Topic 14.3: 4th-Order Runge Kutta's Method (HOWTO)

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Problem

Given the IVP

y(1)(t) = f( t, y(t) )
y(t0) = y0

approximate y(t1).

Assumptions

The function f(t, y) should be continuous in both variables.

Tools

We will use Taylor series.

Initial Conditions

Set h = t1t0. Let y1 be the approximation of y(t1).

Process

Define

K0 = f( t0, y0 )
K1 = f( t0 + ½ h, y0 + ½ h K0 )
K2 = f( t0 + ½ h, y0 + ½ h K1 )
K3 = f( t0 + h, y0 + h K2 )

Then let

Copyright ©2005 by Douglas Wilhelm Harder. All rights reserved.