Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-probability-statistics-and-options-i-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2011/u/1/c/solution
Past exam of the probability, statistics and options I course of the University of Oxford 2011 U 1 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
At the left endpoint . If , the endpoint is exactly a root and the function above immediately returns . For , , so the first midpoint is .
If , then and . The first retained bracket is , containing only the root zero, so the iterates converge to zero. If , the first midpoint is exactly the root one and is returned. If , then and . The retained bracket is , containing only the root two, so the iterates converge to two. HenceThis illustrates root selection by bisection with multiple roots in the initial bracket: bisection guarantees a root, but which root it chooses depends discontinuously on the starting endpoint.
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