HOW DO YOU SOLVE A QUADRATIC EQUATION

Abstract

The nature of the floating-point number system of digital computers is explained to a reader whose university mathematical background is very limited. The possibly large errors in using mathematical algorithms blindly with floating-point computation are illustrated by the formula for solving a quadratic equation. An accurate way of solving a quadratic is outlined. A few general remarks are made about computational mathematics, including the backwards analysis of rounding error.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jun 16, 1966
Accession Number
AD0639052

Entities

People

  • George E. Forsythe

Organizations

  • Stanford University

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Biomedical
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes
  • Space

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Algorithms
  • Artificial Satellites
  • Classification
  • Computations
  • Computers
  • Contracts
  • Digital Computers
  • Equations
  • Error Analysis
  • Floating Point Operations
  • Mathematical Analysis
  • Mathematics
  • Quadratic Equations
  • Real Numbers
  • Security
  • Universities
  • Weather Forecasting

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Approximation Theory.
  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Systems Analysis and Design