Lab 0. Preliminary: 1 Instructions
Lab 0. Preliminary: 1 Instructions
Lab 0. Preliminary
1 Instructions
Make a pdf report including the solution to each point of the practice with name
Lab0 name lastname.pdf.
Send the report and all created files in a rar or zip file with name Lab0 name lastname.rar in
the Moodle.
You are allowed to use internet, notes, and .m files that you have created before.
2 Purposes
To apply the floating point format and rounding arithmetic.
3 Practice
3.1 Applying
(0.5 points) Use three-digit rounding arithmetic to compute the following sums:
P6 1
a) k=1 3k
P6 1
b) k=1 37−k
(1.0 points) Improving the Quadratic Formula. Assume that a 6= 0 and b2 − 4ac > 0 and
consider the equation ax2 + bx + c = 0. The roots can be computed with the quadratic
formulas √ √
−b + b2 − 4ac −b − b2 − 4ac
x1 = , x2 = . (1)
2a 2a
Show that these roots can be calculated with the equivalent formulas
−2c −2c
x1 = √ , x2 = √ . (2)
2
b + b − 4ac b − b2 − 4ac
√
Hint. Rationalize the numerators in (1). Remark. In the cases when |b| ≈ b2 − 4ac, one
must proceed with caution to avoid loss of precision due to a catastrophic cancellation. If
b > 0, then x1 should be computed with formula (2), and x2 should be computed using (1).
However, if b < 0, then x1 should be computed using (1), and x2 should be computed using
(2).
1
3.2 Implementing
(2.0 points) Create a Matlab function called floating point function name lastname() to de-
termine the floating point format to stored decimal numbers in a computer with 32 bits of
precision. Use the following numbers to test your function:
a) 1612.07812510
b) 6317.913610
c) −962.015310
(1.5 points) Use the results obtained in Improving the Quadratic Formula to construct a Matlab
program that will accurately compute the√roots of a quadratic equation in all situations,
including the troublesome ones when |b| ≈ b2 − 4ac.