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Root of 37 to three decimals by Newton's method

Question

Without a calculator, estimate 37\sqrt{37} correct to three decimal places.

Short answer

6.0836.083 (more precisely 6.082766.08276). Apply Newton's method to f(x)=x2−37f(x)=x^2-37, i.e. xk+1=12(xk+37/xk)x_{k+1}=\tfrac12(x_k+37/x_k), from x0=6x_0=6: x1=6+112≈6.0833x_1=6+\tfrac1{12}\approx6.0833, and the next step changes it only in the fifth decimal. The quick estimate a2+b≈a+b2a\sqrt{a^2+b}\approx a+\tfrac{b}{2a} gives the same first step.

Adapted from Zhou, A Practical Guide to Quantitative Finance Interviews, sec. 3.4 Important Calculus Methods, 'Newton's method A', p.43; question and answer rewritten by SelfMadeQuant.com.

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