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In numerical analysis, the secant method is a root-finding algorithm that uses a succession of roots of secant lines to better approximate a root of a function f. The secant method can be thought of as a finite-difference approximation of Newton's method. However, the secant method predates Newton's method by over 3000 years.
Secant line. In geometry, a secant is a line that intersects a curve at a minimum of two distinct points. [ 1] The word secant comes from the Latin word secare, meaning to cut. [ 2] In the case of a circle, a secant intersects the circle at exactly two points. A chord is the line segment determined by the two points, that is, the interval on ...
Contents. Fine-structure constant. In physics, the fine-structure constant, also known as the Sommerfeld constant, commonly denoted by α (the Greek letter alpha ), is a fundamental physical constant which quantifies the strength of the electromagnetic interaction between elementary charged particles. It is a dimensionless quantity, independent ...
A simple two-point estimation is to compute the slope of a nearby secant line through the points (x, f(x)) and (x + h, f(x + h)). [1] Choosing a small number h, h represents a small change in x, and it can be either positive or negative. The slope of this line is (+) ().
e. The number e is a mathematical constant approximately equal to 2.71828 that can be characterized in many ways. It is the base of the natural logarithm function. It is the limit of as n tends to infinity, an expression that arises in the computation of compound interest.
A standard method of evaluating the secant integral presented in various references involves multiplying the numerator and denominator by sec θ + tan θ and then using the substitution u = sec θ + tan θ. This substitution can be obtained from the derivatives of secant and tangent added together, which have secant as a common factor.
e. In mathematics, the limit of a function is a fundamental concept in calculus and analysis concerning the behavior of that function near a particular input which may or may not be in the domain of the function. Formal definitions, first devised in the early 19th century, are given below.
The difference between two points, themselves, is known as their Delta (Δ P ), as is the difference in their function result, the particular notation being determined by the direction of formation: Backward difference: ∇F (P) = F (P) − F (P − ΔP). The general preference is the forward orientation, as F (P) is the base, to which ...