CAIE P2 2008 June — Question 8

Exam BoardCAIE
ModuleP2 (Pure Mathematics 2)
Year2008
SessionJune
TopicFixed Point Iteration

8 The constant \(a\), where \(a > 1\), is such that \(\int _ { 1 } ^ { a } \left( x + \frac { 1 } { x } \right) \mathrm { d } x = 6\).
  1. Find an equation satisfied by \(a\), and show that it can be written in the form $$a = \sqrt { } ( 13 - 2 \ln a )$$
  2. Verify, by calculation, that the equation \(a = \sqrt { } ( 13 - 2 \ln a )\) has a root between 3 and 3.5.
  3. Use the iterative formula $$a _ { n + 1 } = \sqrt { } \left( 13 - 2 \ln a _ { n } \right)$$ with \(a _ { 1 } = 3.2\), to calculate the value of \(a\) correct to 2 decimal places. Give the result of each iteration to 4 decimal places.