Activities

Numerical methods of solving equations - Newton's method

Newton's method is an efficient iterative method for estimating solutions to equations.

If the equation is , the sequence of values  is produced by the formula:

Newton's method is based on the graph of :
  • For any value  in the sequence, the tangent is drawn to the graph at the point .
  • is taken to be the value where the tangent intersects the x-axis.

Use the diagram to prove the formula :


Illustration of Newton's method:

For other approaches to one point iterative methods , see the activities:

Use Newton's method for the problems in the activities:

Investigate web plots for those problems.

Need help with differentiation? Check out these activity pages.

Results can also be produced using:

Problems from Visual Calculus.

See other activities: