LAB 1.

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Vectors, Functions, and Plots In MATLAB
In this book > will indicate commands to be entered in the command window. You do not actually type
the command prompt > .

Entering vectors
In MATLAB, the basic objects are matrices, i.e. arrays o f numbers. Vectors can be thought of as special
matrices. A row vector is recorded as a 1 × n matrix and a column vector is recorded as an m × 1 matrix. To
enter a row vector in MATLAB, type the following at the prompt (>) in the command window:
> v = [0 1 2 3]
and press enter. Matlab will print out the row vector. To enter a column vector type
> u = [9; 10; 11; 12; 13]
You can access an entry in a vector with
> u(2)
and change the value of that entry with
> u(2)=47
You can extract a slice out of a vector with
> u(2:4)
You can change a row vector into a column vector, and vice versa easily in Matlab using
> w = v’
(This is called transposing the vector and we call ’ the transpose operator.) There are also useful shortcuts to
make vectors such as
> x = -1:.1:1
and
> y = linspace(0,1,11)

Basic Formatting
To make Matlab put fewer blank lines in its output, enter
> format compact
To make Matlab display more digits, enter
> format long
Note that this does not change the number of digits Matlab is using in its calculations; it only changes
what is printed.
Plotting Data
Consider the data in Table 1.1. We can enter this data into Matlab with the following commands entered
in the command window:

T (C◦ ) 5 20 30 50 55
µ 0.08 0.015 0.009 0.006 0.0055

Table 1.1: Viscosity of a liquid as a function of temperature.

> x = [ 5 20 30 50 55 ]
> y = [ 0.08 0.015 0.009 0.006 0.0055]
Entering the name of the variable retrieves its current values. For instance
> x
> y
We can plot data in the form of vectors using the plot command:
> plot(x,y)
This will produce a graph with the data points connected by lines. If you would prefer that the data points
be represented by symbols you can do so. For instance
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> plot(x,y,’*’)
> plot(x,y,’o’)
> plot(x,y,’.’)

Data as a Representation of a Function

A major theme in this course is that often we are interested in a certain function y = f (x), but the only
information we have about this function is a discrete set of data {(xi , yi )}. Plotting the data, as we did
above, can be thought of envisioning the function using just the data. We will find later that we can also do
other things with the function, like differentiating and integrating, just using the available data. Numerical
methods, the topic of this course, means doing mathematics by computer. Since a computer can only store
a finite amount of information, we will almost always be working with a finite, discrete set of values of the
function (data), rather than a formula for the function.

Built-in Functions
If we wish to deal with formulas for functions, Matlab contains a number of built-in functions, including
all the usual functions, such as sin( ), exp( ), etc.. The meaning of most of these is clear. The dependent
variable (input) always goes in parentheses in Matlab. For instance
> sin(pi)
should return the value of sin π, which is of course 0 and
> exp(0)
will return e0 which is 1. More importantly, the built-in functions can operate not only on single numbers
but on vectors. For example

> x = linspace(0,2*pi,40)
> y = sin(x)
> plot(x,y)
will return a plot of sin x on the interval [0, 2π]
Some of the built-in functions in Matlab include: cos( ), tan( ), sinh( ), cosh( ), log( ) (natural
logarithm), log10( ) (log base 10), asin( ) (inverse sine), acos( ), atan( ). To find out more about a
function, use the help command; try
> help plot

User-Defined Inline Functions

If we wish to deal with a function that is a combination of the built-in functions, Matlab has a couple of ways
for the user to define functions. One that we will use a lot is the inline function, which is a way to define a
function in the command window. The following is a typical inline function:
> f = inline(’2*x.^2 - 3*x + 1’,’x’)
This produces the function f (x) = 2x2 − 3x + 1. To obtain a single value of this function enter
> f(2.23572)
Just as for built-in functions, the function f as we defined it can operate not only on single numbers but on
vectors. Try the following:
> x = -2:.2:2
> y = f(x)
This is an example of vectorization, i.e. putting several numbers into a vector and treating the vector all at once,
rather than one component at a time, and is one of the strengths of Matlab. The reason f (x) works when x is
a vector is because we represented x2 by x.^2. The . turns the exponent operator ^ into entry-wise exponentiation,
so that [-2 -1.8 -1.6].^2 means [(−2)2 , (−1.8)2 , (−1.6)2 ] and yields [4 3.24 2.56]. In contrast, [-2 -1.8
-1.6]^2 means the matrix product [−2, −1.8, −1.6][−2, −1.8, −1.6] and yields only an error. The . is needed in
.^, .*, and ./. It is not needed when you * or / by a scalar or for +.
The results can be plotted using the plot command, just as for data:
> plot(x,y)
Notice that before plotting the function, we in effect converted it into data. Plotting on any machine always
requires this step.
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Exercises
1.1.1 Find a table of data in an engineering textbook or engineering website. Input it as vectors and plot
it. Use the insert icon to label the axes and add a title to your graph. Turn in the graph. Indicate
what the data is and where it came from.
1.2.1 Make an inline function g(x) = x + cos(x5 ). Plot it using vectors x = -5:.1:5; and y = g(x);.
What is wrong with this graph? Find a way to make it look more like the graph of g(x) should. Turn
in both plots.

LAB 1.2
MATLAB Programs
In Matlab, programs may be written and saved in files with a suffix .m called M-files. There are two types
of M-file programs: functions and scripts.
Function Programs
Begin by clicking on the new document icon in the top left of the Matlab window (it looks like an empty
sheet of paper).
In the document window type the following:

func tion y = myfunc (x)

y = 2* x .^2 - 3* x + 1;
Save this file as: myfunc.m in your working directory. This file can now be used in the command window
just like any predefined Matlab function; in the command window enter:

> x = -2:.1:2; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Produces a vector of x values.

> y = myfunc(x); . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Produces a vector of y values.
> plot(x,y)
Note that the fact we used x and y in both the function program and in the command window was just a
coincidence. In fact, it is the name of the file myfunc.m that actually mattered, not what anything in it was
called. We could just as well have made the function

func tion nonse nse = yourfunc ( inputve c tor )

n o n s e n se = 2* i n p u t v e c t o r .^2 - 3* i n p u t v e c t o r + 1;

Look back at the program. All function programs are like this one, the essential elements are:
• Begin with the word function.
• There is an input and an output.
• The output, name of the function and the input must appear in the first line.
• The body of the program must assign a value to the output.
Functions can have multiple inputs, which are separated by commas. For example:

func tion y = myfunc 2d (x ,p )

y = 2* x .^ p - 3* x + 1;

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Functions can have multiple outputs, which are collected into a vector. Open a new document and type:

f u n c t i o n [ x2 x3 x4 ] = m y p o w e r s ( x )
x2 = x .^2;
x3 = x .^3;
x4 = x .^4;
Save this file as mypowers.m. In the command window, we can use the results of the program to make
graphs:

> x = -1:.1:1
> [x2 x3 x4] = mypowers(x);
> plot(x,x,’black’,x,x2,’blue’,x,x3,’green’,x,x4,’red’)

Script Programs
Matlab uses a second type of program that differs from a function program in several ways, namely:
• There are no inputs and outputs.

• A script program may use and change variables in the current workspace (the variables used by the
command window.)

Below is a script program that accomplishes the same thing as the function program plus the commands in
the previous section:

x2 = x .^2;
x3 = x .^3;
x4 = x .^4;
p l o t ( x , x , ’ b l a c k ’ , x , x2 , ’ b l u e ’ , x , x3 , ’ g r e e n ’ , x , x4 , ’ r e d ’ )
Type this program into a new document and save it as mygraphs.m. In the command window enter:
> x = -1:.1:1;
> mygraphs
Note that the program used the variable x in its calculations, even though x was defined in the command
window, not in the program.
Many people use script programs for routine calculations that would require typing more than one
command in the command window. They do this because correcting mistakes is easier in a program than in
the command window.
Program Comments
For programs that have more than a couple of lines it is important to include comments. Comments allow
other people to know what your program does and they also remind yourself what your program does if you
set it aside and come back to it later. It is best to include comments not only at the top of a program, but
also with each section. In Matlab anything that comes in a line after a % is a comment.
For a function program, the comments should at least give the purpose, inputs, and outputs. A properly
commented version of the function with which we started this section is:

func tion y = myfunc (x)

% C o m p u t e s t h e f u n c t i o n 2 x ^ 2 -3 x + 1
% Input : x -- a nu mbe r or ve c tor ;
% for a ve c tor the c o mp ut a t i on is e l e me n t wi se
% O u t p u t : y -- a n u m b e r or v e c t o r of the sa me siz e as x
y = 2* x .^2 - 3* x + 1;

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For a script program it is often helpful to include the name of the program at the beginning. For example:

% mygra phs
% pl ot s the g r a p h s of x , x ^2 , x ^3 , a nd x ^4
% on the i n t e r v a l [ -1 ,1]

% fix the do ma in a nd e v a l u a t i o n point s

x = -1:.1:1;

% c a lc ula te powe rs
% x1 is just x
x2 = x .^2;
x3 = x .^3;
x4 = x .^4;

% plot e a c h of the gra ph s

p l o t ( x , x , ’ b l a c k ’ , x , x2 , ’ b l u e ’ , x , x3 , ’ g r e e n ’ , x , x4 , ’ r e d ’ )

The Matlab command help prints the first block of comments from a file. If we save the above as
mygraphs.m and then do
> help mygraphs
it will print into the command window:
mygraphs
plots the graphs of x, x^2, x^3, and x^4
on the interval [-1,1]
Exercises
1.2.1 Write a function program for the function x2 e­x , using entry-wise operations (such as .* and .^).
To get ex use exp(x). Include adequate comments in the program. Plot the function on [−5, 5]. Show
the program and the graph to the Lab Instructor.
1.2.2 Write a script program that graphs the functions sin x, sin 2x, sin 3x, sin 4x, sin 5x and sin 6x on the
interval [0, 2π] on one plot. (π is pi in Matlab.) Include comments in the program. Show the program
and the graph to the Lab Instructor.

LAB 1.3
Discretization Error
Introduction
Below an example is given. A derivative of a function is evaluated by using the values of the function only. To
accomplish this Taylor series expansion is required. Since Taylor series is infinite some terms are left out which
introduces an error.

Example Consider the problem of approximating the derivative f ‘(x0) of a given smooth function f (x ) at the point x
= x0. For instance, let f (x ) = sin(x ) be defined on the real line−∞ < x < ∞, and set x0 = 1.2. Thus, f (x0) = sin(1.2) ≈
0.932 ... .
Further, consider a situation where f (x ) may be evaluated at any point x near x0, but f ‘(x0) may not bedirectly
available or is computationally expensive to evaluate. Thus, we seek ways to approximate f ‘(x0) by evaluating f at x
near x0.
A simple algorithm may be constructed using Taylor’s series. This fundamental theorem is given on the preceding
page. For some small, positive value h that we will choose in a moment, write

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The MATLAB Script below gives the plot for log-log of the absolute error versus h.

Exercises
1.3.1 Approximate the derivative of the function f(x)=e-2x evaluated at x0 =0.5(refer to the above example and
observe the difference and similarities).
1.3.2 Carry out derivation and calculation analogous to the above example by using the expression

For approximating the firs derivative f ’(x0).