HP 15c User Manual

Page 202

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202 Section 14: Numerical Integration

If the uncertainty of an approximation is larger than what you choose to
tolerate, you can decrease it by specifying a greater number of digits in the
display format and repeating the approximation.

*

Whenever you want to repeat an approximation, you don't need to key the
limits of integration back into the X- and Y-registers. After an integral is
calculated, not only are the approximation and its uncertainty placed in the
X- and Y-registers, but in addition the upper limit of integration is placed in
the Z-register, and the lower limit is placed in the T-register. To return the
limits to the X- and Y-registers for calculating an integral again, simply
press ) ).

Example: For the integral in the expression for J

1

(l), you want an answer

accurate to four decimal places instead of only two.

Keystrokes

Display

´ i 4

1.8826

-03 Set display format to i 4.

))

3.1416

00 Roll down stack until upper

limit appears in X-register.

´f 1

1.3825

00 Integral approximated in

i4.

®

1.7091

-05 Uncertainty of i

4 approximation.

The uncertainty indicates that this approximation is accurate to at least four
decimal places. Note that the uncertainty of the i 4 approximation is
about one-hundredth as large as the uncertainty of the i 2
approximation. In general, the uncertainty of any f approximation
decreases by about a factor of 10 for each additional digit specified in the
display format.

*

Provided that f(x) is still calculated accurately to the number of digits shown in the display.

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