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4.

The False-Position Method:

 A shortcoming of the bisection method is that, in dividing the interval from xl to xu


into equal halves, no account is taken of the magnitudes of f(xl) and f(xu). For
example, if f(xl) is much closer to zero than f(xu), it is likely that the root is closer to xl
than to xu.

 An alternative method that exploits this graphical insight is to join the points [xl, f(xl)]
and [xu, f(xu)] 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.

 Using similar triangles (as shown in the figure below), the intersection of the straight
line with the x-axis can be estimated as

( ) ( )

Cross multiply:
( )( ) ( )( )
Expand:
( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( ) ( )( )
Collect terms and rearrange:
[ ( ) ( )] ( ) ( )
Divide by ( ) ( ):
( ) ( )
( ) ( )
Expand:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Adding and subtracting on the right side of the equation:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Collecting terms:
( ) ( )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
( )( )
( ) ( )
False-position formula.

Algorithm of False Position Method:

The steps to apply the false position method to find the root of the equation
f(x)=0 are:

1. Choose xl and xu as two guesses for the root such that f(xl).f(xu)<0, or in other
words, f(x) changes sign between xl and xu.

2. Estimate the root, xr of the equation f(x)=0 as

( )( )
( ) ( )
2. Make the following evaluation to determine in which subinterval the root lies:
b. If f(xl) . f(xr) < 0, then the root lies between xl and xr (1st subinterval); then set
xl= xl; xu=xr and return to step 2.
c. If f(xl) . f(xr) > 0, then the root lies between xr and xu (2nd subinterval); then set
xl= xr; xu=xu and return to step 2.
d. If f(xl) . f(xr) =0, then the root is xr. Stop the algorithm if this is true.
3. Find the new estimate of the root
( )( )
( ) ( )

Find the absolute relative approximate error as

| | | |

where:
=estimated root from present iteration
=estimated root from previous iteration
4. Compare the absolute relative approximate error | | with the pre-specified
relative error tolerance . If | |> , then go to step 3, else stop the algorithm.
Note, one should also check whether the number of iterations is more than the
maximum number of iterations allowed. If so, one needs to terminate the algorithm
and notify the user about it.

Illustrative Example:

Use the false position method to determine the root of the equation ( )
Use n=2 as stopping criterion.

Solution:
From the example in graphical approach, consider lower xl=0.4 and upper xu=0.6. The
function changes sign between values of 0.4 and 0.6 (see figure 2.1).

In iteration 2, the percent absolute relative approximate error is 0.1732516, which is


less than . Therefore, the root is equal to 0.56717.

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