Numerical Analysis: Home

Objective: Teach the use of computers for the numerical solution of engineering problems

Introduction

Numerical analysis is the study of algorithm that use numerical approximation (as opposed to general symbolic manipulations) for the problems of mathematical analysis (as distinguished from discrete mathematics).

One of the earliest mathematical writings is a Babylonian tablet from the Yale Babylonian Collection (YBC 7289), which gives a sexagesimal numerical approximation of $\sqrt{2}$ , the length of the diagonal in a unit square. Being able to compute the sides of a triangle is extremely important, for instance, in astronomy, carpentry and construction.

Numerical analysis continues this long tradition of practical mathematical calculations. Much like the Babylonian approximation of $\sqrt{2}$ , modern numerical analysis does not seek exact answers, because exact answers are often impossible to obtain in practice. Instead, much of numerical analysis is concerned with obtaining approximate solutions while maintaining reasonable bounds on errors.

Level

Undergraduate

Riphah Research Repository

Riphah Research Repository
Riphah Research Repository contains a growing collection of electronic documents produced by professors, researchers and collaborators at the university which provides a free, single-entry access point to view the manuscript of research executed, and distribute this information as widely as possible.