the estimated

error e falls below 1 x 10−7 .

ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Therefore, the root of the equation is 0.426303 at iteration 22 which the estimated error result falls below 1x10^-7
is 8.205x10^-8.

Sample Problem #3:

Find the root of the equation using Bisection Method. F ( x )=2 x 5−cos ( x ) −x e x ; [1, 2] with e=1x10^-4.
ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Therefore, at iteration 15 the root of the equation is 1.1515198.

Perform Laboratory Activity #4:

ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis
Instruction: Open your Microsoft Excel and perform the following equations. Submit your file after the activity. Print
it out- Short bond- follow the format shown at the upper part of the paper. Late to submit will be given a deduction points to
the total score.

Determine the following equations using Bisection Method at limit error of 1x10^-6.

1. f ( x )=−26+85 x−91 x 2+ 44 x 3−8 x 4 + x 5 ;[0.5 , 1]

2. f ( x )=tan ( x 2 ) +0.1 x ; [3 , 4 ]

3. f ( x )=sin ( x3 ) + 4 x 2−10 ; [1 , 2]