Trapezoid Method
This module illustrates the implicit trapezoid method for
numerically solving initial value problems for ordinary differential
equations. A numerical method for an ordinary differential equation
(ODE) generates an approximate solution step-by-step in discrete
increments across the interval of integration, in effect producing a
discrete sample of approximate values of the solution function. The
trapezoid method averages the Euler and
backward Euler methods, advancing the
approximate solution at each step along a line whose slope is the
arithmetic mean of the derivatives at its endpoints. Specifically,
from an approximate solution value yk at time
tk for an ODE y′ =
f(t, y), the trapezoid method approximates
the solution y(tk+1) at
time tk+1 = tk
+ hk by solving the implicit equation
yk+1 = yk +
hk [f(tk,
yk) + f(tk+1,
yk+1)] ⁄ 2 for
yk+1. Since this equation may be nonlinear,
solving it generally requires an iterative solution method. Both
functional iteration and Newton's method are provided as options for
solving the implicit equation, with a starting guess provided by the
explicit Euler's method.
The user begins by selecting a differential equation from the menu
provided. A solution value y0 for the selected ODE
at an initial time t0 is marked with a black dot, and
the exact solution curve for the resulting initial value problem is
drawn in black. Starting from this initial value, the user advances
the solution through successive steps using the trapezoid method. The
graphical display has two modes, a basic display for showing the
overall progress of the numerical solution of the ODE, and an alternate
display for showing the solution of the implicit equation at each
step:
- In the basic display, seen initially, the exact solution to the initial
value problem and the portion of the approximate numerical solution
already computed are drawn in black. For each point of the approximate
numerical solution except the initial value, the exact solution to the
ODE that passes through that point is drawn in gray.
- In the alternate display, the black point is the previous approximate
solution value and the red point is the next approximate solution
value, currently being determined. The exact solution to the ODE
passing through the known solution point is drawn in light blue, and
the tangent line at that point is shown in dark blue. The exact
solution to the ODE passing through the new solution point is drawn in
pink, and its tangent line is shown in red. A green line with slope
equal to the average of the endpoint derivatives is drawn through the
intersection of the tangent lines.
To perform a step of the trapezoid method, the user executes each
of four stages by clicking either Next or the currently
highlighted stage:
- Using the slider, the user can select any desired size
hk for the step from
tk to
tk+1, subject to minimum and
maximum allowed values. The starting guess given by Euler's method
using the currently selected step size is shown in red, and it varies
as the step size varies. Once the user has set the slider for the
desired step size, this choice takes effect by clicking Choose Step
Size or Next, which causes the graph to change from the
basic to the alternate display in preparation for the next stage.
- The next stage is to solve the implicit equation. The user chooses
either functional iteration or Newton's method and then performs one or
more iterations of the selected nonlinear equation solver by clicking
Iterate as many times as desired. Progress towards convergence
can be observed graphically, since at a solution to the implicit
equation, the black line segment connecting the approximate solution
points will be parallel to the green line. The residual (i.e., the
difference between the right and left sides of the implicit equation)
is printed below as another measure of convergence. Note
that the nonlinear equation methods may not always converge,
especially if the step size is too large. When the user is
satisfied with the convergence of the iterative solver, this stage is
terminated by clicking Solve Implicit Equation or Next,
which returns the graph to the basic display, preserving the new
solution point (changing it from red to black) and the exact solution
passing through it.
- The current step is concluded by clicking Take Step or
Next, which prints in the table below the approximate and true
solution values at the new point and changes the color of the exact
solution to the ODE passing through the new solution point from pink
to gray.
- Preparation for another step is initiated by clicking Next Step
or Next, which displays the new step in red, ready for selecting
the new step size, with a default step size equal to the size of the
previous step, if possible.
Reference: Michael T. Heath, Scientific Computing,
An Introductory Survey, 2nd edition, McGraw-Hill, New York,
2002. See Section 9.3.3.
Developers: Evan VanderZee and Michael Heath