Edexcel C3 — Question 4

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleC3 (Core Mathematics 3)
TopicSign Change & Interval Methods
TypeSketch Graphs and Count Roots

4. (a) Sketch, on the same set of axes, the graphs of $$y = 2 - \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } \text { and } y = \sqrt { } x$$ [It is not necessary to find the coordinates of any points of intersection with the axes.]
Given that \(\mathrm { f } ( x ) = \mathrm { e } ^ { - x } + \sqrt { } x - 2 , x \geq 0\),
(b) explain how your graphs show that the equation \(\mathrm { f } ( x ) = 0\) has only one solution,
(c) show that the solution of \(\mathrm { f } ( x ) = 0\) lies between \(x = 3\) and \(x = 4\). The iterative formula \(x _ { n + 1 } = \left( 2 - \mathrm { e } ^ { - x _ { n } } \right) ^ { 2 }\) is used to solve the equation \(\mathrm { f } ( x ) = 0\).
(d) Taking \(x _ { 0 } = 4\), write down the values of \(x _ { 1 } , x _ { 2 } , x _ { 3 }\) and \(x _ { 4 }\), and hence find an approximation to the solution of \(\mathrm { f } ( x ) = 0\), giving your answer to 3 decimal places.