Assignment I

3 1
1. Show that the equation x − 6 − sin(2x) has a unique real root.
2 2
a. Find an interval on which this unique real root is guaranteed to exist.
b. Using the interval found in part (a) and the bisection method, approximate the root within
an absolute tolerance of 10−5.

2. Consider the saving for a down payment problem. Which of the following scenarios requires a
smaller compounded monthly interest rate to achieve a goal of $ 25,000 after three years?
(a) a $14,000 initial invest investment with $250 per month thereafter; or
(b) a $12,500 initial investment with $300 per month thereafter?

3. The function f(x) = 27x 4 + 162x 3 + 180x 2 + 62x − 7 has a zero at x=1/3. Perform ten
iterations of Newton’s method on this function starting with zero initial approximation. What is
the apparent order of convergence of the sequence of approximations? What is the multiplicity of
zero at x=1/3? Would the sequence generated by bisection method converge faster?

4. An equation of state relates the volume V occupied by one mole of a gas to the instantaneous
pressure P and the Kelvin absolute temperature T of the gas. The Redlich-Kwong equation of state
is given by

RT a
P= −
V − b V(V + b) T
where a and b are related to the critical temperature Tc and the critical pressure Pc by the equations
5
R 2T c2 RT
a = 0.42747( ) and b = 0.08664( c )
Pc Pc

The coefficient R is a universal constant equal to 0.08206.

(a) Determine the volume of one mole of carbon dioxide at a temperature of T = 323.15K and a
pressure of one atmosphere. For carbon dioxide, Tc = 304.2K and Pc = 72.9 atmospheres.

(b) Determine the volume of one mole of ammonia at a temperature of T = 450K and a pressure of
56 atmospheres. For ammonia, Tc = 405.5K and Pc = 111.3 atmospheres.

5. A thermodynamics student needs the temperature of saturated stream under a pressure of 6.3
mega Pascal.

a) Estimate the temperature using linear interpolation from the data

Pressure (MPa) Temperature

6.0 275.64

7.0 285.88

b) Estimate the temperature using polynomial interpolation from the data

Pressure (MPa) 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0

Temperature (degree C) 250.40 263.99 275.64 285.88 295.06 303.40

c) Which approximation do you think is more accurate and why?

6. Experimentally determined values for the partial pressure of water vapor, pA, as a function of
distance y, from the surface of a pan of water are given below. Estimate the partial pressure at
distance 2.1 mm and 3.7 mm from the surface of water.

y (mm) 0 1 2 3 4 5

pA (atm) 0.100 0.065 0.042 0.029 0.022 0.020

7. To maximize a catch of bass in a lake, it is suggested to throw the line to the depth of the
thermocline. The characteristic feature of this area is the sudden change in temperature. We are
given the temperature vs. depth data for a lake in Table

Temperature, T (°C) Depth, z (m)

19.1 0

19.1 –1

19 –2

18.8 –3

18.7 –4

18.3 –5

18.2 –6

17.6 –7

11.7 –8

9.9 –9

9.1 –10

Using the given data, we see the largest change in temperature is between z = −8 m and z=−7m.

a) Determine the value of the temperature at z = −7.5 m using the direct method of interpolation and
a third order polynomial. Find the absolute relative approximate error for the third order polynomial
approximation.

b) The position where the thermocline exists is given where dz 2 = 0 . Using the expression from
part (a), what is the value of the depth at which the thermocline d2T exists?

8. A model for the growth of an insect population predicts the following values for the population
P(t), and the rate of increase in the population, P’(t), as function of time.
 t P(t) P’(t)

0.000000 0.000000 600.000000

0.7500000 445.903683 573.579644

1.500000 842.695315 477.074216

2.085600 1095.211197 384.947629

Use the Hermite interpolation polynomial derived from this data to tabulate the population in half
week increment.

9. Consider the following data set:

x -1.0 -0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0

y 0.0 0.82436 1.00000 0.90980 0.73576

y’ 2.71828 -0.36788

Construct the not-a-knot and clamped cubic spline for this data.

The data for this problem is taken from the function y = (x + 1)2 − 0.5e x. Plot the error in each of
the splines as a function of x. Which spline produced the better results.

10. Let

x f(x) f’(x)

1 0 1

2 2 ln2 ln2+1

3 3 ln3 ln3 +1

Construct Hermite Interpolation polynomial for f and approximate f(1.5).