Math I

Project II: Taylor Polynomials

Deadline: March 3rd, 2025

Objective:

This project explores Taylor polynomials as approximations

of functions, demonstrating their accuracy and applications
in mathematical modeling and computation.

Introduction to Taylor Polynomials:

We use Taylor polynomials to approximate functions with simpler polynomial expressions,

making them easier to analyze and compute. Many functions, such as e x, sin x, and ln x, do
not have simple algebraic forms, but Taylor polynomials provide accurate approximations,
especially near a speci c point. This is particularly useful in numerical computation, as
calculators and computers rely on these approximations to evaluate functions e ciently.

A function f (x) can be approximated near a point x = a using a polynomial.

The simplest approximation is the tangent line (linear approximation):

T1(x) = f (a) + f′(x)(x − a).

Example: we have a function f (x) = x , then the tangent line to f at x = 4 is de ned by

1
T1(x) = f (4) + f′(x)(x − 4) = 2 + (x − 4).
4
Now, we plot the graphs of f (x) and T1(x) as follow:

Figure 1
Page 1


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ffi
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 We can see in Figure 1 that, near x = 4 , we have T1(x) ≈ f (x) ; that is the tangent line
approximates f well. One shortcoming of this approximation is that the tangent line only
matches the slope of f ; it does not, for instance, match the concavity of f.

We can nd a more accurate approximation uses a quadratic polynomial, which can be

formed as:

T2(x) = A + B(x − a) + C(x − a)2.

For a good approximation, we ensure:

1. P(a) = f (a) (Same function value)

2. P′(a) = f′(a) (Same rst derivative)

3. P′′(a) = f′′(a) (Same second derivative)

Then we can write

1
T2(x) = f (a) + f′(a)(x − a) + f′′(a)(x − a)2 .
2
This extends to nth-degree polynomial that is used for approximating a function f that
near x = a, or it is called nth-degree Taylor polynomial of f at center x = a as follow:
1 1 (n)
Tn(x) = f (a) + f′(a)(x − a) + f′′(a)(x − a)2 + . . . + f (a)(x − a)n
2! n!
n
1 (k)
f (a)(x − a)k .
∑ k!
Or Tn(x) =
k=0

For example: A 4th-degree Taylor polynomial that approximates f (x) = x , at center

x = 4, is de ned by
1 2 1 (3) 3 1 (4)
T4(x) = f (4) + f′(4)(x − 4) + f′′(4)(x − 4) + f (4)(x − 4) + f (4)(x − 4)4
2! 3! 4!
1 1 2 1 3 5
= 2 + (x − 4) − (x − 4) + (x − 4) − (x − 4)4 .
4 64 512 16384
Now, we plot the graphs of f (x) and T4(x) as follow:
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 Figure 2

We can see that T4(x) is better to approximate the function f (x) than T1(x).

Now, use T4(x) ≈ f (x), to nd the approximation value of 2.

We obtain

1 1 1 5
2 ≈ T4(2) = 2 + (2 − 4) − (2 − 4)2 + (2 − 4)3 − (2 − 4)4 = 1.41699
4 64 512 16384

Problem 1 - ( For Group 1 ):

a. Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial centered at x = 0 for the function f (x) = e x,

b. Use T5(x) to approximate the value of e .

c. Plot T1(x), T3(x), T5(x) and f (x) = e x together in the viewing rectangle x ∈ [−2,2] by
y ∈ [0,10] and comment how well they approximate f .

Problem 2 - ( For Group 2 ):

a. Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial centered at x = 0 for the function f (x) = e −x,

b. Use T5(x) to approximate the value of e 1.2 .

c. Plot T1(x), T3(x), T5(x) and f (x) = e −x together in the viewing rectangle x ∈ [−2,2] by
y ∈ [0,10] and comment how well they approximate f .
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Problem 3- ( For Group 3 ):

a. Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial centered at x = 1 for the function f (x) = ln x,

b. Use T5(x) to approximate the value of ln 1.25.

c. Plot T1(x), T3(x), T5(x) and f (x) = ln x together in the viewing rectangle x ∈ [0.25,2]
by y ∈ [−2,2] and comment how well they approximate f .

Problem 4- ( For Group 4 ):

a. Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial centered at x = − 1 for the function

f (x) = ln(−x).

b. Use T5(x) to approximate the value of ln 1.5.

c. Plot T1(x), T3(x), T5(x) and f (x) = ln(−x) together in the viewing rectangle
x ∈ [−2, − 0.25] by y ∈ [−2,2] and comment how well they approximate f .

Problem 5- ( For Group 5 ):

a. Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial centered at x = 0 for the function f (x) = cos x.

b. Use T8(x) to approximate the value of cos 2.

c. Plot T2(x), T4(x), T8(x) and f (x) = cos x together in the viewing rectangle x ∈ [−5,5]
by y ∈ [−2,2] and comment how well they approximate f .

Problem 6- ( For Group 6 ):

a. Find the nth-degree Taylor polynomial centered at x = 0 for the function f (x) = sin x.

b. Use T8(x) to approximate the value of sin 2.

c. Plot T2(x), T4(x), T8(x) and f (x) = sin x together in the viewing rectangle x ∈ [−4,4]
by y ∈ [−2,2] and comment how well they approximate f .

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