ABSTRACT
The problem of determining the values of a parameter for which a function is zero arises in a great many applications. Many problems involving the computation of such zeros are intersection or optimisation problems, and we shall investigate some of these problems. The techniques involved are varied, and no fool-proof prescription can be given for the best technique to use for a given problem. We shall see that the representation of a function has a direct bearing on the ease of finding its zeros. Some of the techniques we shall discuss are: analytic and symbolic solutions, and numerical methods including bisection, Newton-Raphson, and secant.
