Bisection Method Calculator

Find roots of equations using the bisection (binary search) method.

Function f(x)

Interval [a, b]

Parameters

Bisection Algorithm

  1. Check f(a) * f(b) less than 0
  2. Compute midpoint c = (a + b) / 2
  3. If f(a) * f(c) less than 0, set b = c
  4. Otherwise, set a = c
  5. Repeat until |b - a| less than tolerance

Root

1.4142456055

Converged in 14 iterations

f(root)
9.0633e-5
Iterations
14

Iteration History

nabcf(c)
11.0000002.0000001.5000002.500e-1
21.0000001.5000001.250000-4.375e-1
31.2500001.5000001.375000-1.094e-1
41.3750001.5000001.4375006.641e-2
51.3750001.4375001.406250-2.246e-2
61.4062501.4375001.4218752.173e-2
71.4062501.4218751.414063-4.272e-4
81.4140631.4218751.4179691.064e-2
91.4140631.4179691.4160165.100e-3
101.4140631.4160161.4150392.336e-3
111.4140631.4150391.4145519.539e-4
121.4140631.4145511.4143072.633e-4
131.4140631.4143071.414185-8.200e-5
141.4141851.4143071.4142469.063e-5

About Bisection Method

  • Always converges if root exists in interval
  • Linear convergence rate
  • Requires sign change (opposite signs at endpoints)
  • Error halves with each iteration
  • Simple but slower than Newton-Raphson