MATH221 · Chapter 2 · Annotated SlidesThe Bisection Method
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The Bisection Method

The bisection method: halving [a, b] on the sign change, stopping criteria and the error bound |pₙ − p| ≤ (b − a)/2ⁿ.

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Every original slide is shown unchanged. Yellow marks on a slide point to a numbered note: hover or tap a mark to jump to its note, and hover a note to see its marks. Questions tagged Past exam appeared on a real paper; Prediction questions are likely angles, not confirmed. Pick an answer to each question: a wrong pick tells you why it is wrong, so you can try again.

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  2. 2 Bisection Technique The first technique, based on the Intermediate Value Theorem, is called the Bisection, or Binary-search, method. Suppose /is a continuous function defined on the interval [a, b], with f(a) and f(b) of opposite sign. The Intermediate Value Theorem implies that a number p exists in (a, b) with f(p) = 0. Although the procedure will work when there is more than one root in the
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Notes

  1. Bisection: pₙ = (aₙ + bₙ)/2; keep the half where f changes sign. Always converges (slowly, linearly).

  2. Tip Error bound: |pₙ − p| ≤ (b − a)/2ⁿ. To reach tolerance ε, need n ≥ log₂((b − a)/ε).

Exam angle

PredictionQ1

How many bisection steps on [1, 2] guarantee an error below 10⁻³?

PredictionQ2

Do one bisection step for f(x) = x³ + 4x² − 10 on [1, 2].

Compare with the model answer

f(1) = −5 < 0, f(2) = 14 > 0. p₁ = 1.5, f(1.5) = 2.375 > 0, so the root is in [1, 1.5].

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Bisection Technique The first technique, based on the Intermediate Value Theorem, is called the Bisection, or Binary-search, method. Suppose /is a continuous function defined on the interval [a, b], with f(a) and f(b) of opposite sign. The Intermediate Value Theorem implies that a number p exists in (a, b) with f(p) = 0. Although the procedure will work when there is more than one root in the

Slide 2: Bisection Technique The first technique, based on the Intermediate Value Theorem, is called the Bisection, or Binary-search, method. Suppose /is a continuous function defined on the interval [a, b], with f(a) and f(b) of opposite sign. The Intermediate Value Theorem implies that a number p exists in (a, b) with f(p) = 0. Although the procedure will work when there is more than one root in the
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