Chapter 2

ROOTS OF EQUATIONS:
POLYNOMIALS
Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

Roots of Polynomials
The roots of polynomials such as

f n ( x) ao a1 x a2 x an x
2

Follow these rules:

1. For an nth order equation, there are n real or
complex roots.
2. If n is odd, there is at least one real root.
3. If complex root exist in conjugate pairs (that is,
+i and -i), where i=-1.
by Lale Yurttas, Texas
A&M University

Chapter 2

Conventional Methods
If only real roots exist, bracketing and
open methods could be used.
However finding good initial guesses
complicates both the open and bracketing
methods, also the open methods could be
susceptible to divergence.
To find the real and complex roots of
polynomials Mller and Bairstow
methods.

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

MLLERS METHOD

Obtains a root estimate by projecting a

parabola to the x-axis through three
Figure 7.3
function values.

Secant
method
by Lale Yurttas, Texas
A&M University

Mllers
method
Chapter 2

Procedures
1. Choose three initial guesses: x0, x1 and x2
2. Find coefficient of a, b and c by using the
following equations:

h o x1 - x o

h1 x 2 - x1

f ( x1 ) f ( xo )
f ( x2 ) f ( x1 )
o
1
x1 xo
x2 x1
1 o
a
h1 ho
by Lale Yurttas, Texas
A&M University

b ah1 1 c f ( x2 )

Chapter 2

3. Roots can be found by applying an alternative

form of quadratic formula:

x3 x2

2c

b b 4ac
2

term yields two roots, the sign is chosen to

agree with b. This will result in a largest
denominator, and will give root estimate that is
closest to x2.
4. The error can be calculated as

x3 x2
a
100%
x3

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

5. Once x3 is determined, the process is

repeated using the following guidelines:
a) If only real roots are being located, choose
the two original points that are nearest the
new root estimate, x3.
b) If both real and complex roots are estimated,
employ a sequential approach just like in
secant method, x1, x2, and x3 to replace xo, x1,
and x2.

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

Example 1
Use Mllers method with guesses of
xo, x1 and x2 = 4.5, 5.5, and 5,
respectively, to determine a root of
equation f(x) = x3 13x 12. Note
that the roots of this equation are -3,
-1 and 4.

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

BAIRSTOWS METHOD
An iterative approach loosely related to both Mller
and Newton-Raphson methods.

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

Procedures
1. Choose initial guesses of r & s:
2. Find the value of bo, b1, b2, , bn by using
the following equation:
bn an
bn-1 an-1 rbn
bi ai rbi 1 sbi 2

i n-2 to 0

3. Find the value of c1, c2, c3, , cn by using

the following equation:
cn bn

cn 1 bn 1 rcn
by Lale Yurttas, Texas
A&M University

ci bi rci 1 sci 2
Chapter 7

i n 2 to 1

10

 Then

c2 r c3 s b1
c1r c2 s bo

Solved for r and s, in

turn are employed to
improve the initial guesses.

At each step the error can be estimated as

a ,r

100%
r

a,s

100%
r

by Lale Yurttas, Texas

A&M University

Chapter 2

11

 The values of the roots are determined by

r r 2 4s
x
2
At this point three possibilities exist:
1. The quotient is a third-order polynomial or greater. The
previous values of r and s serve as initial guesses and
Bairstows method is applied to the quotient to evaluate
new r and s values.
2. The quotient is quadratic. The remaining two roots are
evaluated directly, using the above eqn.
3. The quotient is a 1st order polynomial. The remaining
single root can be evaluated simply as x=-s/r.
by Lale Yurttas, Texas
A&M University

Chapter 2

12