Homework Help: Calculus

Posted by Kim on Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 2:58am.

An important problem in mathematics is that of root finding: that is, given a function f (x), finding any roots of f in an interval. Exact methods exist for many functions:
• In the case of a linear function f (x) = ax + b, this is easy.
– If a ≠ 0, then x = −b /a.
– If a = 0, then there is no solution unless b = 0, in which case any real number is a solution.
• In the case of a quadratic function f (x) = ax^2+ b x +c, this is relatively easy.
– If a ≠ 0, then x = (-b±√(b^2-4ac))/2a
– If a = 0, then you are really in the case of a line.
Write a brief description of Newton’s method that should explain the concept to someone who knows pre-calculus, but not Calculus.

Calculus - Damon, Thursday, May 3, 2012 at 7:23am
Draw a tangent to the graph of the function, see where it hits the x axis.
Then draw a new tangent to the function at the x you just found. Continue until your function is close to zero.

Answer this Question

Related Questions

Algebra - How does finding the square root of a number compare to finding the ...
math - How does finding the square root of a number compare to finding the cube ...
trigonometry - sinA= 3/5 and C=17 Finding a and b Their two triangles and i have...
Calculus - I need to find the slope of the graph of the function at the given ...
calculus - let f be the function f(x) = e^(2x^2) find the first four nonzero ...
Pre-Calculus - Solve the equation by finding the square root. 4u2 + 4u + 1 = 75
science - i just want to know if my answeres are correct! A.The problem = the ...
math - finding the product for (7x+1)(x^2+1) and for the problem (2x+6)(x-10) ...
calculus - does anyone know the shortcut to finding the derivative of a function...
science someone please check my answers - i just want to know if my answeres ...

For Further Reading

First Name:
School Subject:
Answer: