HP (Hewlett-Packard) 32SII Calculator User Manual


 
C–14 More about Solving
File name 32sii-Manual-E-0424
Printed Date : 2003/4/24 Size : 17.7 x 25.2 cm
Solve for X using initial guesses of 10
–8
and –10
–8
.
Keys: Display: Description:
`
8
_
H
X
1
_
`
8
_
..
_
Enters guesses.
{
V
J
.).
Selects program "J" as the
function.
{
X

!

No root found using very small
guesses near zero (thereby
restricting the search to the flat
region of the function).
@
9
9
).
)
)
The last two estimates are far
apart, and the final value of f(x) is
large.
If you use larger guesses, then SOLVE can find the roots, which are outside
the flat region (at x = 2 and x = –2).
Round–Off Error
The limited (12–digit) precision of the calculator can cause errors due to
rounding off, which adversely affect the iterative solutions of SOLVE and
integration. For example,
0 10 - ]10 1) x [(
30215
=++
has no roots because f(x) is always greater than zero. However, given initial
guesses of 1 and 2, SOLVE returns the answer 1.0000 due to round–off
error.
Round–off error can also cause SOLVE to fail to find a root. The equation
0 7-x
2
=
has a root at
7
. However, no 12–digit number exactly equals
7
, so
the calculator can never make the function equal to zero. Furthermore, the