ECH 3128 Numerical Method and Optimisation Process

Tutorial 1

Question 1 (Test 2021/2022)

You are working for a start-up chemical fertilizers company and have been asked to
determine the minimum number of chemical fertilizers that the shop will have to sell to make
a profit. The equation that gives the minimum number of chemical fertilizers to be sold after
considering the total costs and the total sales is
𝒇𝒇(𝒏𝒏) = 𝟒𝟒𝟒𝟒 𝒏𝒏𝟏𝟏.𝟓𝟓 − 𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖𝟖 + 𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑𝟑 = 𝟎𝟎
a) Use the secant method of finding roots of equations to evaluate the minimum number of
computers that need to be sold to make a profit. Conduct three iterations to estimate the
root of the above equation. Find the absolute relative approximate error at the end of
each iteration.
b) Your manager wants to see the comparison of your output between the secant method
and the calculation using any open root findings method of your choice. Show at least 3
iterations of calculation. For the calculations, use at least 5 significant figures for better
accuracy. Discuss and compare your result for the manager. Include output from the
built-in function in the Matlab too.

Question 2 (Test 2020/2021)

Solve the following nonlinear equation
𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 𝑥𝑥𝑒𝑒 2𝑥𝑥 − 1
using the
a) Bisection method.
b) Secant method with 𝑥𝑥0 = 0 and 𝑥𝑥1 = 1
Calculate five iterations with approximate relative error.
Compare the results with Fzero function in Matlab.

Question 3 (MATLAB exercise - Polynomials)

a) Determine the roots for these polynomials:
i) 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = −2𝑥𝑥 6 − 1.5𝑥𝑥 4 + 10𝑥𝑥 + 2
ii) 𝑓𝑓(𝑥𝑥) = 8𝑥𝑥 6 + 5𝑥𝑥 5 − 1.5𝑥𝑥 4 − 2𝑥𝑥 3 + 9𝑥𝑥 2 + 10𝑥𝑥 + 2
b) using the roots determine in part (a), construct the polynomial again using built-in
function in Matlab.