How do I approach questions such as the following?

Question

1.00/5 (2 votes)

See more:

Write a function (called sin_approx) that takes two inputs, namely the value x for the series above and an accuracy acc. This function must compute and return sin(𝑥) using the series above, within the given accuracy.
For example, if 𝑥 = 𝜋/5 and acc=1e-3 this function should return 0.5869768284775588

What I have tried:

Python

import math

def sin_approx(x, acc):
    approx = 0
    term1 = x
    n = 1
    while abs(term1)>= acc:
        
        approx += term1
        n += 2
        term1 = ((-1)*(n//2))*(x**n)/math.factorial(n)
                 
    return approx

Posted 16-Apr-23 19:47pm

Angela@231

Updated 16-Apr-23 21:11pm

CPallini

v2

Add a Solution

2 solutions

Add a Solution

Add your solution here

Treat my content as plain text, not as HTML

Preview 0

…

Existing Members

Sign in to your account

...or Join us

Download, Vote, Comment, Publish.

Your Email
Password
Forgot your password?

Your Email
This email is in use. Do you need your password?
Optional Password

I have read and agree to the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
Please subscribe me to the CodeProject newsletters

When answering a question please:

Read the question carefully.
Understand that English isn't everyone's first language so be lenient of bad spelling and grammar.
If a question is poorly phrased then either ask for clarification, ignore it, or edit the question and fix the problem. Insults are not welcome.
Don't tell someone to read the manual. Chances are they have and don't get it. Provide an answer or move on to the next question.

Let's work to help developers, not make them feel stupid.

This content, along with any associated source code and files, is licensed under The Code Project Open License (CPOL)

OriginalGriff · Answer 1 · 2023-04-16T20:07:00

Without seeing the series that your homework refers to, we can't be specific - but the best guess is that the formula you are using is slightly wrong.

Manually work out what each term in the series formula should be for the first 5 or 6 terms, and compare them against the values your code calculates. When they differ, you can start looking more closely at why.

CPallini · Answer 2 · 2023-04-16T20:44:00

Solution 2

You should go on a step further, with the approximation. Try

Python

import math
  
def sin_approx(x, acc):
    approx = 0
    term1 = x
    n = 1
    while True:
        approx += term1
        if term1 < acc:
            break
        n += 2
        term1 = ((-1)*(n//2))*(x**n)/math.factorial(n)

    return approx

Posted 16-Apr-23 20:44pm

CPallini

Comments

OriginalGriff 17-Apr-23 2:53am

Fixing his homework for him ... it's far more fun if he works that out for himself ... :laugh: