Decimal search

The image above shows how I used Microsoft Excel. This was for the decimal search
method, all I had to do was input the values of x that I wanted (estimated values which were
3
2
close to the root) and input my f(x) which was x + 4 x 2 in the cells below but replacing
x with the x values above by clicking on the cell itself, for example the x value of 0
would be represented by C6. This allowed me to calculate f(x) for one cell and to calculate all
the other f(x) values, I simply used the click and drag feature which automatically applied my
f(x) formula to all the other corresponding values, thus saving time as I did not have to input
the formula into all of the cells. This feature is shown in the images below:

So altogether, for the calculations using the decimal search method, Excel allowed me to
obtain all of the f(x) values which I needed. There were 5 tables altogether and all I had to do
was enter the formula once for each table and use the click and drag feature which saved a lot
of time and made it much easier.

Fixed Point Iteration, x = g(x)

This method uses an iterative formula and so I had to type my iterative formula which was
1
1
xr+1 = 4 xr3 4 into a cell, however this time I replaced xr with the contents of the
previous cell as this is how you would perform iterations on Excel. My x was 0 as this was

the closest integer to the root and so I did not have to use my iterative formula yet. However
for x I input my iterative formula and clicked on the cell that says 0 inside which was E40
for where xr was meant to be. This would mean that to calculate x I would use the click and
drag feature, but to calculate the value on the software, Excel would use the previous iteration
which would be whatever x was. So for the x = g(x) method, I simply had to type in my
iterative formula only once and then use the click and drag feature to calculate the other
values. This was much faster than the decimal search method as for the decimal search
method there was 5 tables and so I had to type in my f(x) 5 times whereas x = g(x) method
only required the iterative formula once.

Fixed Point Iteration, Newton Raphson

For the Newton Raphson method, the procedure was similar to the x = g(x) method as we are
using iterations and an iterative formula. This time I had to enter my Newton Raphson
x 4 x 1
iterative formula which was xr+1 = xr and wherever there was
3 x 4
an xr I would replace it with whatever was in the previous cell as this is
how the iteration process would work on Excel. For example in the image
above, for the second iteration which is x2 I would use the cell with the
first iteration which is E64. As before, I would use the click and drag
feature to get the values for the rest of the iterations.
Excel, being the only software used for the coursework, was a very effective yet simple
software to use and allowed to me obtain what I required; however there was a few slight
problems when typing in certain formulas. The main problem being that formulas required
brackets and other symbols, and such a small mistake can lead to a
completely misleading answer and so you have to pay a lot of attention to reduce errors.
Having done the above tables for all 3 methods, we can conclude that although the x = g(x)
and Newton Raphson method are fairly similar, the x = g(x) method was easier to input into
Excel as the iterative formula is much smaller compared to the Newton Raphson method
which contained a differentiated version of the formula and more.
The x = g(x) method only required one simple, short input and so it was
the easiest amongst all 3 to input as the decimal search method required
f(x) to be input 5 times as I used 5 tables for that method, and so the
decimal search was the hardest one to enter with the software used.