ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY

College of Engineering and Architecture

EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Lesson 3: Method of Successive Substitution

Objective:
In this lesson, students are expected to find the roots of the linear or non-linear using method of successive
substitution and to learn how to use an excel spreadsheet to find the root of the equation.

Discussion:
The method of successive substitution is a numerical method for solving a linear or non-linear equation in finding
the root that uses the application of a fixed point iteration. Fixed point- a point say, “x” is called fixed point if it satisfies the
equation of x=g(x).
The fixed point iteration method in numerical analysis is used to find an approximate solution to algebraic and
transcendental equations. Sometimes, it becomes very tedious to find solutions to cubic, bi-quadratic and transcendental
equations; then, we can apply specific numerical methods to find the solution; one among those methods is the fixed point
iteration method.
The fixed point iteration method uses the concept of a fixed point in a repeated manner to compute the solution of
the given equation. A fixed point is a point in the domain of a function g such that g(x) = x. In the fixed point iteration method,
the given function is algebraically converted in the form of g(x) = x.

Sample Problem #1:

Find the root of x 2+ 5 x +6=0 with the limit error of1 x 10−3 .
Given:
2
x + 5 x +6=0
x=g(x) (x is a fixed point of g(x))
−3
e=1 x 10 or 0.001

Step 1) Manipulate the equation into the form of:

2
−x −6 successive equation
x i+1=
5
substitution
Initial guess:
1st Estimation: x=0
2
−x −6
x i+1= =
5
2
−0 −6 −6
= =−1.2
5 5
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College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

e= |x−( x i+1 )|

e= |0+ 1.2| = 1.2

2nd Estimation: x=-1.2

2
−(−1.2) −6 −1.44−6 −7.44
x i+1= = = =−1.488
5 5 5
e= |x−( x i+ 1)|

e= |−1.2−(−1.488)| = 0.288

3rd Estimation: x=-1.488

2
−(−1.488) −6 −1.44−6 = −7.44 =−1.6428
x i+1= =
5 5 5
e= |x−( x i+ 1)|

e= |−1.488−(−1.6428)|=0.1548
Continue and drag it down to get the root of successive substitution.

Step 2) Prepare the spreadsheet and follow the format of (i, x, xi +1, e)

Step 3) Substitute the given to their respective column and perform the according to the rule.
ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

=F3

Note: The error result

must below in a given
limit error.

Step 4) Continue the process until it reaches to the limit of less than 1 x 10−3 or that is 0.001 .Here, we will notice that at
iteration 21 the value of e is 0.00088548 which is approximately equal to 0.001. Then, we can say that we will stop at this
iteration since we reach already the value of the limit error (e). Then,
x i+1 ≈-1.9964775. (Note: Use the lower value near to 0.001 or to the limit error.)
The root is -1.9964775. If we are going to solve for the roots of the equation x 2+ 5 x +6=0 , the results would be

x 1=−2∧x 2=−3. We can see that one of the roots x= -2 is near to our result which is -1.9964775.

Sample Problem #2:

Find the root of cos x=3 x−1 with the limit error of1 x 10−4 .
Given:
cos x=3 x−1 (Note: set your calculator into radian mode)
x=g(x) (x is a fixed point of g(x))
−4
e=1 x 10 or 0.0001

Step 1) Manipulate the equation into the form of:

cos x +1
x i+1= successive equation substitution
3
ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

Initial guess:
1st Estimation: x=1
cos x +1 cos(1)+1
x i+1= = =0.513434102
3 3
e= |x−( x i+ 1)|

e= |1−0.513434102|=0.486565898

2nd Estimation: x=0.513434102

cos x +1 cos(0.513434102)+1
x i+1= = =0.6236876381
3 3
e= |x−( x i+ 1)|

e= |0.513434102−0.6236876381|=0.1102535361

Therefore, we stop at iteration 6 of the roots 0.607097483 below in the given limit error of 1x10^-4.

Perform Laboratory Activity #1:

Instruction: Open your Microsoft Excel and perform the following equations. Submit your file after the activity. Print
it out- Short bond- follow the format shown at the upper part of the paper. Late to submit will be given a deduction points to
the total score.

1. Determine the following equations using Methods of Successive Substitution, with limit error of 0.00001. Initial
guess start from zero 0.
2
a. x + 8 x+6=0
1
b. x−sin x− =0
2
ILOILO SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY UNIVERISTY
College of Engineering and Architecture
EEMath 12- Numerical Methods and Analysis

−x
c. x−e =0
2. Why there is a need to study the method of substitution?