Mediaspace scheduled maintenance: Aug 25, 2026 07:00 - 12:00 AM. During this time, videos will be temporarily unavailable. Check status updates.

Lecture

Bracketing Methods: Bisection and Regula Falsi

In course

ChE-312: Numerical methods

This course introduces students to modern computational and mathematical techniques for solving problems in chemistry and chemical engineering. The use of introduced numerical methods will be demonstrated using the Python programming language. ...

Description

This lecture covers bracketing methods in numerical analysis, focusing on the bisection method and the Regula Falsi method. It explains how to bisect a bracket to find the root and how Regula Falsi differs by using the intersection of the x-axis and a line connecting function values. The lecture also discusses handling multiple roots, including double and triple roots, and dealing with even numbers of multiple roots.

Instructors (2)

Kevin Sivula

Ljubisa Miskovic

Ljubisa Miskovic earned his Ph.D. degree in Automatic Control from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL) under the co-supervision of Dominique Bonvin and Alireza Karimi, in 2006. He pursued his postdoctoral studies at the Centre for Systems Engineering and Applied Mechanics, Universite Catholique de Louvain with Michel Gevers before moving to the laboratory of Vassily Hatzimanikatis at the EPFL. In 2010, he became a research scientist. His research interests include systems biology, metabolic engineering, synthetic biology, data-driven control design, system identification, stochastic processes and estimation theory.

Official source

Related concepts (24)

Root-finding algorithms

In mathematics and computing, a root-finding algorithm is an algorithm for finding zeros, also called "roots", of continuous functions. A zero of a function f, from the real numbers to real numbers or from the complex numbers to the complex numbers, is a number x such that f(x) = 0. As, generally, the zeros of a function cannot be computed exactly nor expressed in closed form, root-finding algorithms provide approximations to zeros, expressed either as floating-point numbers or as small isolating intervals, or disks for complex roots (an interval or disk output being equivalent to an approximate output together with an error bound).

Regula falsi

In mathematics, the regula falsi, method of false position, or false position method is a very old method for solving an equation with one unknown; this method, in modified form, is still in use. In simple terms, the method is the trial and error technique of using test ("false") values for the variable and then adjusting the test value according to the outcome. This is sometimes also referred to as "guess and check". Versions of the method predate the advent of algebra and the use of equations.

Bisection method

In mathematics, the bisection method is a root-finding method that applies to any continuous function for which one knows two values with opposite signs. The method consists of repeatedly bisecting the interval defined by these values and then selecting the subinterval in which the function changes sign, and therefore must contain a root. It is a very simple and robust method, but it is also relatively slow. Because of this, it is often used to obtain a rough approximation to a solution which is then used as a starting point for more rapidly converging methods.

Secant method

In numerical analysis, the secant method is a root-finding algorithm that uses a succession of roots of secant lines to better approximate a root of a function f. The secant method can be thought of as a finite-difference approximation of Newton's method. However, the secant method predates Newton's method by over 3000 years. For finding a zero of a function f, the secant method is defined by the recurrence relation. As can be seen from this formula, two initial values x0 and x1 are required.

Numerical analysis

Numerical analysis is the study of algorithms that use numerical approximation (as opposed to symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics). It is the study of numerical methods that attempt at finding approximate solutions of problems rather than the exact ones. Numerical analysis finds application in all fields of engineering and the physical sciences, and in the 21st century also the life and social sciences, medicine, business and even the arts.

Related lectures (33)

Numerical Methods in Chemistry

Covers the implementation of numerical methods in MATLAB for solving chemical problems.

Nonlinear Equations: Bisection Method

Introduces root finding using the bisection method for nonlinear equations, illustrated with a three-tanks system example.

Numerical Methods: Iterative Techniques

Covers open methods, Newton-Raphson, and secant method for iterative solutions in numerical methods.

Bisection Method: Nonlinear Equations

Covers the bisection method for finding zeros of nonlinear functions.

Nonlinear Equations: Methods and Applications