Math-305, Numerical Methods & Matrices
Chapter 6 — Implicit Euler Method

Dr. Kevin G. TeBeest

 
In lecture I derived the formula for the (explicit) Euler method (EE) by expanding the solution y(x) as a Taylor series about x0 (the left node) and then evaluating the series at x = x1 (the right node) to obtain

y1   =   y0 + h f (x0, y0) ,

and a local error of

e1(h)   =   ½ y''(ξ) h2,
where ξ is some value of x between x0 and x1. (The value of ξ is not arbitrary; it is simply unknown.)


You will now derive our second method, the implicit Euler method, by performing the following steps.

  1. Expand the solution y(x) as a Taylor series about x1 (the right node) and then evaluate the series at x0 (the left node) to obtain

    y0   =   y1h f (x1, y1) .

    Then the implicit Euler method is (solve for y1):

    y1   =   y0 + h f (x1, y1) .

  2. Use the "remainder term" R(x1) to show that the local error at node 1 (and therefore at each node) is:

    e1(h)   =   – ½ y''(τ) h2 ,
    where τ is some number between x0 and x1.

  3. Conclude that the global error of the implicit Euler method is

    E(h) = O(h) .

 
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